In the recorded dialogues, the teaching on self-inquiry holds together two perspectives that may seem paradoxical. On the one hand, realization is said to be inherently immediate, because the Self is ever-present and already realized; nothing new is produced by practice. Self-inquiry does not create realization but removes ignorance, loosening the false identification with the ego-mind. From this standpoint, there is no real “becoming” anything; there is only the recognition of what has always been the case. The apparent process belongs to the mind and its tendencies, not to the Self itself.

At the same time, the Talks acknowledge that, in lived experience, the path usually appears gradual. The mind is burdened with long-standing vasanas and patterns of identification, and these do not typically dissolve at a stroke. For most aspirants, repeated turning of attention toward the source of the “I”-thought and abiding there functions as a gradual purification. This steady inquiry weakens the ego’s hold and allows moments of clarity to deepen and stabilize. Thus, what is timeless in essence is approached through what looks like a temporal process.

There is also recognition that, for a minority of highly mature seekers, realization may seem sudden. When spiritual ripeness is complete—through prior preparation, clarity of mind, and intense earnestness—one-pointed inquiry into “Who am I?” can bring about an apparently instantaneous and complete recognition. Yet even here, the teaching maintains that nothing new has been gained; only the veils have fallen away. The contrast between “sudden” and “gradual” therefore reflects differences in preparedness rather than differences in the nature of realization itself.

Throughout these teachings, attention is repeatedly drawn away from speculation about timing and toward the quality of practice. Factors such as sincerity, intensity of inquiry, and the degree of identification with the ego-mind are presented as shaping how the path is experienced. The essential counsel is to persist in self-inquiry whenever the sense of “I” arises, allowing the mind to become still enough for the ever-present Self to stand revealed. Whether this is later described as immediate or gradual is ultimately secondary to the fact of turning inward and remaining there.