In this dialogue on Advaita and liberation, the imagery consistently points back to a single insight: all apparent multiplicity rests upon one undivided reality. The ocean and wave metaphor is central here. The vast, still ocean stands for the Self or Brahman, while waves symbolize the myriad phenomena of the world and the play of individuality. Waves arise, change, and subside, yet never become anything other than water; likewise, all beings and experiences are nothing but consciousness in varied forms. This same principle is echoed in the images of gold and ornaments, and clay and pots: diverse names and shapes conceal a single underlying substance that is never truly divided.

Another powerful cluster of images revolves around space and the mirror. Space (ākāśa) is all-pervading, unbounded, and untouched by the objects that appear within it; in the same way, pure consciousness is portrayed as infinite and unaffected by the movements of body and mind. Jar-space and vast space are not two different “spaces,” but only seem distinct because of form, suggesting that inner and outer are conceptual divisions rather than real separations. The mirror metaphor reinforces this: consciousness is like a flawless mirror that reflects all images yet remains unstained and unchanged. Reflections have no independent substance apart from the mirror, just as the world has no existence apart from the Self.

To loosen the grip of taking appearances as ultimately real, the text turns again and again to images of illusion. The dream analogy shows that experiences can be vivid and compelling while they last, yet are recognized as baseless upon awakening; so too, duality is seen as a kind of dream within consciousness. The rope-and-snake example sharpens this point: in dim light, a rope is mistaken for a snake, and fear arises, but when true seeing dawns, it is clear that the snake never existed as a separate reality. This illustrates that non-duality is not something newly produced, but something recognized once error is removed. Through such metaphors, the teaching suggests that bondage and liberation, subject and object, are appearances only, never truly other than the one Self.