Listen, O noble one, to the subtle workings of the mind and the nature of reality. A being whose mind has turned away from its true nature may fall into any state of existence. By the sheer force of mental impressions, even a gentle deer can come to assume the fierce qualities of a lion. Such is the power of the mind’s conditioning. Poison, delusion, intoxication, ignorance, confusion, and ego—all these are alike in essence. Each arises from the mind’s distortion and serves as a cause for the unfolding of various experiences and their results. Consider the story of the crow and the palm fruit: just as events seem to arise together through the force of mental impressions, so too do great undertakings and interactions emerge, appearing to be interconnected. Whatever has been experienced before—like the taste of salt once enjoyed by a king in a previous life—appears again, whether good or bad, as conceived in the mind of the present being. The mind, in its wanderings, can forget even the most extensive actions it has performed, and yet can remember things never done, as though they had truly occurred. Thus one might think, “I have eaten,” or “I have not eaten,” or even feel as if they have traveled to distant lands in a dream, though such journeys never took place in waking life. In this way, the interactions with the village of Vindhya and Pukkasa arise in appearance for the mind, just as stories from the past emerge in dreams. Or, the illusion seen by Lavana in a dream has now entered the awareness of Vindhya and Pukkasa. Their awareness, in turn, has arisen in the mind of the prince, just as the speech and faces of many people can appear similar and indistinguishable. Even dreams have their own time, place, and actions; and within the context of such experiences, their existence becomes apparent through their manifestation. All objects exist only as awareness; within awareness alone, the diverse sequence of creation appears. Just as a tree exists in its seed in past, present, and future forms, so too do existence and non-existence become established as neither truly being nor non-being. Only existence is present in awareness; in the absence of awareness, there is nothing that can be said to exist. Ignorance does not truly exist, just as there is no oil in sand. How could gold ever be bitter? That would be something other than gold itself. The pure Self, by its very nature, cannot be connected with ignorance. Connections among similar things are clear and give rise to experience, but the connection of things like resin and wood is not so evident—and thus, there can be no true connection between the Self and ignorance. There is no other self that experiences another; there is only a single, underlying reality. All is of the nature of the highest truth, and all distinctions arise from that alone. Awareness, by the force of connection, perceives itself as manifold, even though all things in the world are composed only of pure consciousness and pure being. Thus, these entities appear, each established in their own experience, but there is no continuous connection among dissimilar things. Without mutual connection, there is no experience of one by another, while similar things, upon meeting, instantly become one. A single form manifests only because of oneness, not otherwise. When consciousness and awareness unite, the appearance of the seen arises as cognition. When the inert joins with the inert, it becomes dense inertness; but because of their difference, unity between consciousness and inertness never occurs. If consciousness and inertness are together in one place, they are never truly united; for consciousness is of the nature of awareness, and awareness arises only from consciousness. Wood and stone are distinct, and they are not of the nature of consciousness; an object is experienced and transformed only by another object. Just as taste is perceived by the tongue and arises from its own kind, so too, know that unity and connection do not exist between what is substantial and what is insubstantial. Therefore, unity does not arise between the inert and the conscious. What is considered inert is actually consciousness alone, appearing as stones, walls, and the like, united with consciousness. When oneness is attained, the seer and the seen and so forth become confused; when all, such as wood and stones, are truly of the nature of the highest reality, then, being connected within itself, it is perceived as the seen. All, in every form and manner, is spread out as if infinite. Know, O best among those who know the truth, that this universe is nothing but existence. Even what is unreal, O dear one, appears as the universe through countless illusions of universal forms. When consciousness is filled with wonder, nothing else is truly filled; the city of imagination among people appears mutually, but not as it truly is. Thus, creations are established in consciousness, not for the awareness of space and time. For the perception of difference is itself creation, arising from the delusion of ego and the like. Just as, upon abandoning awareness of gold, the illusion of bracelets and such arises, so too does the illusion of bracelets and so forth occur in gold due to the conditions of place and other factors. But when your vision is filled, there is no separate supreme ignorance; the great diversity of bracelets and so forth is but one pure Brahman. Because of the unity of awareness, this creation is only existence, not nonexistence—like an army made of clay, appearing various, but consisting only of clay. Water is one, yet waves and so forth arise; wood is one, yet carvings of sal trees appear; clay is one, yet pots and so forth are formed. Brahman alone is the illusion of the three worlds. In the relationship between seer and seen, what is the essence in the midst of the seer is that which is beyond seer, seeing, and seen—this is the supreme. When the mind moves from place to place, the essence in the midst of the mind is the awareness free from dullness; always become absorbed in that. Become always identified with that eternal essence of yours which is beyond waking, dream, and deep sleep—unconscious, insentient, and devoid of inertness. Setting aside only the dullness that is like the heart of a stone, whether you are disturbed or undisturbed, become identified with that, O Raghava. Here, nothing whatsoever arises or dissolves in anyone; whether disturbed or undisturbed, remain established in your own nature as you please. A person does not desire or hate anything at any time in the body; remain established in yourself, free from anxiety, having assumed the activities of the body.