On the day you see the light of your own true Self, you’ll rejoice!
But if you only see forms which from the beginning were in you,
and don’t die to them or know them,
how can you stand the light?
– From the gospel of Thomas
Neither this body am I, nor soul,
Nor these fleeting images passing by,
Nor concepts and thoughts, mental images,
Nor yet sentiments and the psyche’s labyrinth.
Who then am I?
A consciousness without origin,
Not born in time, nor begotten here below.
I am that which was, is and ever shall be,
A jewel in the crown of the Divine Self,
A star in the firmament of the luminous One.
– Rumi
For those struggling in midstream,
in great fear of the flood,
of growing old and of dying –
for all those I say, an island exists
where there is no place for impediments,
no place for clinging:
the island of no going beyond.
I call it nirvana,
the complete destruction
of old age and dying.
– Buddha
We are completely unaware of our true nature because we identify ourselves with our body, our emotions and our thoughts, thus losing sight of our unchanging centre, which is pure consciousness. When we return to our true nature, our thoughts and perceptions no longer appear as modifications of a single substance, they come into being and subside like waves of the ocean.
– Jean Klein