With hearing begins action; and as Brahmā concentrates his mind upon his former creation, its memory in time flashes through him, and with the flashing of that memory creation manifests itself, in the shape of earth, and sky, and trees, and grass, and ocean, and rivers, and in time beast, and bird, and man, all complete. Just as a master painter first designs a picture in his mind and reproduces that design upon the canvas, even so is the picture of creation produced upon the canvas of Love-life. Only the painter Brahmā paints with the brush of his all-powerful mind-force, which, the moment the design forms in his mind, is materialized into living substance. SECTION III. THE STEPS OF CREATION. The Veda says that the universe is like a tree; that is to say, it is a tree, the roots of which are embedded in the unmanifested First Cause—Krishna. Aniruddha is the seed, and Brahmā is the first sprout. This analogy between the seed and the sprout, between Aniruddha (also called Vishnoo and Nārāyan) and Brahmā seems so perfect that it justifies the conclusion that the process of the birth of a plant is only an imitation of the process through which the universe springs into being. As in the germination of a seed two lobes, called cotyledons, which form part of the seed, come out prior to the appearance of the stem which shoots forth between them, so out of the navel of Nārāyan (Aniruddha) first appear two cotyledons, called "Lotus" in the figurative language of the Veda, and between the cotyledons, sprouts forth the stem in the shape of Brahmā, who is the miniature embodiment of the universe. Before Brahmā was born, Nārāyan created Universal Consciousness, which was but the manifestation of his own Consciousness (called Mahat, which means Immeasureable). Out of Consciousness sprang Ego (Ahankāra). Out of Ego sprang Mind. Out of Mind sprang Ether (Akasha). From Ether sprang Water. Out of the friction of Ether and Water sprang Air. This Air, rising up from the ocean of Water with great noise, created, by its friction with Water, flames of Fire, illumining all space. This Fire became mixed up, by the cohesive attribute of Air, with Water and Ether, and all four elements became one thickened, molten mass; and as it rose upward the liquid substance which issued from it became solidified and cooled in process of time and formed into Earth. Then the Lotus (cotyledons) sprang forth from the navel (Sanscrit, Nāvee, middle) of Nārāyan, and within them Brahmā (the stem) shot forth. His body was made of the Five Elements and Consciousness, Mind and Ego. He is also said to be the central form-embodiment of Ego (Ahankāra). Brahmā is but the creative form-potency of Nārāyan. When Nārāyan bade him to meditate upon his former creation, and told him also that the moment that memory of former creation would awake within him creation would begin, Brahmā meditated as he was told, and creation began as that memory of the past creation flashed within him.