Destroying illusion with "Right Thought"

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The Self is beyond concept, and is ever free and pure. All else (the world, illusion) is conceptual. It is a mere concept, our own concept to be precise, but the origin of this concept is Brahman. The "Ultimate Truth," (Paramartha), is also a concept. To say "I am good," or "I am bad," are also only concepts. The scriptures have put forth the concepts of good and bad only for the sake of the ignorant. The "good" and the "bad" together constitute worldly life. And what is this worldly life all about? Sansar (Samsara) is the Marathi for "the world," or "worldly life," and it indicates that it is only oneself that gives rise to "ego." All that is done with the aid of the ego is worldly life. In short, worldly life means to take pride in just about everything. Complete renunciation of pride is true liberation. It is not enough to have a merely intellectual understanding of the concepts of the Self, and humility, etc. Putting them into practice is what really matters, and is truly beneficial.

Worldly life ceases to exist when one's wrong notions about life and one's "True Nature" (Atma Swaroopa) are wiped off, and it comes into being when thoughts (Chitta) stray away from the Self and become externalized. Thoughts are adept at making something out of nothing and it is the creation of this "space," that leads to the appearance of the world. It is in this manner that one becomes awakened to, or aware of the non-existing world appearance. The generation of non-existent matter is the characteristic of thoughts. By close examination of this process, one can see that the world appearance comes into being by way of thought, and that it is in it's entirety only the product of the wild imaginings of straying thoughts. Paying heed to stray thoughts leads to a slight deviation from one's "True Nature," and gives rise to the world, which then proliferates and appears to go on for countless years. The delusion of the world lasts only as long as we want it to. Once one's thinking is turned towards the Self, all opposing thoughts stand eradicated, and this worldly life is destroyed, like bamboo trees get destroyed when brushing up against each other.

The house, the body, and prosperity are all products of desire, our own desire. Only if we think along the right lines, does worldly life come crumbling down. Ignorance of one's "True Nature" is a fascination or infatuation with that which is objective, and this fascination sprouts forth the world. In a similar manner to a child who is overwhelmed by the fear of the "boogie-man," who actually exists as far as the child is concerned, the individual (Jiva) is concerned with fears in this worldly life, which appear to be true. Sorrows have descended upon us, from the day that we have forgotten the Self, and we are destined to suffer so long as our concepts of the world persist.

"Chase away the dark with a burning torch."

You discover the non-existence of the world when you look for it with the torch of right thought. What is right thought? To examine just what the world is, is what is meant by "right thought." To take this worldly life to be true, or to believe in it, is what is called illusion. The destruction of illusion brings untold joys, while belief in its existence, proves to be a source of unending sorrows. As long as one assumes the existence of illusion, one is thereby affected by its aftereffects, which are sorrows. Illusion persists only as long as it remains unexamined, and it is difficult to focus on until one looks upon it with right thought. Once we watch it closely and think it over carefully, it exists no more. For the individual, the thought of worldly life is at the forefront of the mind and in this state, all that is done is "thoughtless." It is such "thoughtlessness" that perpetuates the illusion, and it is only right thought that can put an end to it.

Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj from a talk given on September 26, 1933 on the Yogavashishta