Becoming Conscious Of The Atman. Poem by Dr. Antony Theodore

"Once we become conscious,
even dimly, of the Atman,
the Reality within us,
the world takes on
a very different aspect.

It is no longer a court
of justice but a kind of
gymnasium.

Good and evil,
pain and pleasure,
still exist, but they
seem more like
the ropes and
vaulting-horses
and parallel bars which
can be used to make
our bodies strong.

Maya is no longer an
endlessly revolving
wheel of pain and pleasure
but a ladder which can
be climbed to consciousness
of the Reality."

(From Shankara's Crest Jewel of Discrimination.
― Adi Shankaracarya) .