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"Tat tvam asi" (That thou art) is the most profound message of the Upaniṣads and constitutes the essence and the synthesis of the Advaita teaching: '"That, which is infinitely subtle, is the essence of all this [universe]! That is the Reality. That is the Self and That thou art, Svetaketu." "Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further." "So be it, my dear," said he' (Chandogya Upaniṣad VI.IV.3). In this book a relizative dialogue takes place between Antonio, a seeker of the ultimate Truth, and an Asparśin. Antonio has participated in every possible kind of experience without finding fulfillment, or any solution to his problems. In his search through the maze of samsaric duality he meets with Raphael, and, guided by him, Antonio enters into a process of realization which gradually transfigures his restless and dissatisfied ego into higher consciousness. RAPHAEL is author and Master in the Western Metaphysical Tradition as well as the Vedānta. He has written several books on the pathway of Non-duality (Advaita). He has also translated from the Sanskrit, and commented on, a number of key Vedānta texts. Raphael interprets spiritual practice as a 'Pathway of Fire'. The 'Pathway of Fire' is the pathway that each disciple follows in all branches of Tradition; it is the 'Way of Return.' Every disciple follows his/her own 'Path of Fire' in accordance with that branch of the Tradition he/she belongs to.' According to Raphael, what is important is to express through living and being the truth that one has been able to contemplate. Thus, for each being, one's expression of thought and action must be coherent and in agreement with one's own specific dharma. After more than 60 years of Teaching, both in oral and written format, Raphael has withdrawn into mahāsamādhi.

SANKARA invites us to discern (viveka) between Real and non-real, between atman (Self) and non-atman (non-Self), between Infinite and finite, between Life and death. Man's greatest conflicts stem from his attachment to and his identification with the non-atman, with the finite. Knowledge on the other hand, leads to the unveiling of sat, of True Existence. A star is born, grows, matures, ages and dies, and these events are an uninterrupted flow of change. There is never a moment when the physical world undergoes no change or atomic or molecular transformation. If we are in agreement that the Absolute must be eternally "constant", "unvarying" then we cannot look for it in the world of phenomena, whether objective or subjective. Thus the Drgdrsyaviveka expounds a detailed description of the different kinds of concentration (samadhi), of the three theories empirically concerning jiva, and other questions of vital importance to the Vedanta teaching.In Svami Nikhilananda's words: This work, which contains only forty-six sloka is an excellent vade mecum (handbook) for students of advanced courses in Advaita philosophy.

The topic of this book traces back in time and beyond time this realization: human beings, as such, need to acknowledge in themselves a double element: the one titanic (to use Orphic terms) and the other divine. It is up to one's own consciousness to determine whether one wants to be a single whole with the divine element or with the titanic one.