ESSENCE OF ALL TEACHINGS

Change Your Idea of Yourself

Understanding is determined by knowledge. Attitude is shaped by understanding. peace and joy arise in the mind according to one's attitude. Take the case of an ordinary soldier. If he becomes a lieutenant, he feels more important. As he rises through the ranks from a lieutenant to a major and then to a brigadier general and finally assumes the position of commander-in-chief, his power increases progressively and so does his awareness of his stature. If he becomes the president of his country, his authority is far more pervasive and he also feels far more important. Actually this person remains the same throughout. What changes then? It is his own idea of himself. He felt insignificant while he was a soldier, but now he considers himself not a soldier but the president of his country. Similarly, if you give up the wrong view of yourself as a trivial, destitute, inferior, begging, and imprisoned creature and instead begin to feel that you are Shiva, the all-pervasive soul, that you are perfection itself, how much greater your joy will be! Stop looking upon yourself as a limited individual. Become firmly anchored in the sense of your own pervasiveness, of your ability, greatness, and purity.

Think - "I am the Self"

Remember the body is perishable. Eternity is only in the Self. Truth is only in the Self. Greatness is only in the Self. Before departing there is one thing you must do - and that is to attain the Self. You are the Self. The Self is yours. You are constantly thinking about your body and identifying yourself as a person. Stop! Discard that idea. Then think, "I am the Self. I am Consciousness." The fruit of thought is very great. What you attain in the end is what you think about all the time. So think, "I am the Self, I am Consciousness. I am beautiful." The Self is complete and pure and perfect. Whatever you do, wherever you go, sit calmly and contemplate the fact that your are the Self.

Illusion of Maya Versus Ultimate Reality

The world deceives us when we consider it to be simply the world as we see it. However, once we experience the blissful sport of Consciousness, the world is transformed into a haven of bliss.

Essence of All Teachings

I will explain the essence of thousands of scriptures in half a verse. This world is an illusion. There is no difference between the individual soul and the supreme Soul. They are one and the same. This was the teaching of Shankaracharya, who wrote:

This world is the creation of the mind.
Once the mind becomes mindless,
there is no world.
There is only heaven.