Since the author is not around to ask, and since I do not know Tamil, the original language of the text, only its English translation, I have changed the wording in this chapter in relation to the ego and the Self –including the chapter title–because it is confusing and misleading. Sometimes the ahankara (ego) is addressed and at other times the Self, the jivatman, of someone who has not realized his true Self-nature is addressed. Yet “ego” is used in all instances, and Brahman is called Universal Ego, rather than the Paramatman, the Supreme Self. (The commentator).
1. Oh ego [ahankara], false self, all the evils of the world are from you. To crush you, the kings make laws and the wise give lessons. In spite of their efforts from time immemorial, alas! you are yet alive; you simply go into hiding and reappear again and again. Can there be no end to you? Yea, it is surely approaching. Another, true Self has started to kill you. It is the knowledge, the Consciousness, of the Universal Self, the Paramatman, referred to in the Mahavakya Aham Brahmasmi: “I am Brahman.”
2. Oh ego, think not that your enemy is of your kind. You are perishable whereas He is not. You are conceited as “I” because you always differentiate as “I,” “you” and “he,” but your enemy is free from this conceit. How? He harmonizes all differences, resolves all into Himself. Moreover, you feel enmity towards Him because He has arisen to kill you. But He has no ill-feelings towards you. How is this? Because you are not to be found in His presence. He regards you as a part of His limbs. Your loss in his proximity is the working of your own falsity; He would not think of killing you because you are of no consequence in His sight. Therefore, ego, you are His enemy, but He is not yours. More briefly put, you are your own enemy. Why? Owing to your greed you flaunted yourself before the Great One as you would elsewhere. Instantly, you were lost; therefore, the Universal Self obscures you by devouring you and then shines forth as All-light.
3. Oh ego, the evils of your works have no limits. You are not content unless you are exalted above others and others are lowered before you. Endless are your desires, such as “By what title shall I gain honor?” “In what form shall I appear elegant?” “Do others bow to me? Do others obey me in silence?” “Do others say that no one excels me?” Alas! How short is your life! And yet to how much do you aspire! And how much evil you do! You have deluded yourself that there is happiness in such ideas and in differentiating yourself from all others. This is not to your good. Why not? Are not others also entitled to all these? What is your share in things which are common to millions and millions of others? Such being the case, do not desire in vain to rule over all. By your vain desire you bring about evil to yourself and to others.
Oh jivatman, individual Self, in the hypnotic grip of this terrible evil of ahankara! Listen to my friendly advice. Truly speaking, He whom you regard as your mortal enemy because you identify with the ego is your friend. He knows how to make you worthy of true greatness and blessings. Surrender to Him. This Universal Self does not treat you as an enemy but is your greatest benefactor.
4. By no means can you discover what He will make of you unless you surrender yourself to Him. However much I may speak of it, you cannot understand. It is a matter of experience. Doubtless He will do nothing less than exalt you to His state. Therefore, be not perplexed about your future; directly surrender yourself. You can always turn away if joy does not overtake you from the very instant of surrender. Just as the drinking of milk starts with an agreeable taste and ends with the satisfaction of hunger, so also surrender starts with delight and ends with Perfect Bliss, which lies beyond even pleasure and pain. Therefore your goal, without doubt, is this Universal Self (I-Am-Brahman).
5. O jivatman, true individual Self, what will be your new name after surrender? There is no name besides yours. The Vedas laud you; the world praises you; the essence of religious teachings is yourself. Then what is your form? All forms are yours. There is no form which is not yours. What is installed in the temples of worship is you; what is described in the Vedas is you; festivities and celebrations are all for you. Now what can be your power? In your presence the world is active; each is what it is, because of you. Briefly said, all things glorify you and bear witness to your being. They are duty bound to do so. You would not have even dreamt that this will be your state. Start at once, be not self-conceited. The Universal Self, the Paramatman, awaits you.
6. Do you wish to wake up from your dream or continue in it? How long will the dream images last? Be not idle, shake off your sleep, wake up! You are witnessing your own mental images and imagining more and more. It is all in vain. Just find out who it is that sees the visions. Do not delude yourself that you are these that rise and sink in you. Wake up. The instant you wake up you will know that waking is better than this dream. Get up! The Universal Self waits to rejoice at seeing you awake.
7. Fear not the cessation of the present ego dream. Once you are awake you will enjoy the same all the more. You will no longer be deluded and will observe it with cheerful detachment, unconfused. The folly of all appearances will be understood and you will have no burdens. In dream your mental imagery assumes shapes. On waking you know the dream as just a dream. Do not mistake dream for the waking state. Know the dream as dream. For doing so, you must reach the state of “I-am-Brahman” (the Universal Self) and wake from the illusion of the ego.
8. I have instructed you for your good and not in my own interest. If you believe me, you should act upon what I have taught you. On the other hand, if you see no good in what I have said, then turn away from this ideal. How can I help you if my advice and all the advice of the saints do not make any impression on you? No state is higher than this. Believe me, it is for your good that you realize this truth; and through you others may realize the same. Be free from self-conceit. Start at once. Realize that the Universal Self is your own.
9. Oh jivatman, see how you are a slave to all and therefore suffer. How pitiable is your state! All are hostile to you! When you say “for me only,” all others will also contend “for me only, for me only.” When you say “I am great,” they protest, “Why? We are also.” All are hostile to you. Owing to the troubles caused by others, your mental images increase a millionfold. Should you not rise above them and profit by surrendering to a Master? Then all your enemies will befriend you. If you say to others, “All these are yours,” everyone becomes your friend. There is only One who can make you that magnanimous and that is “I-am-Brahman” (Universal Self).
10. I shall say one word only and this is not owing to my egoism. It is simply my duty. I do not say this word just for your or my good alone. It is for the good of all.
The truth is “I-am-Brahman” (Universal Self).
Commentary
1. Oh ego [ahankara], false self, all the evils of the world are from you.
This is a very sober and correct assessment of ego and the evils it has unleashed upon the world through those in its grip. Since everything is essentially consciousness, and the human being is essentially conscious, a person’s mind which is formed of intelligent energy (shakti) often seems to have a life of its own. For this reason the ego–which is part of the lower mind–is being spoken to like this.
From ego comes countless negative things such as pride, arrogance, violence, deceit, oppression and crimes of many kinds, including murder. Ego is the demon within, and those who do not realize this are susceptible to its devious ways. The yogi especially must know this, for nothing is more hateful to the ego than the prospect of its weakening or complete dissolution by the attainment of higher consciousness. The means to that attainment is yoga sadhana, the most effective of all approaches and practices, and thus the most important. Consequently the ego will do everything in its power (which is given to it by the individual) to prevent the yogi from engaging in sadhana. This is done in many ways in order to either stop the yogi from continuing his sadhana or in some way to reduce or ruin the practice–which includes getting him to practice the worthless or harmful methods of false yoga propagated by false gurus.
To crush you, the kings make laws and the wise give lessons. In spite of their efforts from time immemorial, alas! you are yet alive; you simply go into hiding and reappear again and again.
This is especially so since the ego masquerades as the yogi’s true Self, the Atman. And it is most adept at hiding itself behind its machinations and even fooling the yogi into thinking that its impulses are coming from either himself or from higher beings–even from God. Also the ego hides for awhile and lulls the sadhaka into thinking that has “conquered the ego,” only to reappear even worse and stronger than before.
Can there be no end to you? Yea, it is surely approaching. Another, True Self has started to kill you. It is the knowledge, the Consciousness, of the Universal Self, the Paramatman, referred to in the Mahavakya Aham Brahmasmi: “I am Brahman.”
This is why those around the beginner yogi often become relentless foes of his yoga sadhana. Their egos are being unsettled by the change in him. But it is the yogi himself that is responsible for his turning from the upward path, often saying that he was “losing control of” his own mind and life, even often denouncing yoga as “of the devil” if he is religiously inclined. This reason this occurs is simple: yoga sadhana carried on intensely and continuously in time banishes the ego from its usurped throne and dissolves it in the dawning of the Consciousness of the Universal Self, the Paramatman whose very Presence in the yogi’s consciousness is the awareness: “I Am Brahman.” If the yogi identifies with the ego he feels pressured and even becomes fearful, thinking that he might die either by losing his mind or ruining his health in some way. Clinging to his false self and his false life–both of which must “die”–he turns from the path of light back into his former darkness which he is used to and finds comfortable. Or he does so, afraid and intimidated by the threatenings and dire predictions of his ego and the egos of those around him.
Speaking as the consciousness of his own revealed Self, Jesus said: “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:36-39).
2. Oh ego, think not that your enemy is of your kind. You are perishable whereas He is not.
The Self and the ego are exact opposites: one is real and the other is both an illusion and a delusion. Where the ego reigns the Self remains unknown, but where the Self is revealed the ego vanishes like the mirage it actually is. Only the yogi can come to know and experience this.
You are conceited as “I” because you always differentiate as “I,” “you” and “he,” but your enemy is free from this conceit.
The consciousness of Unity–of the Self with the Supreme Self; of the jivatman with the Paramatman–dispels the false ago which is like a person with crossed eyes who always sees two when there is really only one.
How? He harmonizes all differences, resolves all into Himself.
This is to be known by every yogi as the “innermost secret: knowledge of God which is nearer than knowing, open vision direct and instant” (Bhagavad Gita 9:1).
Moreover, you feel enmity towards Him because he has arisen to kill you. But He has no ill-feelings towards you. How is this? Because you are not to be found in His presence. He regards you as a part of His limbs.
The Self does not perceive the ego as a reality, and so cannot have any reaction to it at all. Since the ego is an entity formed of mayic shakti, it can be considered a momentary extension of the atma shakti that the Self knows as ultimately unreal.
Your loss in His proximity is the working of your own falsity; He would not think of killing you because you are of no consequence in His sight. Therefore, ego, you are His enemy, but He is not yours.
God, being Absolute Reality, there is no possibility of his relating to what is not fundamentally real. At the active presence of the Self the ego dissolves, but it is not from any enmity on the part of God or the Self. Rather, being unreal, the Reality dispels its false appearance, for the ego exists only as a mirage, an hallucination. Therefore all that is done under the influence of ego is equally unreal to those who have attained the Self.
More briefly put, you are your own enemy. Why? Owing to your greed you flaunted yourself before the Great One as you would elsewhere. Instantly, you were lost; therefore, the Universal Self obscures you by devouring you and then shines forth as All-light.
There it is in the proverbial nutshell! May we embody this Truth through ourselves shining forth as All-light.
3. Oh ego, the evils of your works have no limits. You are not content unless you are exalted above others and others are lowered before you. Endless are your desires, such as “By what title shall I gain honor?” “In what form shall I appear elegant?” “Do others bow to me? Do others obey me in silence?” “Do others say that no one excels me?”
Alas! How short is your life! And yet to how much do you aspire! And how much evil you do!
You have deluded yourself that there is happiness in such ideas and in differentiating yourself from all others. This is not to your good. Why not? Are not others also entitled to all these? What is your share in things which are common to millions and millions of others? Such being the case, do not desire in vain to rule over all. By your vain desire you bring about evil to yourself and to others.
Oh jivatman, individual Self, in the hypnotic grip of this terrible evil of ahankara! Listen to my friendly advice. Truly speaking, He whom you regard as your mortal enemy because you identify with the ego is your friend.
It is a terrible thing to see our ego-enemy as a friend and our Atman-Self as an enemy when in reality the Self is our only friend. Therefore: “What is man’s will and how shall he use it? Let him put forth its power to uncover the Atman, not hide the Atman: man’s will is the only friend of the Atman: his will is also the Atman’s enemy. For when a man is self-controlled, his will is the Atman’s friend. But the will of an uncontrolled man is hostile to the Atman, like an enemy” (Bhagavad Gita 6:5-6).
He knows how to make you worthy of true greatness and blessings. Take refuge [sharanam] in Him. This Universal Self does not treat you as an enemy but is your greatest benefactor.
Often we find stated in spiritual writings that we should “surrender” to God and the Self. But we are at war with God and the Self only as a result of our delusion. We need not surrender to God and the Self, for they are not our enemies. Rather, we need to become sharanagatis and take refuge in God and the Self. Then we will be safe from ego and its ploys and hallucinations. As the Gita counsels us:
“Seek refuge in enlightenment” (2:49).
“Flying from fear, from lust and anger, he hides in me his refuge, his safety: burnt clean in the blaze of my being, in me many find home” (Bhagavad Gita 4:10).
“Therefore, having severed with the sword of your own knowledge this doubt that proceeds from ignorance abiding in your heart, arise! Take refuge in yoga” (4:42).
“With mind absorbed in me, practicing yoga, taking refuge in me, hear how without doubt you shall know me completely” (7:1).
“Truly this divine illusion (maya) of mine made of the gunas (gunamayi) is difficult to go beyond (penetrate; master). Verily only those who attain me (take refuge in me) shall pass beyond this illusion (maya)” (7:14).
“At the end of many births the wise man takes refuge in me. He knows: All is Vasudeva [He Who Dwells in All Things]. How very rare is that great soul” (7:19).
‘Those who strive toward freedom from old age and dying, taking refuge in me, know Brahman totally, and know the Self [Adhyatma] and karma perfectly” (7:29).
“[I am] the Goal, the Sustainer, the Lord, the Witness, the Abode, the Refuge, the Friend, the Origin (Birth), the Dissolution, the Foundation, the Treasure house and the Imperishable (Eternal) Seed” (9:18).
“Truly, those who take refuge in me… attain the Supreme Goal” (9:32).
“Then that place is to be sought to which, having gone, they do not return again: ‘In that Primeval Purusha from which streamed forth the ancient Power, I take refuge’” (15:4).
“Doing all actions always, taking refuge in me, by my grace he attains the eternal, immutable (imperishable) state (abode)” (18:56).
“The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, causing them by his maya to revolve as if mounted on a machine. Fly unto him alone for refuge with your whole being. By that grace you shall attain supreme peace and the eternal abode” (18:61-62).
“Abandoning all duties, take refuge in me alone; then I shall free (liberate) you from all evils (sins; demerits), do not grieve” (18:66).
4. By no means can you discover what He will make of you unless you take refuge in Him.
I wish I knew exactly what the Tamil original says here, because quite frankly I am not comfortable with the idea that the Absolute will “make” something of me, when in reality we can never be anything but what we already are: the Self. Certainly the Self is to be revealed or realized, and that will necessarily bring about a change in my prakriti, in the manifest part of me that is an adjunct, but not in my eternal, permanent atman. Nothing can be added to that or taken away from it. The dream will definitely change, but the dreamer will never be changed. Otherwise Non-duality is not the prevailing truth of all existence. The Self cannot be changed, any more than Brahman, its Essence, can be changed. I grew up with this “clay in the potter’s hand” view of man and God, but it is nonsense and prevents its adherents from seeing the truth about themselves. And it keeps them from seeking the truth of their own being, which they cannot find (discover) unless they actively seek it.
However much I may speak of it, you cannot understand. It is a matter of experience.
This is certainly the truth; so why are there volumes and volumes of “Advaita” philosophy that claim to reveal the reality of our essential non-dual being to us by our mere reading of their words? When the future Swami Turiyananda met Sri Ramakrishna he told him that he studied Advaita texts for several hours a day. Ramakrishna was amazed and asked him why he needed to do such a thing since Shankara himself had written: “I shall tell you in half a sloka [verse] what has been written in tens of millions of books: Brahman is real. The world is illusory. The jiva is nothing other than Brahman.” This is why the Gita speaks of the “innermost secret: knowledge of God which is nearer than knowing, open vision direct and instant” (9:1), which can only be attained through yoga sadhana. We must KNOW the Self.
Doubtless He will do nothing less than exalt you to His state. Therefore, be not perplexed about your future; directly take refuge in Him.
Here again I could use an accurate translation. It is true that in the matter of Self-realization Seeing Is Becoming. But only for the yogi. Not for anyone else. And since we engage in the sadhana that gives us the transforming experience, it is not amiss to say that we exalt/enlighten ourselves. For our Self is what we seek–not the Self of another. And we awaken to the fact of the Self’s reality through our intellect that is illumined by our intuition–not through the intellect of anyone else. And we realize the Self throughout own effort, through our own sadhana practice–not through the action of anyone else. Not even through God, though it is only through the divine power that we are able to realize the Self.
In Light of Soham there is the following exchange between Mr. Moreshwarrao Mathure and Sri Gajanana Maharaj.
Mathure: It is said that one must have the support (adhishthana) of God. Please explain to me what is meant by this.
Maharaj: Mathure, you have learnt too much Vedanta. I myself feel that there is no support of any thing to any other thing. Do not pay any attention to the above-mentioned saying regarding the support of God. Try to get the support of your own Self. Make the three things one: the meditator, the act of meditation and the entity to be meditated upon. And be absorbed into the state of joy. It will be of no use reading and discussing about what is written in thousands of books. In order to attain one’s goal three things are necessary: association with saints, devotion towards one’s guru and disgust with worldly life. If your conduct is pure, if you try to follow the principles of morality, and your mind is full of disinterested devotion and you repeat the mantra given by your guru, your mind is sure to be ultimately purified. He who experiences the joy of his own Self naturally and easily follows these rules of conduct!
You can always turn away if joy does not overtake you from the very instant of taking refuge.
Just as the drinking of milk starts with an agreeable taste and ends with the satisfaction of hunger, so also taking refuge starts with delight and ends with Perfect Bliss, which lies beyond even pleasure and pain. Therefore your goal, without doubt, is this Universal Self (I-Am-Brahman).
Great relief and happiness and ease of heart–parama sukha–arises in those who truly take refuge in the Self by devoting themselves to yoga sadhana and the complete observance of Sanatana Dharma in all its aspects and principles. Yogananda, Dharmananda, Satyananda and Purnananda shall be theirs always.
5. O jivatman, true individual Self, what will be your new name after taking refuge? There is no name besides yours.
And that name is Paramatmananda: the Bliss of the Supreme Self.
The Vedas laud you; the world praises you; the essence of religious teachings is yourself.
For you are Purnaparamatmananda: The Full Joy Of The Supreme Self.
Then what is your form? All forms are yours. There is no form which is not yours.
What is installed in the temples of worship is you; what is described in the Vedas is you; festivities and celebrations are all for you.
Now what can be your power? In your presence the world is active; each is what it is, because of you.
Briefly said, all things glorify you and bear witness to your being. They are duty bound to do so.
You would not have even dreamt that this will be your state.
Start at once, be not self-conceited.
The Universal Self, the Paramatman, awaits you.
It only remains for you to awaken in yourself the Reality that has always been there. And how shall it be awakened? “Be a yogi” (Bhagavad Gita 6:46).
6. Do you wish to wake up from your dream or continue in it? How long will the dream images last? Be not idle, shake off your sleep, wake up!
The call to us is that with which Swami Vivekananda, continually exhorted his hearers: “Awake! Arise! And stop not until you reach the Goal!”
How? “Be a yogi.”
You are witnessing your own mental images and imagining more and more. It is all in vain. Just find out who it is that sees the visions.
That “Who” is the true “I” in the Mahavakya Aham Brahmasmi: your own Self. Tat Twam Asi: That You Are!
Do not delude yourself that you are these images and imaginings that rise and sink in you.
At the beginning of this commentary I mentioned that when Sri Ramakrishna was asked, “What is the Self?” he replied: “The witness of the mind.” Now the author is reminding us that all of our sensory experiences, our thoughts and feelings–all that is based on our external awareness–are “images and imaginings” that are only neurological interpretations of the outside things which stimulate our senses which in turn relay the impulses to the brain which are interpreted by the mind. To identify with these impressions and say, “This is me” in response to them is a grave mistake. For we are never the witnessed–only the witness. The only satisfactory answer to the question “who are you?” is “consciousness itself.” Consciousness is both the who and the what of our existence. Again we come back to the truth that all is a dream, the only reality being the dreamer.
The impressions that rise and subside solely in our mind can never be our true Self. But nearly all beings in relative existence are drowned in the illusion that they are.
Wake up. The instant you wake up you will know that waking is better than this dream. Get up! The Universal Self waits to rejoice at seeing you awake.
This is good advice, but how do we awake? There is only one process of awakening into reality: yoga sadhana. So in a sense the only real thing we ever do is sadhana.
7. Fear not the cessation of the present ego dream. Once you are awake you will enjoy the same all the more. You will no longer be deluded and will observe it with cheerful detachment, unconfused. The folly of all appearances will be understood and you will have no burdens.
There can be fear of awakening and ending the dream, but that fear is the fear of the ego, the fear of the ego-mirage that knows it will cease to exist upon our awakening. Those that identify with the ego will both hate and fear the truth of our Self and the possibility that we can awaken into it and leave egoic delusions behind forever. But our true Self will rejoice in the freedom it will gain after creation cycles of being deluded and bound.
There is a joke about a drunk man who was walking along with one foot on the sidewalk and the other down on the street. Someone stopped him and asked, “What are you doing walking with one foot on the walk and the other in the street?” “I am?” spluttered the man, who looked down and burst into tears and exclaimed, “Thank God! I thought I was a cripple!” That is how it will be with us when we awaken from the ego-dream.
In dream your mental imagery assumes shapes. On waking you know the dream as just a dream. Do not mistake dream for the waking state. Know the dream as dream. For doing so, you must reach the state of “I-am-Brahman” (the Universal Self) and wake from the illusion of the ego.
And that is done very simply by awakening into the consciousness of Soham: I Am That. And Soham Sadhana, Soham Yoga, is the way to awaken.
8. I have instructed you for your good and not in my own interest.
It is a rare thing to find a “spiritual teacher” who is teaching for the good of others rather than his own reputation, benefit and gain of disciples. But such do exist, and when found should be valued highly and listened to and taken seriously. For a picture of a true and worthy teacher, read Light of Soham, for Sri Gajanana Maharaj was an ideal example of both student and teacher.
If you believe me, you should act upon what I have taught you.
It may seem strange that someone might believe something and yet not act upon that belief. But billions are doing so this day, and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives. We, however, should be wise and true to ourselves and act without delay, realizing that in all things there are tides which help and tides which hinder. The moment we learn of higher truths that is itself evidence that if we act upon them we will succeed in spiritual attainment. But any delay may bring about a shift in the karmic tides that govern all of us, and we may miss the opportunity to realize those truths.
On the other hand, if you see no good in what I have said, then turn away from this ideal.
This is exactly what a worthy–and therefore an honest and responsible–teacher will say to you. Consider what he says and either act or do not act upon his words. At all times you must be in complete charge of your spiritual life. The decision to follow the counsel of a teacher should be in your hands alone. Any teacher who tries to cajole or push you into anything in any manner is a fraud and a danger to you. Avoid such a one, and flee if you are already in his influence. Only harm can come to you from such a person.
How can I help you if my advice and all the advice of the saints do not make any impression on you?
The mind is a field of magnetic energy. According to its polarity it perceives and is attracted to something that is on its own vibratory level or character. Unless someone is on the same “frequency” of an idea or a teacher, no lasting impression or effect can occur. If we wish to attune ourselves to the right wave length, the vibration of truth, we must immerse ourselves in sadhana that will open our understanding and awareness to spiritual realities. There is no other way, for sadhana alone develops the spiritual consciousness.
No state is higher than this. Believe me, it is for your good that you realize this truth; and through you others may realize the same.
This is absolutely so.
Be free from self-conceit.
Ego is the great obstacle to all genuine spiritual unfoldment.
Start at once.
There is no tomorrow or Later On. There is only Now. Those who cultivate the habit of delay have already defeated themselves.
Realize that the Universal Self is your own.
Aspire to this Supreme Ideal alone. Then set about to realize it through Soham Sadhana and come to know without any doubt: Soham–I Am That.
9. Oh jivatman, see how you are a slave to all and therefore suffer. How pitiable is your state! All are hostile to you! When you say “for me only,” all others will also contend “for me only, for me only.” When you say “I am great,” they protest, “Why? We are also.” All are hostile to you. Owing to the troubles caused by others, your mental images increase a millionfold. Should you not rise above them and profit by taking refuge in a Master?
These words demonstrate that you and you alone are the master of your fate. What you choose is what you will have. Let there be no more delay.
Then all your enemies will befriend you. If you say to others, “All these are yours,” everyone becomes your friend. There is only One who can make you that magnanimous and that is “I-am-Brahman” (the Universal Self).
When the turnaround is complete and permanent, then the universe itself becomes the sadhaka’s best friend in finding and treading the way. The doors will open and the path shine before you. You will find it to be so. As Buddha said: “Turn around and lo! The other shore.”
10. I shall say one word only and this is not owing to my egoism. It is simply my duty. I do not say this word just for your or my good alone. It is for the good of all.
The truth is “I-am-Brahman” (Universal Self).
Nothing more need be said.
Farewell.
***