Chandogya Upanishad 6.18Famous
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इमाः सोम्य नद्यः पुरस्तात्प्राच्यः स्यन्दन्ते पश्चात्प्रतीच्यः। ताः समुद्रात्समुद्रमेवापियन्ति स समुद्र एव भवति। ता यथा तत्र न विदुरियमहमस्मीयमहमस्मीति॥
imāḥ somya nadyaḥ purastātprācyaḥ syandante paścātpratīcyaḥ | tāḥ samudrātsamudramevāpiyanti sa samudra eva bhavati | tā yathā tatra na viduriямаhamаsmīyamahamasmīti ||
""These rivers, dear one, flow from the east toward the east, from the west toward the west. They go from ocean to ocean and become the ocean itself. As they do not know 'I am this river, I am that river'...""
What This Means:
Rivers flow to the ocean and become the ocean. They lose their individual river identity. They don't think "I am the Ganges, I am the Yamuna."
Going Deeper:
The river-ocean analogy: individual souls are like rivers, Brahman is the ocean. Upon realization, the individual merges into the infinite.
How To Apply This:
You are a river flowing to the ocean of Being. Your individual identity will merge into the infinite.
#rivers#ocean#merger#loss of identity