58 WHO AM I ? YOU CAN ONLY SAY SO AFTER REALIZATION
Questioner : If we say , “ I am Pure Soul ,” does it not amount to an expression of ego ?
Dadashri : No . If other people say it , then it is an egoistic expression . We have all decidedly realized that we are Pure Soul and so it is not egoistic to talk about what you are .
Many people can say , “ I am Pure Soul .” But this is like someone telling you that he will give you $ 500 in his sleep . Would you believe him ? It would be different if he were wide awake while making the offer . There is no meaning in saying things without awareness . In the same way , when people say , “ I am Shuddhatma ,” without acquiring Self-Realization , it is like they are talking in their sleep . They achieve nothing by talking this way , and in fact , such talk is liable to cause errors in life . One is only entitled to say , “ I am Pure Soul ,” after realizing the Self .
Questioner : So the awareness has to occur ?
Dadashri : Yes , only after Self-Realization , one can say , “ I am Shuddhatma .” Then it is appropriate , because he is saying so after realizing his true identity , after becoming Shuddhatma . Now if after becoming Shuddhatma , he asks for proof , then we can ask him who he is . He would answer that he is Shuddhatma . Next we ask him if he has lost attachment to ‘ Chandulal ’, and he would say that he has . This confirms that he has become a Pure Soul .
THE GNANI AWAKENS YOUR AWARENESS
After this Gnan , you recognize that your home is your Real Self and everything external to it is foreign . That means your work is completed . This is like the man who is now alert and wide awake after someone wakes him up from sleep . He responds to his real name .