*Words of Wisdom* -Ramana Maharshi

I came to you thinking of feeding on you however I find that I have ended up becoming your food and thus I have become established in absolute peace.
C: The word ‘sappadu’ refers to both food and experience. The word ‘shantam’ refers to the ultimate spiritual attainment. Ego gets totally consumed by 'Arunachala' who is the 'Self 'and becomes an integral part of Him. This cessation of ego is the highest end leading to absolute peace. Hence it is referred to as ‘shantamaipovan’ . The idea is to indicate that the annihilation of the separate identity is the experience of Siva. So long as there is even a tiniest particle of belief of oneself as separate identity remains there cannot be the experience of Divinity or cosmic consciousness. The same idea is expressed in all the texts which prescribe the act of becoming ‘food of God’, ‘the loss of individuality’ or ‘surrender’ (saranagathi or prapathi) as the ultimate instrument for realization. Hence, as Bhagavan has mentioned in the very first verse of 'Aksharamanamalai' the true grace of God is the destruction of the ego. Saint Nammalvar has written a verse which looks like an exact replica of this verse. Death of individuality in fact confers immortality on the devotee as also affirmed by Manickavachagar in Tiruvachakam (When He mingled with me, My alienation from me ended. My kith and kin – Products of puissant Karma -ceased to be. My delusion of the phenomenal world passed away. My word and deed perished). In such a stage all the aspects of one’s existence including the limiting adjuncts of personality along with their roots and seeds get destroyed. (After the cessation of ego, his mind takes the shape of 'sivanandalahari' (blissful waves of Siva consciousness) not even an atom of the vasanas or memory traces remain in His mind. A question may arise as to whether there is any residual personality after self-realization. The answer is that it appears as existing only in the eye of the beholder; it is not real.
In Self-Realization all the aspects of the personality get dissolved in consciousness. This truth is known by all those who have known about Bhagavan’s Self-experience.