Yoga Vasishta Sara Chapter 2, verses 5 - 11

This long-living ghost of a samsara which is the creation of the deluded mind of man and the cause of his sufferings disappears when one ponders over it.

O Rama, maya is such that it brings delight through its own destruction; its nature is inscrutable; it ceases to exist even while it is being observed.

Dear boy, wonderful indeed is the maya which deludes the entire world. It is on account of it that that the Self is not perceived even though it pervades all the limbs of the body.

Whatever is seen does not truly exist. It is like the mythical city of Gandharvas (fata margin) or a mirage.

That which is not seen, though within us, is called the eternal and indestructible self.

Just as the trees on the bank of a lake are reflected in the water, so also all these varied objects are reflected in the vast mirror of our consciousness.
 

This creation, which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up, like the delusion of a snake in a rope (when there is ignorance) and comes to an end when there is right knowledge.