How does the author of Chapter 26 describe the concept of Maya and the nature of the physical world?

Chapter 26 explains that the physical world and the entire universe are an illusion created by Maya. The text uses several powerful analogies to illustrate this point. It compares the world to a city reflected in a mirror, which appears real but does not truly exist there. It is also likened to a dream born of desires that vanishes upon waking. As detailed in this chapter, from the Creator down to a simple blade of grass, everything physical is imagined and merely a display of Maya. This illusion is born from ignorance of one's true nature, similar to how one might mistake a rope for a snake in the dark. True knowledge, granted by a Guru, dissolves this illusory world.