Preface

When the first creatures came into existence on earth, were they more curious to learn, to execute routine work and to interact with their external environment with the help of their mind and body? Or were they baffled about their own selves and curious to know why they exist? Did searching for answers to this question make a difference in their lives?

Did it all begin with a single creature, or were they many? Did an external environment exist before them or did both creature and environment appear simultaneously?

At present, with so much scattered information around, if we take on the identity of that single creature and start to think about these questions, it will surely require substantial effort to get the right answers. We also need to consider whether we should continue to use our body and mind in whatever form we were born with or take a pause, analyse, and adapt the remainder of our lives to fulfil a purpose.

These pause-motivated events always come in the form of triggers, circumstances, or coincidences. Whether you like it or not, we have been forced to travel on a path, which we might never have imagined, or thought about, in our childhood.

Even if such a trigger is absent, one should analyse why he is so privileged, while others endure pain, which they never asked for.

The idea for this book came from such a pause, and the author has spent a good nine years to analyse reality, fantasy and beliefs of the past and present.

The purpose of this book is not to impose any individualistic belief; rather, it is an endeavour to take readers on a journey, which has been travelled by similar seekers in the past, with elaborate explanations of intermediate milestones.

It could be said that this book is a single source of all possible permutations and combinations of any conceivable or inconceivable theories, which existence can think of.

When one embarks on this journey, it starts with a heavy bias, which has been forced upon him, by all the accumulated knowledge during his life span.

This accumulated knowledge is nothing but constituents of any ‘I’ or self. The initial chapter deals with what constitutes an ‘I’. Is it real and changeable? How can the transformation of the self be achieved? How can any notion related to the self be worked upon?

It is important to remember that whenever we think about something, there are certain attributes of the ‘I’ which forces us to think about things in a biased way. If one removes the ‘I-ness’ from the mental pattern, it gives him a broader vision and independent thinking about all the activities of the world. It is beyond time, thought, and bodily function as well. This book, along with individual efforts, reading, and contemplation, can help one in removing this ‘I-ness’ from the self.

There are discussions about two jewels, one in the intermediate stage and the other in the final stage, and they can help in removing any bias.

One has to definitely pass through this journey to understand the meaning of life and the rightness of the path one is travelling.

There is no mention of any ‘Dos’ or Don’ts’ in this book, as the ‘to and fro’ journey between various milestones is sufficient to change the mind in such a way that a wrong can’t be committed.

It is a deep inward journey, which takes oneself from a very mundane level to a level where all bondage breaks down, and a clear vision about the world emerges.

In the past, seekers advised people about what they should do or what they should not do, but this book tries to take you to that level itself because it is based on the premise that everyone is equal.