I am not an Egyptian and I have never been particularly interested in Egyptian Mythology. In fact, I never had any particular interest in anything Egyptian, not even in the famous Pyramids. Yet, for reasons that pertain only to fate, I came across this marvelous discovery while I was following the Yoga teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, who never even hinted at the possibility of discovering the Ankh while practicing his Jnana Yoga method.

For this reason, I feel the need to emphasize that my relationship with the Ankh is, so to speak, coincidental, and that I do not belong now, nor have I belonged in the past, or intend to belong in the future to any association, club or sect with any devotional attachments to the Ankh. In fact, I am not even aware that any such association, club or sect even exists. I want to make it clear, therefore, that I did not have any preconceived notions regarding who or what I was going to find when I finally Realized my Eternal Self.

It is also worth clarifying that I do not see the Ankh as a talisman or good luck charm either, in the way that some new wave people might see some crystals and other similar objects. For all I care, the Ankh is just a transitory form that the Atman adopts whenever it incarnates in the human body and, as such form, it is just as ephemeral as the human body it illumines. The real importance of the Ankh resides in the Substance that constitutes it, which is one and the same with the all-pervading transcendental Universal Substance.

This Universal Substance, in turn, is of the nature of Pure Consciousness, which is generally known as Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being-Consciousness-Bliss). My Realization of the Self is basically the Realization of my Eternal Consciousness; my becoming aware of the Ankh’s shape is just a corollary to the whole issue. As a result of that Realization, however, now I know I am not this body or any of its attributes, but that formless Eternal Silence that comprises all knowledge and is pure Bliss.

But when I am incarnated I am the Atman/Ankh, as the Ankh’s form is the necessary shape required to illumine the human body. I am “IT,” the Ankh, the Atman, the Samsarin, the Breath of Life, and since the Breath of Life is Eternal Existence Wisdom and Bliss, I am Eternal Existence Wisdom and Bliss. The Ankh does not need to say “I am,” for it eternally is. In fact, the Ankh is the eternal “I AM.” But now that I have realized the Ankh I can say that “I am THAT I am.” I am not now nor have I ever been Sal or any other name or identity I might have thought I had in the past. I am now and I have always been THAT which creates and gives form to everything; THAT which, as the Breath of Life, illumines the existence of every living thing. THAT is who I am.

Before attaining Realization, however, I sort of thought I was this combination of body, mind and emotions I now call Salaroche. I say “I sort of thought” because I was never really sure of who I really was. I always wondered who I was and what was I doing in this world. These were the twin questions that perennially troubled my mind and always affected my behavior in this world. Little did I know that eventually one of those two questions would be the one to lead me into the Knowledge of That which I really am.

The question “Who Am I” was all that I needed to ask myself, but that question was way too easy and simple for me to phrase it. I had always thought that to attain Realization I needed to practice some very complicated, intricate and convoluted prescriptions. I had to encounter Ramana Maharshi and his super pragmatic method to finally begin unveiling my true identity. The fact is Ramana had always been there waiting for Sal, even before either of us was born. Sal had always had that formless question in his mind; all that he needed was to have Ramana phrase it for him. Sal already had the nagging, burning desire to really know who he was, just as he also had a very pronounced disdain for such earthly things as possessions and fame.

All that he needed was to find someone to tell him he was right in not accepting his earthly identity and that he was right in not really caring about providing himself with too many earthly goods. Evidently, the path was traced for Sal since the day he was born. Everything that happened to him before he encountered Ramana was like a test that he needed to go through in order to earn his “spiritual degree.” Once Sal successfully practiced Ramana’s method he graduated into the knowledge of his Real Self, which is the knowledge of the Eternal One. Sal’s Self, or Sal’s Atman/Ankh, are one and the same with the Single, Eternal, All-Blissful, All-Knowing Universal Self.

Once Sal’s earthly consciousness was overtaken by the Ankh/Atman’s consciousness, he realized he was no longer Sal. Moreover, he realized he had NEVER been Sal. He had just been fooling himself into believing he was anything other than Pure and Eternal Bliss. Sal’s TRUE Self had always existed everywhere, which is where it always exists, throughout the countless millennia. I Am that “I Am” which is the "I AM" of everything. When the whole of creation says “I AM” through each and every one of its possible expressions, I AM that I AM which they all are. I am that “I AM” that the whole Universe chants throughout its all-knowing, blissful eternity.

My true Self is the Ankh/Atman and the Ankh is one with the Whole, therefore I am the Whole. The consciousness which is the Ankh/Atman is the consciousness which is God. To reside in the Ankh’s consciousness is to BE the Ankh and to be the Ankh is to be God. Therefore, I am God. And please do not get me wrong. I have not suddenly become a super megalomaniac guy who now believes he is the one who created the universe. No. When I say I am God I am not referring to myself as Sal, the guy who is writing these words on a computer. I am referring to the Real Eternal Consciousness which Sal really IS and which you and everybody else IS as well.