The Upanishads have declared,
tat tvam asi
तत् त्वम असि
You are that, not this.
If you constantly keep this in mind, you are already into the spiritual life.
What happens is that all of us play a role in this world, every one of us – husband, wife, businessman, producer, actor, worker, etc. To play the role is alright. You play a good role, and then what happens? When you go home, are you still playing the role? Or have you wiped off your greasepaint, and you’re back to who you are.
Don’t forget that you are not what you are projecting. Because it’s a role, you can’t carry it into real life.
So, what is real? The reality is that you are the self, the inner self. I’m that essence, a part of the all-pervading supreme reality. If this thought occurs, you see the supreme being in every little leaf and grain of sand. It has to settle down, absorbed within, and then you see the inner and the outer as the same.
All other things are role-playing. Role-playing is the root of all sorrow. Break this shape, and you have reality.
