Directing all the energies of body and mind into a single current

[Sri Bhagavan] says: "The direct method of winning the real Self is diving into the Heart, seeking the Source of the 'I am'; the meditation, 'I am not this, I am That,' is of course helpful; but it is not itself the method of finding the Self." Speaking to a visitor he said: "You are told that the ego is not your real Self; if you accept it, then you have only to search for and find that which is your real Self, the real being of which the ego is a false appearance. Why then do you meditate 'I am That'? That only gives a fresh lease of life to the ego. It is like some one trying to avoid 'thinking of the monkey when taking medicine'; by the very act of trying he admits the thought. The source or truth of the ego must be traced and found. Meditating 'I am That' is of no use; for meditation is by the mind, and the Self is beyond the mind. In the Quest of its own reality the ego perishes of itself; hence this is the direct method; in all else the ego is retained and hence so many doubts arise and the eternal question remains to be faces; until that question is faced there will be no end to the ego. Then why not face that question at once, without going through those other methods?" ...

The Quest of the real Self consists in gathering together all the energies of body and mind by banishing all alien thoughts, and then directing all those energies into a single current, namely the resolve to find the answer to the question 'Who am I?'. The question may also take the form of 'Whence am I?". 'Who am I?' means "What is the Truth of me?'; 'Whence am I?' means 'What is the Source of the sense of self in the ego?'

~ Maha Yoga, by Who (Lakshmana Sarma) (italicized quote by Sri Bhagavan is verse 34 from Ulladu Narpadu)