Narration About Reality and Illusion

1. The listener asks, "What is this Illusion (Maya) and what is Reality, or Brahman?" Now, please listen to the explanation that is given in this dialogue between the listener and the speaker.
2. Brahman is without attributes and is formless. Illusion has attributes and form. Brahman has no boundaries or limits, Illusion does.
3. Brahman is pure, and changeless. Illusion is active and restless. Brahman alone is untainted by any color or form while Illusion is color and form.
4. Illusion is seen, Brahman cannot be seen. Illusion is perceptible, Brahman cannot be perceived. Illusion gets destroyed, Brahman is indestructible, even at the final dissolution of all creation.
5. Illusion is created, Brahman cannot be created. Illusion can deteriorate, Brahman cannot. Illusion can be accumulated by the ignorant, Brahman cannot.
6. Illusion is born, Brahman cannot be born. Illusion dies, Brahman cannot die. Illusion can be conceived of, Brahman cannot comprehended by the intellect.
7. Illusion breaks, Brahman cannot break. Illusion can be cut off, Brahman cannot be cut off. Illusion gets old and tattered, Brahman does get old and tattered as it is indestructible.
8. Illusion is subject to modification, Brahman is changeless. Illusion does everything, Brahman does nothing. Illusion assumes many forms, Brahman is formless.
9. Illusion is of the nature of the temporary five elements and is many, Brahman is eternal and One. The difference between Illusion and Brahman is understood by those who utilize the power of discrimination.
10. Illusion is inferior, Brahman is superior. Illusion is the non-essential, Brahman is the Essence. Illusion is on the side of the world, Brahman does not have sides.
11. All of Illusion is spread out covering Brahman, but the sages have sifted out Brahman.
12. Clearing out the moss, one should take the water. Throwing away the water from the milk and water mixture, one should take the milk. Similarly, giving up Illusion, one's experience should be of Brahman.
13. Brahman is clean and untainted like the sky, Illusion is messy like the earth, Brahman alone is subtle, while Illusion is gross form.
14. Brahman is not observable, Illusion is observable and seen. Brahman is undifferentiated everywhere, Illusion is differentiated forms.
15. Illusion is a visible object, Brahman is not. Illusion is witnessed, Brahman cannot be witnessed. In Illusion there is always two sides (duality), Brahman has no sides.
16. Illusion is the assertion of an argument, Brahman is the final statement. Illusion is ephemeral, Brahman is Eternal. Brahman does not have a cause for its existence, for Illusion there is a cause.
17. Brahman is homogenous and solid, Illusion is made up of the five elements and hollow. Brahman is always flawless, Illusion is old and tattered.
18. Illusion becomes, Brahman does become. Illusion falls, Brahman cannot fall. Illusion gets spoiled, Brahman cannot get spoiled. It is just as it is.
19. Brahman always exists, Illusion disappears upon dissolution. Illusion ends, there is no end to Brahman even after the final dissolution.
20. Illusion is hard, Brahman is subtle. Illusion is very small, Brahman is vast. Illusion can be destroyed, Brahman always remains.
21. Brahman cannot really be spoken of, or said to be like anything. Illusion appears to be however it is spoken of. Brahman cannot be extinguished by time while illusion is consumed by it.
22. A multitude of forms and colors are the occurrence of Illusion. Illusion breaks, but Brahman is unbreakable, always just as it is.
23. Now, enough of this narration. The entire animate and inanimate creation is all Illusion. The one Supreme God (Parameshwara) pervades everything.
24. The Supreme Self, Paramatman, is different from qualities, like with the reflection of the sky that is in the water, the sky itself is not found in the water.
25. Through listening to explanations and with the inquiry into Illusion and Brahman one can escape birth and death. When one seeks refuge in the saints, one can attain liberation.
26. There is no limit to talking about the greatness of the saints. Because of them, one gains the inner realization of one's identity with the "Universal Self."