The Identities we carry

Śiṣya: Gurudeva, I feel trapped.

My mind clings to the identities tied to this body—

my name, my roles, my wounds, my ambitions.

How can I realise the ātman while living inside this shell?

Guru: My child, the prison is not the shell.

The prison is the belief that the shell is you.

A bird sitting inside a cage is bound,

but a bird sitting on a cage is free.

The shell is still present in both cases.

Śiṣya: But I keep strengthening these identities unconsciously.

Every day I react, compare, defend…

It feels as though I am polishing the cage instead of opening it.

Guru: Indeed.

Effort spent on polishing the cage will only make the cage shine.

It will not free you.

The mind becomes what it repeatedly touches.

But listen carefully:

You do not reach the soul by constructing a new identity.

You reach the soul by dissolving the false ones.

Śiṣya: If the ātman is already within,

why do we not see it?

Guru: Because the Self is subtle and the noise of identity is loud.

The sun is always shining, but clouds made of your likes, dislikes, fears, and demands keep you from recognising its light.

Śiṣya: Then should I give up everything, Gurudeva?

My possessions, relationships, duties?

Guru: No, child.

Giving up the world is easy for a coward.

Giving up the attachment to the world—that is the true courage.

Renunciation does not mean throwing things away.

It means no longer crying when they leave your hand.

Śiṣya: But how does giving up give me more?

Guru: A closed fist cannot receive anything.

When you loosen your grip, the universe has space to pour wisdom into you.

When you give up the identity built on the body,

you receive the awareness that was always untouched by the body.

When you give up the identity built on pride, you receive a peace that pride could never hold.

When you give up the identity built on fear, you receive a freedom nothing in the world can buy.

Śiṣya: So realisation is not about becoming something new?

Guru: No, my child.

It is about remembering what you already are.

A wave does not become the ocean through effort.

It simply stops believing it is separate from it.

Śiṣya: And how do I begin, Gurudeva?

Guru: Start with simple things.

Watch your reactions; they reveal your attachments.

Sit in silence; it reveals your true nature.

Serve without demand; it melts the ego.

Perform your duties; they purify your mind.

Witness your body as an instrument; you are the one who uses it.

Do these with patience,

and one day you will laugh—

for you will realise the seeker and the sought were always the same.

Śiṣya: Gurudeva…

I feel a lightness in my heart.

Is this a sign of progress?

Guru: It is a sign that one burden has slipped from your hands.

Continue dropping them, and one day you will discover that the one who carried burdens never truly existed.