At the beginning of a cosmic cycle of Creation, the Srimad Bhagavata
Purana tells us, the latent energies of the Supreme Being burst forth as a
lotus bud bearing the Creator Brahma.
Brahma looked around to find only a vast expanse of causal waters
and wondered: ‘Who am I seated on this lotus; where has this lotus come from?
It must surely have a basis.’
He dived into the waters through the lotus stalk, searching
for his origin, but found his search unending even after aeons.
He then returned to his seat, controlled his mind and
senses, looked deep within himself and discovered ‘the truth of the indwelling
Spirit, which he had failed to realize through his earlier quest outside’.
In nutshell, You are that which you are searching outside.