In the quiet of the teaching hall, the sage spoke to Rama, illuminating the nature of the world. Whether the world is real or unreal, she said, for one who truly knows, it lies beyond pleasure and pain. But those who remain ignorant, caught in partial understanding, are subject to suffering. She explained further: If something does not exist at the beginning or end, and does not truly exist even now, then to desire such an unreal thing, O Rama, is to be left only with its absence. Conversely, that which is true at the beginning and end, and exists genuinely in the present—when all is real for someone, only existence remains. Children, she said, desire things like the moon’s reflection in water or sky-flowers—unreal things that only delude the mind. The wise do not chase such illusions. A child, seeking satisfaction from objects of varying forms and purposes, finds endless sorrow, not happiness. Therefore, Rama, lotus-eyed one, do not be childish. See the impermanence in this world and always rely on what is stable and enduring. Do not let sorrow arise in your heart by thinking, “All this is unreal, and I am united with it.” Nor should you grieve by thinking, “All this is real, and I am united with it.” Having spoken thus, the sage’s day drew to a close. Evening approached, and she went to bathe, offered salutations in the assembly, and departed, fading with the rays of the setting sun. Later, the teaching continued. When wealth or spouse is lost, what reason is there for grief? If an illusion appears 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 afflicts children and others, what is the true sequence of happiness and sorrow in these? When wealth or spouse is gained, what reason is there for joy? What happiness does a thirsty person find in a mirage, even if it grows larger? When wealth and spouse increase, it is sorrow that arises, not satisfaction. When delusion and illusion grow, who finds reassurance? The very enjoyments that bind the foolish through attachment, when pursued excessively, are the same enjoyments by which the wise develop detachment. Those who do not see the far shore, the deluded, attain satisfaction through enjoyments; but those who perceive the other shore, the virtuous, gain detachment from these same enjoyments. Therefore, Raghava, knowing the truth, in worldly dealings, disregard what is lost as lost, and accept what is gained as gained. The mark of the wise is genuine indifference toward pleasures not yet arrived, and enjoyment of those that have come. In this turmoil of worldly existence, where the true self is hidden and sometimes hostile, live with awakened understanding so that you do not fall into delusion. In the grand display of the world, constructed by the process of manifestation, those whose insight is destroyed do not see rightly; their intellect is misguided. If one’s mind is attached to objects of perception and cleansed by them, pure understanding is never attained. For one whose conviction that “this is unreal” has ceased regarding all things, ignorance does not touch him; he embraces the all-knowing. He whose understanding is established in the view that “I and the world are one, all this is indeed one,” having abandoned both attachment and aversion, does not sink. Relying on the pure middle ground between existence and non-existence with your intellect, neither grasp nor abandon the universe, whether external or internal. Remain, O Rama, utterly expansive, pure, possessing all yet free from all. Like the sky, abide without attachment, even while performing actions. For the wise, who neither desire nor reject while engaged in action, understanding is not tainted—just as a lotus leaf is not wetted by water. Let your senses perform seeing, touching, and so on, or not; they are secondary to you—be established in the Self, without desire. Let not your mind, thinking “this is mine” about unreal sense objects, sink into them; remaining unsunken, let it act or not act. O Raghava, if the splendor of sense objects does not delight your heart, then, endowed with knowledge and discernment, you have crossed the ocean of worldly existence. Even for one whose body has or has not experienced sense objects, and who is without desire, liberation arises, according to the force of circumstances. With supreme wisdom, separate your mind, O Rama, from the multitude of tendencies, as one would distinctly separate fragrance from a flower. In this ocean of worldly existence, filled with the waters of tendencies, those who have ascended the boat of wisdom are said to have crossed to the other shore. With a mind as sharp as the edge of a razor and with supreme steadiness, discern the truth of your own self, and then enter your own true state. Just as the wise who know reality and whose minds are expanded by knowledge live, so too, O Rama, you should live—not like the deluded. The great souls who are liberated while living, ever content and noble-hearted, should be followed in conduct—not those who are petty and deceitful, attached to enjoyment. Those who know the highest and the lowest do not abandon nor desire worldly activity; they conform to everything in the world. Nowhere in the world are the great ones, the seers of truth, ever petty about power, pride, virtues, fame, or wealth. Even in utter desolation they are not distressed, nor are they attached in the gardens of the gods; the great ones do not abandon their nature, like the sun. Free from desire, following the course of action as it comes, they move about unperturbed, self-abiding, established in the chariot of the body. You too, O Rama, have attained this discernment; by this strength of wisdom, I know you are at peace, O beautiful one. Relying on clear vision, free from pride and devoid of envy, dwell on this seat of earth and you will attain supreme accomplishment. Be established in your own nature, having abandoned all selfish pursuits, keeping desires at a distance; possessing supreme inner coolness, dwell here, O sinless one.