via Golden Age of Gaia

From Len Satov:

This is adapted from Ramesh Balsekar’s commentary on the Ashtavakra Gita in his book, A Duet of One:

“A wave in the ocean, if it were to animate and become infused with intellect, would at once begin to think in terms of a separate ‘me’, and would instantly make itself unhappy by comparing itself with other waves.

“Once it identifies itself as a separate entity, it loses its identification with the ocean. By identifying yourself with a body-mind organism as a separate entity with a sense of doership, you lose your identity with Totality.

“How does it profit one to gain the whole world and lose his own soul, his identity with Totality? You may gain the whole world yet it is still only an infinitesimal part of the enormous illusion of the universe, and in the process you lose your identity with Totality.

“And with the gain of the whole world comes the fear that you may lose it someday! The awakened one, on the other hand, having realized his true nature, is totally dis-identified from the personal entity. “