On the map, there are many locations. One of them is, “I want to be a saint.” Another is, “I want to recognize my true self.” There are countless others, like, “The world is illusion,” or, “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.” Between the various locations, there are little commuter pathways by which we can visit the various positions sequentially. Sometimes we even call that “evolution.”
We can be all over the map, travelling far and wide, tasting the ambience of each place and then moving on. Or…we can simply be still and be the whole map, the vast expanse whose name is “I am.” *
* See Aphorism # 8 from the Pratyabhijñâhrdayam, The Secret of Self-Recognition, tr.Jaideva Singh
“The positions of the various systems of philosophy are only various roles of that Consciousness or Self.”