Continued from Verse Twenty-Six
27. The State of non-emergence of 'I' is the state of being THAT. Without questing for that State of the non-emergence of 'I' and attaining It, how can one accomplish one's own extinction, from which the 'I' does not revive? Without that attainment how is it possible to abide in one's true State, where one is THAT?
Commentary: The non-emergence of the (false, egoic) I is the Self, which is also known as “THAT” because it cannot be described. It is the indescribable beyond. Only when there is no I is there no other, and only when there is no other is there nothing to seek or to fear. This is the state of perfection.
This state appears to be blocked because of the egoic identification with the body and mind. The identification is sustained by continuous frenzied labor towards the desires and fears that the body and mind desire.
The non-emergence of the I is possible in temporary ways: in deep sleep, by controlling the breath, or by some other means of profound concentration in an activity. But the only permanent way is to seek the source of the I through self-inquiry (a continuous chasing of the I which seems to experience and do) or surrender (ignoring all thought except the thought of surrender, and relaxing).
Then it vanishes and the one who thought themselves bound finds themselves having always been free. That is Self-abidance. This is the true state, meaning it is the state that in fact is always the case; there is only a misconception that it isn’t, and when that is inquired into, even that misconception is found not to have existed.
At any time, see all the forty verses posts that I have published so far here.