1.
"I am"—this is the first arising, the eternal, forever present.
Abandon all thought. Rest only in this sense of "I am."
Are you aware that you are?
This "I am" or "I exist"—this feeling lies at the root of your being. Upon it alone is all knowledge built.
Nothing would be if you were not. First, your sense of "being" itself is the precondition of all else. Without you, experience has no meaning.
Second, before all the feelings of life begin—what came first? This sense of "I am" is the first awakening of all things. Return to that beginning moment when first you felt it—"I am." To become full, become empty.
This awareness persists still—eternal, unchanging, always available. It has never left. This is the root thought. Everything else is but passing shadow. So cast aside all mental disturbances and return to this sense of "I am"—dwell there.
Deeply realize this sense of existence, "I am." The clearer this contemplation becomes, the swifter your liberation. This teaching echoes the words of sages and self-realized yogis—abandon the thought "I" and abide in the true nature of the Self alone.
2.
Place yourself only in the feeling of "I am," and remain unmoved there. Whatever does not accord with this "I am," reject it wholly.
In every way you can, come to know "I am"—then simply dwell in that consciousness.
Establish yourself in the feeling of existence itself, and swerve nowhere else.
Whenever you begin to think of anything else, know this—something has been added to "I am"—something that corrupts its purity, that falsifies it.
Any feeling that adds something to "I am"—such as "I am sad," "I am wise," "I am something"—all are distortions.
"I am" + anything = impurity. These obscure consciousness. So reject all sense of "I am with something"—abide only in "I am." For all else is appearance, unreal addition, and obscures the Self in falsity.
"I am"—this is a primary awareness, yet within it lies the seed of ultimate liberation. When this awareness becomes solitary, bare, unsupported—then it pierces through to the gate of non-dual consciousness.
3.
Strip from the root of "I" all qualities, all labels. "I am this," "I am that," "I am so-and-so"—these are all imposed coverings. These are the garments of personality, not the Self—a cage of identity forged by society, that imprisons your infinitude.
Ceaselessly, with patience, undertake a silent practice—separate "I" from the false equation with "this" or "that." Only feel—"I am." This alone suffices.
Remember, this is no mere talk. It is a difficult yoga. Not only at the level of thought, but through every layer of existence must this understanding ripple forth. For what you are not, you have become only through habit.
Habit is the greatest obstacle on the path of the eternal. Therefore, cast away all definitions, all labels, all the coverings of thought. Keep nothing, only your silent presence—"I"—which has no birth, no death, which simply is—in light, in silence, in existence.
4.
"I am"—this alone is beyond all doubt. It is impersonal, detached, without personality. The source of all knowledge, the root, the central point—this "I," this silent presence. Cling to it, and let all else dissolve like a dream.
From the day you first felt it—"I am," until now—this awareness has not changed. There was no language then, no thought—yet you were. In that silent, wordless feeling lies your truth.
Then came name, identity, language, society—these were merely layers over "I." They came, and they depart—they will depart. But "I am"—this fundamental awareness has not altered by a hair's breadth. This alone is permanent, eternal, indestructible being.
This "I" belongs to no one person—it awakens equally in all. It is pre-linguistic, pre-conceptual—such a primal feeling that it reveals itself with waking itself.
From this infinitesimal awareness springs all knowledge, all intellect, all experience. Therefore, if you seek truth—hold fast to this ‘I’. Gradually relinquish all artificial notions, all identities, all the arrogance of knowing.
Simply remain—in this wakeful, silent presence, where you merely ‘are’. You are nothing else, nor do you wish to become anything else.
5.
“I am”—this feeling alone is certain knowledge, this alone is the root of all existence. In this knowing of “I” lies contained the whole of being, for without this “I” there is nothing else.
When you feel—”I am”, then the entire world awakens. Before that, nothing exists, for the awareness of that “I” is the ground of all perception.
This “I-ness” is singular—identical in all, present everywhere; it is the only universal being, undivided, unconditional, trustworthy.
Cast aside all external notions, all identities, all burdens and mental torments—return to the shelter of this pristine “selfhood”. This alone brings peace to the mind, heals the affliction of thought.
The mind itself is the seat of disease, and “I” is its medicine. All the identities, memories, and desires superimposed upon “I” are truly a mental sickness. Yet even within this lies a hidden intimation—that this very pristine “I-am” has something beyond it—as though this feeling of “I” itself is but the threshold of a being—behind it stands yet another presence, silent and singular, beyond the reach of intellect.
“I am”—this worldly awareness is not false, yet it is partial. It is but a reflection of the original being. Until you embrace “I” and cross beyond it, liberation remains impossible. That ‘beyond’—where even the word “I” dissolves, and there remains only the immaculate, formless, silent, untouchable truth itself.