while denying it to the spectacle. If we accept the view that the spectacle, namely the world, is unreal in any sense, then we must also accept the view that the seer of the world is unreal in the same sense and to the same extent. The spectator is in fact an integral part of the world; both in waking and in dream the spectator and the spectacle form one single whole, appearing and vanishing together. The Sage brings home to us the spurious nature of the ego — the individual soul — by means of a parable. On the occasion of a marriage an uninvited guest, an utter stranger to both the parties, came in pretending to be an intimate friend of the bridegroom. At first the hosts, namely the bride’s party, believed him and honoured him accordingly. But after a time suspicions arose and inquiries began to be made as to who he was and what right he had to come in. The two parties met and began to question each other. The impostor saw that he was sure to be exposed and treated as he deserved if he remained; so he quietly disappeared. Just like the impostor in this parable is the ego. It is neither the real Self, nor the body; so long as no inquiry is made, the ego persists and enjoys the status of the real Self; but when an inquiry is made — when the quest of the real Self is begun and persisted in — it will vanish, leaving no trace. This is exactly what we are told by the Sage in the following passage: “This ego, which is but a ghost without a form of its own, comes into being by taking hold of a form; keeping hold of the form and enjoying sense-objects, it waxes greatly in strength: if the truth of it be sought, it will run away.”* We need to study this teaching carefully. There is no ego in sleep, but only in waking and dreaming. In both these states the ego manifests by taking hold of a body, saying ‘I am this body.’ That is, there is a perception of the body, and at the * Ulladu Narpadu verse 25 (see appendix A, verse 30).
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