Towards the essence of being

It is irrefutably established that the absorption of the mind into the heart is the ultimate goal of many spiritual quests. Through the controlled breath, the mind dissolves, like a net catching birds in the infinite sky. Mental activity and vital energies, endowed with consciousness and action, take root in the same primordial power, like the roots of an ancient tree.

The absorption and attestation of the mind is accomplished through the control of the breath and the mind. The absorbed mind returns, but the one that dies never returns. Fixed on a single point, it disappears and is extinguished, like a flame blown by the wind. He whose mind is extinguished and who rests in the essence of being has attained his true nature, infinite and timeless, like an ocean of tranquility.

When the mind withdraws from external objects and contemplates its own light, that is true wisdom, like a mirror reflecting the brightness of dawn. Ever scrutinizing its own form, it discovers that no entity called mind can be found, like a mirage in the desert. This is the direct path for all. The mind is but an aggregate of thoughts, like a cloud of butterflies in a field of flowers. Of all thoughts, the thought “I” is the root. Seek this “I” within, and it will disappear, like a mirage in the desert. This is the quest for wisdom. When the ego is mastered, the Self, supreme and infinite, shines forth as the “I.” After the individual “I” has been immersed in pure consciousness, the cosmic “I” also becomes immersed in that purity. The Self, indestructible, shines forth in its true nature, like an eternal diamond.

I am the one existence. Neither body, nor essence, nor vital breath, nor ignorance, for all that is inert is non-existent. Where is that other consciousness that would illuminate existence? There is none, for existence is consciousness, and I am that one consciousness. From the point of view of the gross and subtle sheaths, there is a difference between the divine essence and the individual, but in their true nature, only the supreme reality exists. He who renounces the sheaths obtains Self-realization.

To see the divine essence as the true Self is the true realization of the absolute. To know the Self is to be the Self. Consciousness, devoid of thoughts of knowledge and ignorance, is pure. Is there any knowledge other than consciousness to know the Self? No, there is none. What is my true nature? By questioning oneself in this way, one realizes the Self, discovering that I am consciousness, plenitude, immutable bliss. Abiding in this state of supreme bliss transcends all thoughts of servitude and deliverance. This is truly serving the Absolute. The realization of what remains when all traces of “I” have disappeared.