Listen, O wise one, as the sage speaks with gentle clarity to Rama, guiding him through the mysterious nature of this world. She begins, “See, O great intellect, this world before you—like the vastness of space—is nothing more than the play of imagination, a long dream that has arisen and taken form. In truth, no one here is ever truly born, nor does anyone die. All actions and movements, O wise one, are but illusions, mere shadows on the screen of consciousness. “In a realm where nothing ever increases or perishes, what could possibly be destroyed? It is as if you were trying to erase lines drawn in the air—they were never truly there. You do not truly see your own body, which is itself a product of delusion, with the eye of clear insight. O Raghava, your heart gripped by sorrow, why do you speak with the confusion of one who does not know? “Just as a mirage appears in the desert because of intense heat, so too, through the force of the mind, all these beings—including Brahma and the rest—are seen, though they are not real. All the forms of this world arise like the illusion of two moons in the sky, or as fanciful daydreams, entirely woven from mistaken understanding. Just as those riding in a boat see the stationary banks as if they were moving, so too, the succession of forms always appears falsely, without any true reality. “Understand this, Rama, to be a magical illusion—a cage woven by maya. It is a creation of the mind’s imagination, neither truly existent nor non-existent. This entire world is Brahman alone; where, then, is the possibility of otherness? What connection could there be, who is that other, and where does it abide? “This mountain, this tree—such displays are mere illusions. Because of the mind’s strong imagination, the unreal appears as if it were real. This world, with its fourfold expansion, is empty within. Abandon the mind’s desires and thirst, Rama, and turn your contemplation elsewhere. “Just as, in a dream, grand undertakings are mere delusion and not reality, so too, know this long dream of waking life to be a fabrication of the mind. Abandon the display of worldly existence, which is a treasury of desires like serpents—seeming to promise great enjoyment but, when grasped, found to be empty. “Knowing all this to be unreal, establish your mind in pure awareness. Who, having recognized a mirage for what it is, would pursue it, if wise? He who, being deluded, follows the woman formed by wishful thinking—rich in forms arising from his own imagination—becomes only a vessel of suffering. “Let this world, lacking reality, drift as it will toward the unreal. But he who abandons the real and pursues the unreal is surely destroyed. This is only the delusion of the mind, like mistaking a rope for a snake. Through the diversity of imagination alone, the world revolves endlessly. “In this world, only a child is deceived by states arising from unreality, like the flickering moon reflected in water—not the knower of truth, like yourself. He who, contemplating this mass of qualities, seeks happiness, is indeed dull; he only wipes away his dullness in a fire that does not reflect. “This enjoyment is truly unreal; the cage of appearances is seen—a creation of mind and thought, like a city imagined in the heart. It arises by the will of the mind and dissolves by that same will, appearing as a vast illusion, like a city conjured by celestial beings. “Rama, when this world is lost, nothing at all is truly lost; even when it seems to exist, nothing is truly established. When the city imagined by the mind is destroyed in the heart—which was its only expanse—and if it is said to have grown, tell me: what has grown, for whom, and what has been harmed? “Just as a city arises in the hearts of children for the sake of play, so too does this world ceaselessly arise in the mind. Nothing is lost for anyone, just as nothing is lost in the water of a magician’s illusion, whether this world, with its rise and fall, is lost or destroyed. “If what is unreal is indeed unreal, what loss or harm can there be for anyone? Therefore, this so-called world is not truly a ground for joy or sorrow. If something is utterly unreal, what can be lost in it? In the absence of loss, O wise one, how can there be suffering? “Or if something is utterly real, what can be lost of it? This entire world is truly Brahman—what, then, is the cause of happiness or sorrow? In this world, which is entirely unreal and brings only destruction, what is there for the wise to desire or accept in the cycle of existence? “And even if this world is entirely real and filled with the essence of Brahman, what could there be in the three worlds that the wise should reject or avoid? Whether the world is unreal or real, for the one who knows, it is beyond pleasure and pain; but the ignorant, due to their partial understanding, suffer. “That which does not exist at the beginning or end, and does not truly exist in the present—if someone desires the unreal, O Rama, only its nonexistence remains for him. That which is true at the beginning and end, and truly exists in the present—for one whose everything is real, only existence remains for him. “Children alone desire things like the moon reflected in water or sky-flowers, which are unreal. The wise do not, for such desires only delude the mind. A child, seeking satisfaction from objects with various forms and purposes, attains endless sorrow, not happiness. “Therefore, O Rama, lotus-eyed one, do not be childish. Seeing impermanence here, always rely on what is stable and enduring. Do not let sorrow arise in you by thinking, ‘All this is unreal, and I am united with it.’ Likewise, do not let sorrow arise by thinking, ‘All this is real, and I am united with it.’ “When the sage had thus spoken, the day passed toward evening and set for the coming of night. She went to bathe, offered salutations in the assembly, and departed, just as the rays of the sun faded from the sky. “And so, Rama, when wealth or spouse is lost, what occasion is there for grief? If an illusion is seen for a moment and then vanishes, what is the point of lamenting? Whether a city of the Gandharvas is adorned or defiled, or whether ignorance affects children and others, what true sequence of happiness and sorrow can there be in these?” Thus, the sage’s words flow like a gentle stream, guiding Rama—and all who listen—toward the heart of wisdom.