A great poem in World Literature, Dakshinamurti Stotra reveals the Poet and the Mystic in Sri Sankaracarya in unison at the highest altitude of his being.
The important thing is how much less you think of the body, of yourself as matter -- as dead, dull, insentient matter; how much more you think of yourself as shining immortal being. The more you think of yourself as spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free from matter, body and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
-Swami Vivekananda