"MIND, I AM NOT YOU."

The students gathered—it was their lesson day with the master. They were excited. Not only would they learn new things, but they would also seek guidance for their troubles and, hopefully, solve their problems one by one.

They prepared their notebooks and pens.

Then, the master arrived and calmly took his seat.

After asking how they were, the students took turns speaking, and the conversation began.

The first student said, "Master, my troubles are overwhelming. I feel suffocated. The moment I step into my workplace, the walls seem to close in on me. My boss is heartless; he doesn’t pay me on time, makes me work hard but pays me little. If this continues, my health will suffer, my life will be ruined. Even my relationship with my wife is falling apart. Please, tell me a solution!"

The master simply said: "Mind, you are you, I am not you."

A deep silence filled the room. No one quite understood.

Then, another student spoke.

"Master, my troubles are even worse. I suffer from chronic pain that never goes away. Because of it, I have lost my will to live. Others may struggle with money, but at least that passes. This is my health—once it’s gone, it's gone forever. What should I do? Please, give me some wisdom."

Again, the master said: "Mind, you are you, I am not you."

Another silence. The initial excitement of the students was fading. They were growing restless, not receiving the answers they had hoped for.

A different student spoke next.

"Master, my pain is unlike anyone else’s—far worse. The one I loved left me. I am in unbearable pain. Life feels empty and meaningless. This sorrow has crushed me, and I cannot stand up again. Please, help me!"

The master once more replied: "Mind, you are you, I am not you."

One by one, the other students also shared their troubles, and each time, they received the same response:

"Mind, you are you, I am not you."

Feeling unsatisfied and believing they had not found any solutions, the students left one by one, disappointed.

A week passed. One of the students returned to visit the master.

The master saw the light in the student’s eyes and knew—he had understood.

"Tell me," said the master.

"Master, I did what you said," the student replied. "The mind disappeared, and only ‘It’ remained. And when that happened, there was nothing left for me to explain."

"When the veil of the mind lifted, I saw that the answer I was searching for was already in front of me. There was no need to think or to suffer over my troubles."

"Well done," said the master, but he also asked the student to explain for the sake of guiding the others.

The student began:

"After I left you that day, I went home. When I walked in, I saw that the house was a complete mess—things were scattered everywhere. I told my child to clean up the house, but he refused. So I said, 'Cleaning is fun! I love it.' And my child replied, 'That’s you, I am not you.' And in that moment, I understood exactly what you meant."

"No matter what happens, no matter what we experience, it is all happening in our minds. Every moment, we live through new experiences, but the mind does not see them as they are. Instead, it assigns meaning based on what it has learned in the past. It labels, judges, and speaks to us using the language of thoughts and the intensity of emotions."

"And instead of seeing the moment as it is, instead of listening to the now, we listen to the mind. Worse, we believe it. And so, we think of ourselves as helpless, sick, poor—or, on the other hand, rich, powerful, noble."

"When thoughts arise, when emotions weigh on our hearts, by saying, 'Mind, you are you, I am not you,' we refuse to accept its judgments as truth. Instead, we shift our focus inward, allowing ourselves to experience something new. No matter what the mind says, it is just an opinion—a collection of past judgments stored within it."

"Just like when I told my child that cleaning was fun—for me. That was my belief, my mind’s perception. But my child, living fully in the present moment, heard my words, yet did not accept them. He did not choose my judgment—he created his own experience instead."

"This is why, master, my answer to every problem in life is now the same. The only antidote is to understand: 'Mind, you are you, I am not you.'"

"Through this realization, I saw that the mind merely offers suggestions based on its past knowledge. It speaks, but I am not obliged to obey. It took effort to reach this understanding—at first, my mind resisted. It became angry, tried to overwhelm me, and even asked, ‘If I am the mind, then who are you?’"

"And I answered: 'I am the one who is free. The one who chooses. The master of my own experience. The one who selects the best option in each moment.'

"And in that moment, I was free—from my mind and from its judgments. At first, my mind bowed before me. Then, it fully surrendered. It returned to its rightful role as a servant, and I returned to my true nature as the master."

"Separation ended. Unity was restored. The battle ceased. Freedom arrived."

"Now, I see reality as it is. I see everything in its right place. Thank you, master—may your heart be blessed."

Among all the students, only one had truly grasped the truth.

But that was the essence of real learning—understanding. Not memorization. Otherwise, true transformation would never come.

And so, he learned…

"Everyone, when the time is right, will understand what they are meant to understand—when the time comes."