The Inner Path: 1

Vedantic philosophy teaches that the first step in spiritual practice is to discern between the self (atman) and the non-self (the world, the body, the mind). At the highest level, one perceives that only Brahman exists, and everything else is mere illusion. At this state, the individual soul, the cosmos, God, birth, death, merit, sin, teacher, disciple, liberation—none of these remain. There abides only the lifeless, formless, solitary Brahman.

To realize the nature of the self, one must renounce all thought, all form, all sensation. Even the meditation "I am Brahman" must be abandoned. This thoughtless state itself is the true "supreme condition"—where neither being nor experience exists. Finally arises the realization: "I am Brahman. I am consciousness. I am myself pure, eternal, attributeless bliss."

Then all the traditional methods of practice (listening, reflection, meditation) are transcended, and everything comes to seem like maya. Only consciousness is real. Even pilgrimage sites, ritual sacrifices, the Ganges and Rameswaram, the Upanishads, the Vedas—all are illusion. Yet these are each a "door woven of maya," through which entry into the non-illusory Brahman becomes possible. All is consciousness—the five elements, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, the three qualities, knowledge, memory, Vedanta, the self, the guru, action, bliss—all are consciousness. Therefore, whoever holds this knowledge in their heart gradually becomes Brahman in the form of the self.

To gain some understanding of this realization of the self's nature, let us proceed through dialogue.

Voice 1 (The Seeking Self): Is there anything true within this world? Or is it all imagination? Is only this feeling—"I exist"—what is real?
Voice 2 (The Inner-Knowing Self): What you think is this—the world, this body, the mind—all are non-self. There is only one self: formless, silent, full of consciousness.
Voice 1: Then what of the guru, God, creation, dharma? I have consciousness, I have thought, I have desire…
Voice 2: Know this well—there is no birth, no death. There are no scriptures, no spiritual practice. Brahman alone is, and all else is merely the shadow of illusion.
Voice 1: Then who am I? Is this "I" truly some singular existence?
Voice 2: There is no such thing as "I," no such thing as "you." This very distinction is the machinery of maya. You are Brahman—eternal, unconditioned, infinite!
Voice 1: Are the stories of the path of knowledge then merely tales? Created only to show the way?
Voice 2: They are all the theater of the path of knowledge—where the guru comes in disguise and asks the question: "Who is above? Who is below?"—and the student understands: "I and you" are both shadows of ignorance.
Voice 1: Then is the end of practice only silence? No meditation? No thought?
Voice 2: Not the "end" of practice, but the beginning lies there—where even the meditation "I am Brahman" does not exist, where even the identity called "knowledge" does not exist. There dwells only one, immovable, unconditioned consciousness.