Sadguru

"Understand that the worldly Illusion is a dream within a dream. Having come here, you have given thought to what is Eternal and what is ephemeral."(Dasbodh - Chapter 6, Sub-chapter 10)

The One who is without birth went to sleep. He has no old age. He is One, who has no death. How is it that a dream was seen during a dream? "He slept and dreamt" means He is deluded. "He slept" means he has become a jiva (individual) and thinks, "I am the body. I am so-and-so." The state of Brahman was covered with ignorance and in that delusion there is again more delusion, which is this mundane existence. It is a dream within a dream. The worldly Illusion appears true. He was all-pervasive, and then he became small when he considered the worldly existence as true. In that very dream, he discriminated between Guru and disciple, virtue and sin, and what is true and what is untrue. Other people pass away in this dream. It is a piece of great fortune to think of what is Eternal and what is ephemeral during this long dream.

"Even a dog does not eat a thing that belongs to a sinner." Renunciation of wealth, the feeling of detachment, and respect for a saint is the result of former merit and good fortune. Only such a one starts thinking of the saint. It is extraordinary to have an aspiration for realization in the dream within a dream. It is like being alert and fully in control of one's senses despite taking a shot of brandy, or despite possessing enormous wealth that ordinarily brings demonic pride. This is his good fortune. Such a person is in a dream within a dream. But on account of his virtuous intellect he went to a Guru and discriminated between the Eternal and the ephemeral. He got the experience that everything else is false and "I am Brahman." This means that he has awakened from one dream. 

When in this dream he deliberated again he came to the further conclusion that even saying "I am Brahman" is false. The whole world and all words are only Illusion. As a result he became tranquil by staying in his own blissful state. Truth was revealed. He fully realized "I am Brahman." This condition means that one is fully awake. Not only the delusion, but also the feeling "I have experienced" vanished. For if one says that he has experienced the Self, it implies that he has taken himself to be different from the Self. The real test is when one has no sense of oneself. If the mango says, "I found myself sweet," then it is not a mango. If you say "I have experienced," that means your "I," the ego, is still there. The idea "I got an experience" is a delusion. The "I" in "I have become knowledgeable" or "I have become Brahman" is ego. The former "I" should disappear. Whatever was before, naturally is Brahman. The thorn "I" has to be extracted. Then you are through. When you become all-pervading, you become Brahman. The ego "I am Brahman" comes at first, but it also disappears afterwards. It is One only, and there is nothing else other than That. To go beyond nothing is to be in Thoughtless Reality, Parabrahman.

- From Amrut Laya