Franklin Merrell-Wolff addresses the epistemological problem of imagining or conceptually deriving a consciousness that is not the function of a knower. He calls attention to the conscious effort at self-analysis that led to his fourth Realization that “I am Atman,” and he distinguishes this Realization from his fifth Realization of “Consciousness-without-an-object-and-without-a-subject”—a realization that walked into his consciousness unexpectedly and unsought. He emphasizes the importance of assuming a base of reference as true so that by dwelling upon its consequences one may create a favorable condition for its direct Realization. Wolff goes on to discuss the principle of perspective, or base of reference, and how it conditions our knowledge of the world and our cognition of reality. He reaffirms that Consciousness-without-an-object-and-without-a-subject can only be known through the Realization of an identity with the All that is unconditioned by our dualistic perspective.