O Rāma, know that the mind, when bound by its own impressions and tendencies, remains fettered, but when freed from these impressions, it finds liberation. Therefore, swiftly bring about this state of freedom through clear discernment. When truth is perceived rightly, the impressions dissolve away, and as they vanish, the mind becomes tranquil—still and luminous, like a lamp undisturbed by wind. In reality, nothing truly exists here; all that appears is but a projection of imagination. And since even imagination itself has no real existence, this is the highest understanding. The words ‘tendency’ and ‘mind’ are simply terms pointing to certain meanings, but where, through the vision of truth, both dissolve, that alone is the supreme state. The entire world is nothing but the Self, so who is there to imagine, and what is there to imagine, and where? In truth, there is no such thing as imagination—this is the correct insight. The mind, colored by its own tendencies, attains a particular state, but when it is freed from these tendencies, that is called liberation. The mind takes on many forms—like pots, cloths, garlands, or serpents—and eventually comes to rest. But all these forms are false, like phantoms that arise and vanish. Therefore, this very mind should be swiftly brought to tranquility. Just as the mind can shape itself into the form of a garland or a serpent, so too can it become a terrifying, shining tree. Let the principle of the shining tree—brilliant, clear, and unwavering—be firmly established in you, O Raghava, and let not your mind be caught in the illusions of garlands or serpents. O Rāma, this teaching was once imparted to me by my father, the lotus-born Brahmā; today, I have shared it with you, my supremely intelligent disciple. Therefore, O Raghava, do not be ensnared by the logic of the rope and the snake—mistaking one thing for another. Instead, let the reasoning of the dry stick that only appears terrifying guide you, for it is harmless and brings no fear. This path of worldly existence, filled with uninterrupted pleasure and pain, is born of the imagination of the world. Even for one engaged in action among beings, this path constantly perishes through non-attachment. Victorious, indeed, are those noble heroes who have conquered their own minds—minds intoxicated and agitated by ignorance, pride, and desires for objects. For this worldly existence, which brings all manner of suffering and affliction, there is only one means of escape: the restraint of one’s own mind. Now, hear the essence of all dharma, and hold it well: bondage is nothing but the desire for enjoyment; the abandonment of that desire is called liberation. What need is there for further scriptural debate? Hear this alone: whatever appears delightful to you, regard it all as you would poison or fire. Sense objects are enjoyments like poison; they must be examined repeatedly. They are undesirable and should be abandoned, for indulgence in them brings suffering. A mind colored by latent impressions produces many faults, just as soil sown with thorn seeds yields only thorns. But the mind, free from the seed of attachment and the flow of thoughts, without visible passion or aversion, gradually attains supreme tranquility. The intellect, filled with the seeds of virtuous tendencies, always produces excellent qualities, bearing fruit in time, just as fertile soil yields the best crops. When the mind is made clear and steady through the contemplation of auspicious thoughts, the dense cloud of false knowledge is gently and gradually dissolved. As goodness increases, like the waxing moon in the bright fortnight, and discernment and virtue expand, the world shines with the radiance of the sun. When steadfastness grows within, liberation arises like the wind in bamboo; when inner stability is established, delight appears like moonlight in the night. When the tree of good company bears fruit and casts a cool shade, the nectar of bliss flows from the straight tree of samādhi. The mind becomes free from duality, desireless, undisturbed, and rid of restlessness, greed, delusion, and fear—the causes of suffering. All doubts about the meaning of scriptures are exhausted, curiosity is gone, the web of imagination is dispelled, and one lives liberated, untouched. Such a one is free from desire, anger, expectation, and anxiety; with the mist of sorrow fully calmed, unattached, and unbound by doctrines. Having destroyed his own mind—the charioteer of the fierce horses of the senses, the cage of craving and attachments—he attains the supreme purpose: sovereignty over himself. He abandons the notions that fatten the self, just as a loyal servant, when his duties are done, casts off his body as if it were a blade of grass. The rise and fall of the mind is the rise and fall of all; the destruction of the mind is the great attainment. Knowledge leads to the dissolution of the mind, while ignorance causes the mind to grow. The world-wheel is nothing but mind; the mountain ranges are mind; the sky is mind; the body is mind; friend is mind; enemy is mind. That impurity of imagination, which is the forgetting of the true nature of consciousness, is called 'mind'; this very tendency, which brings about worldly existence, is known as vāsanā. Consciousness, tinged by the sequence of perceptions and slightly tainted by imagination, is called the individual soul (jīva), which is but the essence of mind. That which, having fallen under the sway of perceptions, acquires a fixed identity and enters into ignorance, expands further and is imagined as the state of mind. The self is not the person of worldly existence, nor the body, nor the blood; all things such as the body are inert, while the embodied one is like space, untouched. When the body is cut into pieces, nothing remains but blood and so forth, just as when a plantain stem is split, nothing remains but the leaves. Know the mind to be the living being, the person, having assumed that very form; the self fashions itself from its own imagined fragments. The person, spreading out threads of his own imagination, abundantly weaves them into a net for self-binding, just as a worm makes a cocoon. Having abandoned this bodily delusion, in another place and time, he takes up a different body, just as a sprout assumes the state of a leaf. Whatever disposition exists, such is the mind that arises; whatever a person’s mind is as he sleeps, that he sees in his dream at night.