There is immense depth in this simple quote and our awareness expands as much as the depth we are willing to go with this quote. As a traveler, it is a privilege and duty to share my travel dairy with fellow travelers.

What is it that we give and what is it that we receive?

All the Holy Scriptures in the World say that we are the “Self or Divine or Atman or Spirit or Soul or infinite”. If we understand this, we also understand that it is the “False I or mind or ego/intellect/memory combo” that acts as an obstacle in being aware of our “Self or Divine or Atman”. Our purpose is to strive to remove this obstacle and wake up to That we are. The “False I” is born with this body and flourishes (sometimes grows even after the body stopped growing) and dies with the body. The birth & death exists for this “False I”. The “real I” is never born and that which is never born, never dies and hence is Omnipresent. The “False I” assumes the doership and thrives on objects and identification. A simple analogy often quoted by Seers is that a spark catches fire when a object is brought in contact, it flourishes through the object and moves from one object to another. This is how it continues to live. If we take away the objects the spark is extinguished in space or goes back to the source. In this analogy, the spark is the “False I” and it thrives through Objective world and identification with objects. The “Real I” is the infinite space or the source for this little spark.

Let’s put this analogy now in perspective to the quote from St. Francis of Assisi. What we must give is our identification with objects. For a novice traveler, this could be the objects they possess more than their need. The more objects we seek, the more longer and stronger the “False I” will be. For a experienced traveler, this is the complete identification with objects and ownership in this objective world. What is that we receive? By identifying less with objects, we allow room for the “Real I or Divine Grace”. For a novice traveler, this could be the temporary peace of mind and relative good merits they witness in the objective world. For an experienced traveler, it is the awareness or the realization they had been longing for. Never misunderstand the truth that we would get more objects, fame, glory, power in return for what we give. Such a false understanding will end our travel abruptly.

Wherever we are on the path of travel, this simple quote when put in to practice with right understanding can slowly transform us from outgoing mind to in-going mind. The Darshan of the “Real I or Divine” is only possible with the in-going mind. Let’s work on that.