There was a very huge and royal palace. There were so many slaves in the palace. But their master had gone out once for something.  

Unfortunately, he had been out for such a long time that slaves completely forgot, that there was a master. Now, whenever someone passed by the palace...and it was such a beautiful palace that everyone wanted to enquire to whom it belonged. So any slave who happens to be on the door would say, "It belongs to me. I am the master". 

But another time, the same person passes by; someone else is on the door, and he asks, "To whom does this palace belong?" The slave on the door that time answers "It belongs to me. I am the master".

So the whole city seemed confused,"Who is the master?"  Everyone (every slave) says "I am the master".

Man is just like a palace where there are so many slaves but the master - "self"; has gone out. Such is the condition of man. Every slave...every thought that passes by you becomes master for certain duration. Again some other thought attacks & conquers and becomes master! The real master is either asleep or gone for a long journey and has not come back and it has been so long...

This whole is totally 'crowd' ... crowd of thoughts and nothing else. Thoughts are just like the waves on ocean. These waves are not the ocean as they come and die. The real, authentic ocean is still, very stable without even a single disturbance. It is below these waves. So the "self" is not the thoughts ... it is something more resourceful! 

Everyone calls himself as 'individual'! But meaning of this word-individual is 'indivisible' ... very integrated!! But we exist in divisions. We are just a divided crowd and to unify it purification of mind is needed.