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That is what is called atman. Atman means that which you are already. No one can take it away from you; not even death can destroy it. This sutra says DESIRE ONLY THAT WHICH IS WITHIN YOU. Desire atman, desire your innermost self, desire the center which you already possess but you have forgotten completely.
Why does man forget? It is a necessity. To survive, attention has to be paid to the outside world. To survive, to exist, to remain in life, you have to continuously pay attention to things: to food, to shelter. The body needs attention. It becomes ill, it is prone to suffering. The body is continuously struggling to survive because, for the body, there is death. The body is in a continuous struggle with death, so constant attention has to be paid to it.
The body is always in a state of emergency because at any moment death can occur. You have to be continually aware and continually conscious of this fight against death, so your whole attention moves outward. No energy is left to move within. This is a survival necessity. That's why we go on forgetting that one center within us exists that is deathless, one center within us exists that is eternal, one center in us exists that is absolute bliss.
Pain attracts attention; suffering attracts attention. If you have a headache, your attention moves to the head; you become aware that you have a head. If there is no ache in the head, you forget your head. You become headless -- as if you have no head.
The body is felt only when it is ill. If your body is absolutely healthy you will not feel it. You will become weightless. Really, you will become bodiless. This is the only criterion of authentic health: that the body is not felt at all. Whenever the body is felt it means that there is some illness, some disturbance. Your attention is called.
There are so many problems that come from the outside that your attention is constantly engaged and occupied there. That's why you forget that something exists right in the very center of your being that is deathless, that is divine, that is blissful. This sutra says:
DESIRE ONLY THAT WHICH IS WITHIN YOU.
... FOR WITHIN YOU IS THE LIGHT
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