Those who have truly mastered themselves, who have triumphed over the enemy of their own senses, are the ones worthy of the highest reverence. For such great beings, even the status of an emperor or universal monarch seems insignificant; their minds are undistracted by worldly attainments, and they swiftly reach the supreme state. Consider, for a moment, the nature of gold. When gold is fashioned into an ornament, the ornament does not cry out, “I am gold!” out of pride or self-assertion. The sense of being an ornament arises, yet its true nature remains gold. In the same way, the sense of self, the feeling of “I am,” is but a superimposition—an appearance, not the reality. A disciple, eager for understanding, asks the sage: “How does an ornament, born of gold, come to possess the awareness of being an ornament? Please, Master, tell me precisely: how does this sense of ‘I’ arise?” The sage replies: “Only what truly exists can be said to come and go; that which is unreal never truly exists. The sense of ‘I’ and the state of being an ornament are themselves never ultimately real. If you command, ‘O gold, become an ornament,’ and it is shaped accordingly, then indeed, it appears as an ornament—there is no doubt about this. But what, truly, is the nature of this becoming? By discerning this, you will come to know the true essence of Brahman.” He continues, “If one ascribes form to the formless and unreal, it is like describing the qualities and actions of the son of a barren woman—an impossibility. The notion of the wave is but a mistaken illusion; in the same way, the unreal seems to take on form. This is the very nature of illusion: what is seen is not truly perceived. “Consider the water in a mirage, the illusion of two moons in the sky, or the glow of ego and similar things—their forms are only as much as what, when observed, cannot be grasped. One who sees silver in a shell will never obtain even the smallest particle of silver from it, anywhere, ever. By failing to discern properly, the unreal appears as real—just as silver appears in a shell or water in a desert mirage. “The nonexistence of what does not exist becomes clear when one observes carefully; when not observed, it seems to flash forth, like the fleeting water in a mirage. The unreal may appear to cause effects and seem stable, but like the haunting delusion of a ghoul, it brings only ruin to the ignorant. “In gold, except for the quality of goldness, nothing else exists; just as, in oil or the like, there is only the nature of a wave or a bubble in sand. Here, there is neither truth nor falsehood—whatever appears, acts accordingly, just as the shifting patterns in a child’s game of dice. Whether real or unreal, whatever is firmly held in the heart produces its effects, like poison or nectar. “This supreme ignorance is what is called māyā—the cycle of existence itself, arising from the contemplation of ‘I-ness’ in what is baseless and unreal. Gold does not possess the qualities of a worm; likewise, the Self does not possess attributes like ‘I-ness.’ In the absence of ‘I-ness,’ the supreme, clear, peaceful, and equal essence alone remains. “There is no eternal nature, nor any creator-nature; no cosmic egg-nature, nor any nature of gods or others. There is no nature of other worlds, nor any nature of creation anywhere; no nature of Meru, nor of sky, nor of mind, nor of body. There is no nature of the great elements, nor any nature of cause; no calculation of seasons, nor any nature of existence or nonexistence. There is no nature of ‘you,’ ‘I,’ ‘self,’ ‘that,’ existence or nonexistence; nowhere is there any calculation of difference, nor any coloring by existence or nonexistence. “All is peaceful, unsupported, pure consciousness—clear, eternal, auspicious, free from affliction, without appearance, without name, and without cause. It is not existence, nor non-existence, nor a middle or an end; it is not all, yet it is entirely all. It cannot be grasped by mind or speech; it is neither void nor non-void, and is supremely eternal.” The disciple, now deeply moved, says, “O great Brahman, I have now realized all this; yet, please tell me again—what is it that is seen as creation?” The sage answers, “The supreme peace, the highest, remains as ‘this’ and ‘that’; here, there is never any true creation—not even the notion of creation arises at any time. Just as water remains in the ocean, so too in the supreme state; water, by its liquidity, seems to move, but the supreme state is unmoving. “As light shines in itself, so that state neither shines nor does not shine. What is called ‘shining’ is only a name, but the supreme is known as beyond shining. Leaving aside above and below, just as water stirs within the ocean, so, from supreme consciousness, this manifold appearance arises—yet it is nothing but that supreme. “By a slight movement, consciousness appears as if it is other; this alone is known as creation, and from peace it subsides into the eternal. Creation is merely a designation for the highest reality—this is the truth. It is neither absent nor present within, just as space is within space. “Through the mind, creation arises; through the absence of mind, creation dissolves. In the supreme, utterly tranquil, the illusion of creation is like a bracelet imagined in gold. Though creation seems to exist, it becomes non-creation when the sense of ownership is relinquished; the unreal attains reality when self-awareness arises from itself. “Awareness is the arising of the sense of ‘I’ and the confusion of creation. Know that non-awareness is the supreme peace—not inertness. Thus, creation is not manifold, nor is this manifold; the knower is one, of the nature of auspiciousness—like an army made of clay, whether crafted by artisans in a book or by their hands. “This is complete, without beginning, infinite, and without arising; in the complete, the complete stands established from the very beginning, even as other completions flow into it. Whatever is perceived as creation, that is Brahman, abiding in Brahman; as space rests in space, peace in peace, auspiciousness in auspiciousness. “As a city reflected in a mirror appears within the mirror to the people, so, in the Lord, nearness and distance, this and not-this, are all established. The universe arises from the unreal, and even when it appears real, it is always merely an appearance; because it is only a semblance, it is essentially unreal. “In this creation, which is like a city reflected in a mirror, the shimmer of water in a mirage, or the illusion of seeing two moons, where indeed is any true reality?