Know Thyself — The Journey of Self-Realization

(A Spiritual Article Based on the Sage–King Dialogue)
Self-realization is the highest quest of human life. It is the journey of discovering the true Self hidden beneath layers of name, identity, ego, and illusion. This article explores that eternal truth through the story of a wandering sage and a king who spent 20 years longing for one thing — the direct experience of the Supreme.

1. The Call for Self-Realization

The episode begins with the message: “Know yourself first.” Without understanding the ‘I’ within, no spiritual experience can be complete. Many seek God, peace, liberation, or mystical experiences, yet the door to all of them opens only after knowing the Self. This article, based on Episode 260, dives into the profound teaching shared between a sage and a king — a dialogue that unmasks the illusions of identity and directs the seeker inward.

2. The Sage Arrives — A 20-Year Question

A monk who had travelled the world returned to India and visited a small kingdom. The king, who had been searching for answers for two decades, approached the sage and asked: “Will you answer the question that no one has answered in 20 years?”

The sage assured him, “You will not return empty-handed today.” The king’s longing was simple yet profound — He wanted to meet God directly.

3. The King’s Desire to Meet God

The king insisted: “Do not explain God to me. I want to meet Him directly.” The sage calmly asked: “Shall I connect you immediately, or would you like to wait a little?” This playful yet profound question shifted the king’s mind. The sage emphasized that his life’s work was to connect souls directly with the Supreme, not through stories or philosophies, but through inner realization.

4. The Question of Identity — Who Are You?

To arrange the meeting, the sage said: “Write your name, identity, status, purpose — I will give it to God.”

The king wrote his details on a slip. The sage looked at it and said: “These are lies. None of this is your true identity.”

He asked deeply:

• If your name changes, do you change?

• If tomorrow you lose your kingdom, do you vanish?

• As your age changes, does the inner presence change?

The king realized:
No external identity defines him. The sage declared: “Neither your name, nor your body, nor your wealth, nor your age is you. Tell me — who are you?” Thus began the journey inward.

5. The Inner Enquiry — Who Is the One Within?

The sage then asked:

• Who is the ‘I’ that dreams at night?

• Who is the ‘I’ that disappears in deep sleep?

• Who is the ‘I’ that vanishes in deep meditation?

• Who is the witness of waking, dreaming, and sleeping?

In dreams, a separate identity arises. In deep sleep, all identities vanish. In meditation, the ‘I-thought’ dissolves. Which means: The ego is not real. It appears and disappears. The true Self remains changeless.

6. The Mind — Creator of Illusion

The sage explains:

• The mind creates identity.

• The mind creates suffering.

• The mind creates illusions of “I, mine, me.”

• The mind controls waking and dream states.

In deep sleep or deep meditation, this mind collapses.

Thus: Mind is Maya. Ego is illusion. Consciousness is the true Self.

7. Spiritual Practice — Ending the Ego

Liberation requires ending the ego that produces desires, anger, greed, fear, pride, and attachment. The ego binds us to the physical world and prevents us from experiencing our real divine nature.

True self-awareness requires:

• Observing the inner ‘I’

• Understanding from which state you speak or act

• Recognizing the ego in daily interactions

• Replacing reaction with awareness

• Entering meditation to dissolve the ‘I’

Only knowledge destroys ego. Only awareness frees the soul.

8. Knowledge and Transformation

The article emphasizes:

• Listening to spiritual knowledge daily

• Contemplation of the teachings

• Recognizing the false identity

• Establishing the mind before the soul

• Becoming a seer rather than a thinker

People who say, “We don’t need knowledge anymore” make a grave mistake. Without knowledge, the ego strengthens. With knowledge, the ego dissolves.

This is the meaning of: “Aham Brahmasmi — I am the eternal, imperishable consciousness.”

9. Connection with the Divine

True yoga is not visions or temporary peace.
True yoga is: A vow to connect the soul permanently with the Supreme Soul.

A guru’s role is not to give miracles, but to show the path to the eternal connection. When the ego dissolves, the soul naturally unites with the Supreme light.

10. Universal Transformation — The Multiverse Awakens

A profound transformation is occurring across the multiverse. The vibrations of Paramshanti and divine light are expanding everywhere.

• The universe is absorbing peace.

• Souls are awakening.

• Consciousness is rising.

• Illusion is weakening.

• A new era of divine awareness is beginning.

Each seeker who dissolves their ego contributes to this transformation.

11. Conclusion — Know Thyself, Become Free

The story reveals that the real obstacle between the soul and God is not distance but identity.

To meet the Supreme, one must first remove:

• the illusion of name

• the illusion of body

• the illusion of wealth

• the illusion of age

• the illusion of mind

• the illusion of ego

When the false ‘I’ ends, the true Self shines as pure consciousness. This is self-realization. This is liberation. This is supreme peace.