Tripura Rahasya

Even after listening to Dattatreya patiently, Parasurama was still perplexed and asked:

O Lord! What you have said so far about the universe is the truth. Even so, how is it that it appears to be real to me and to others who are both intelligent and shrewd? Why does it continue to seem to be real to me even though I have heard you say otherwise? Please prove to me its unreality and remove my present illusion.

Thus requested, Dattatreya, the great Sage, began to explain the cause of the illusion which makes one believe the world to be real:

• Listen Rama! This illusion is very old, being no other than the deep-rooted ignorance which mistakes one thing for another.
• See how the true Self has been ignored and the body has become identified with the Self. Consider this foul body comprised of blood and bones beside that unblemished, pure intelligence!
• Even the gross body becomes mistaken for crystal-clear consciousness by mere force of habit.
• So also the universe has repeatedly been taken to be real so that it now looks as if it were actually real. The remedy lies in a change of outlook.