you are that

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AUM describes Reality.
It is a symbol for what was, what is,
And what shall be. AUM points also at
What lies beyond past, present, and future.

Brahman is all, and the Self is Brahman.
This Self has four states of consciousness.

The first is the one in which
One lives with the senses turned outward,
Aware only of the external world.

The second is the dreaming state in which, with the senses
Turned inward, one enacts the impressions
Of past deeds and present desires.

Deep sleep is the third state,
In which one neither dreams nor desires.
There is no mind in the third state, there is no
Separateness; but the sleeper is not
Conscious of this. Let him become conscious.

In the third state a door will open
To the state of abiding joy.

The third state, all-powerful and all-knowing,
Dwells in the hearts of all.
The third state is the source and the end of all.

The fourth state is the superconscious state,
neither inward nor outward,
Beyond the senses and the intellect,
In which there is none other than
Infinite peace and love.

The fourth state is represented by AUM.
Though indivisible, it has three sounds.

A is the sound of the outward, waking state of an individual being.
U is the sound of the inward, dreaming state of a subtle being.
M is the sound of the wisdom state of a universal being.
AUM is the sound of the pure bliss of unified consciousness

Those who know AUM as the self know all beings as the Self;

Truly there is only the One.

on shanti shanti shanti


—lessons from The Mandukya Upanishad,
Eknath Easwaran version

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