What you seek is seeking you

What if you could see that you are already all that you wish to be?

“What you seek is seeking you”

This is a powerful quote from Rumi, a renowned 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet. It sheds light on a fundamental aspect of human desires.

In original Farsi, the lines are “هر چیز که در جستن آنی آنی” or "Har chiz ke dar jostane āni, āni". Popularly translated as "What you seek is seeking you", you can also interpret these lines as “You are what you seek”, or "what you seek is within you".

If you find it difficult to let go of your desires despite the suffering they cause, understanding the meaning behind this statement can bring comfort. It can also be a great source of support when you are struggling with self-doubt.

In this article, we will take a deeper look at the meaning behind this verse to extract insights into fulfilling desires, dreams, or goals, that we can apply in our daily lives.

Grab a cup of tea 🍵 and let's dive in.

The Nature of Desires

Manifestation or the Law of Attraction has been a trending word in recent years because a larger part of our world is still stuck behind desires. This is the staple flavor of human existence that will likely never go away.

Life continues to move ahead due to the cyclical nature of attachment to certain desires and eventual non-attachment through their release. Our wishes are released when either they are fulfilled or we let them go due to our reduced interest in them.

Desire in itself is not intrinsically bad. Neither is the effort to fulfill it. However, the habit of suffering while waiting for a desire to be fulfilled is what we must stay vigilant toward.

We must reflect on whether our life is filled with an endless pursuit of future desire fulfillment while ironically sacrificing our present moment happiness and peace. Can we instead lead a life that has a baseline level of satisfaction consistently, regardless of how the external circumstances change? Perhaps interspersed with euphoric moments of fulfilled desires?

Rumi’s Wisdom on Desires

If we examine some of the other poems written by Rumi, we see that he continued to encourage the realization that we are already everything we are looking for. All that we continue to pursue after, we have that within us. To quote another verse from his poetry :

“When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety; if I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without pain. From this, I understand that what I want also wants me, is looking for me and attracting me. There is a great secret here for anyone who can grasp it.”

No matter where we are right now, it is alright to accept that part of our identity that continues to desire despite persistent efforts towards spiritual renunciation.

Just as we cannot shed our egos as long as we continue to exist on this planet. We cannot burn our desires away forcefully.

Then, how do we get out of this cycle? How can we make the wait for either the fulfillment or release of each desire more bearable?

That’s where Rumi’s quote comes in. If we peruse the fundamental nature of desires and carefully introspect how they operate in Life, we realize that we are both blessed & cursed to desire that which is already a part of us. Similar to how a puppy keeps trying to catch its tail not knowing it is a part of its own body, we seem to desire that which we already possess. This may seem like a fallacy to the mind. It might question -

How can we already possess that luxury car we dreamed of if we are not experiencing it in our physical reality?

A great Indian Enlightened Master, Sri Paramahansa Yogananda once said -

“If we analyze the actions of all human beings, ultimately we will find that everything we do - whether we are conscious of it or not - is motivated by a common, universal goal: the avoidance of suffering and the attainment of Bliss. Though there are many immediate needs and desires that stimulate our actions in daily life, behind all of them is the fundamental motivation to remove pain and find Bliss. Every other human goal and desire is subservient to this one.”

The truth is all phenomenal desires hide the basic human need to experience lasting happiness, peace, joy, or bliss. These are a part of our true nature. That is why all ancient spiritual texts asked us to persevere on the path of renunciation. If it’s a desire that is easy to let go of, we can immediately discover that attaining or not attaining that desire doesn’t affect the intrinsic peace or joy that is pre-existing within us.

Fulfillment or lack thereof doesn’t seem to add or take away anything from our fundamental substance. We can experience this directly and practically if we pay complete attention to the moments when we fulfill a dream or let go of one.

Most importantly, what comes up as a desire in our thinking cannot materialize in our minds if it were not already a part of us. We cannot imagine that which we do not have within us. In that sense, we desire hope, we desire happiness, we desire faith or trust, all because they are already a part of our true essence. 

Even materially, we desire beauty, creativity, and abundance, all because they are already within us.

Our dreams are waiting for us to recognize this truth.

When we integrate this understanding deeply in our hearts, we act on our wishes from a place of clarity, effortlessly, and without any stress or worry about the outcome. We are able to be completely present in the moment and perform all activity from that place of centeredness. As Rumi says, when we are thus able to stay present and perform the necessary actions, all that we desire flows to us seamlessly from that place of calm confidence or serenity.

While there have been many interpretations of Rumi's poem, we must choose the one that we can relate to. This translation of Rumi’s quote seems to resonate the most for us.

We may not have that car that we dream of but if we believe that it will find its way to us somehow, then it will.

It’s a different matter that ultimately it’s not the car we are seeking but rather the happiness, fulfillment, or self-confidence that we associate with it. These are an unconditional part of us.

Embracing Inner Paradise

Like Sri Chinmoy, a spiritual leader once said, “Paradise is not a place; it's a state of consciousness.”

The mind constantly expects external attainment to provide inner peace, not realizing that excessive unconscious or ignorant pursuit of outer desires hinders us from experiencing the inner bliss we already possess.

However, what if it was possible to feel blessed right now, in this very moment, instead of waiting to feel that way in the future?

This higher elevated state is enabled easily when we feel grateful for what we have.

If we closely analyze our life situations, embracing self awareness, we can see with clear eyes that everything that happened in the past was exactly what we needed at that time. Everything we thought was missing was already present in our true selves.

You start noticing seeds of qualities that you aspire for, already existing within you.

* We'll be using this symbol to suggest areas where you can choose to pause and actively practice the following

"You are that which you are seeking." We might understand this conceptually and even accept it at some level. But, it is more impactful if we try applying this as a practice to see if it is true in our own experience, instead of acquiring this merely as a positive affirmation or belief.

If we earnestly try to observe objectively, we start seeing areas in our lives where this has been true. The sooner we can relate to this fact in our direct experience, the more we manifest this truth in all other areas. Our physical reality soon starts changing to reflect this understanding as a result of the shift in our perspective.

As we work on our goals, even if we encounter challenges or resistance on the outside because of other people around us or seeming situational limitations, the real test is always about how clear we are on this inner realization, the firmness of our true intentions, and the degree of faith we have in them. If we pass the test, we see that it is easy for success to find its way to us, especially during trying times.

Whether it’s romantic relationships, coveted experiences, or any other long-awaited dream, when we realize that there is no point in chasing after things that ultimately don’t align with us in the long run, we develop faith in the knowledge that the right things are coming our way. Then, we can stop insisting on controlling the outcome which is one of the primary sources of suffering.

With this attitude, we release the grip of desperation and obsessive attachment to desires, which causes them to slip away in the first place while also, obscuring our inherent peace and bliss.

Having said that, a word to the wise - it's important to remember that this mindset doesn't mean we should neglect the effort we may need to make. It's all about finding a balance. By being fully present in the moment, we can understand what actions are necessary right now to let Life guide us towards our desired reality.

In summary, when we have full conviction that what truly belongs to us will appear in our reality at the right time, it opens us up to a state of greater mental peace and fulfillment.