Awaken the Mind

Sage Vasishtha

Resolve the confusion between the body and the self, and you will be at peace at once. Even as a nugget of gold fallen into mud is never spoiled by mud, the self is untainted by the body. I repeat, with uplifted arms I proclaim, "The self is one thing and the body is another, even as the water and the lotus", but no one listens to me! As long as inert and insentient mind pursues the path of pleasure, so long this darkness of world-illusion cannot be dispelled. But, the moment one awakens from this and enquires into the nature of the self, this darkness is dispelled at once. Hence, one should constantly endeavor to awaken the mind which dwells in the body in order that one may go beyond the process of becoming - for such becoming is fraught with sorrow.