Illusion Only in the Present

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Consider how minute the taste buds are while you taste something sweet on your tongue. It is the Self that is aware of even in which roots of hair there is some itching. There is nothing that He does not know. He is that Inner-Consciousness, which is called the Self, "Atman". When a man has full conviction that the true "I" is the one who is the innermost dweller of all beings, this itself becomes the great accomplishment, or siddhi. When a warrior has the conviction that he is a brave fighter of noble descent, accordingly, he very naturally exhibits great courage in battle. The very feeling that "I am brave" makes a man valiant. In order to make illusion disappear, forget all things from the past. Whatever is in the past has to be invited back by us in order to follow us, otherwise it is gone. The slate is something that is to be written on, and then always wiped clean.

Illusion is not in the background, nor is it in the front, or in the future, but it is only in the present. Its existence is not real. It is only illusion, a fleeting appearance. Wipe it out from the mind. Forget the mind itself. In illusion there are only six principles, the five elements and the Self, or Knowledge. There is nothing else. Do not bother to put the effort to think of anything. You are saying and thinking about things because they were said sometime in the past, otherwise what would be there for you to understand? Nothing. Illusion is strange. You think about and see everybody as fools or donkeys, then they appear as such. Really, all is only Brahman.