AiR

Who am I? How to Find Myself?

Have you ever thought about who you are? Are you John? That’s your name. Are you British? That’s your nationality. Are you a doctor? That’s your occupation. Do you hold a Ph.D degree? That’s your educational qualification. Are you a millionaire? That’s your financial status.

Who are you? Have you ever stopped to think?

Man has invented everything from submarines that go deep into the oceans to supersonic jets that fly in the sky. Man has discovered new lands, stars in space, a thriving underwater life, but man has forgotten to discover himself – who he truly is. It is only when man discovers himself, experiences a spiritual awakening that leads him to self-realization and God-realization, that he will be able to live a peaceful, blissful and happy life.

What We Are Not

So, we all think that we are ‘me’. But who is this ‘me’?

The best way to find out who or what we are, is to discover what we are not. As we keep eliminating what we are not, we will be rewarded with the realization of who we are.  Are we this body? Everybody thinks, “I am this body.” But just like we have a car and a house, but are neither of these, we also have a body, but are not the body. If I say, I ‘have’ a body, then it certainly can’t be who I am!

If not the body, then we must be the mind. Our mind thinks, feels and remembers. Therefore, that must be who we are. But then, we feel our mind worrying, and we watch it wandering. Moreover, when we try to locate the mind, we cannot find it. Thus we realize that we may have a mind, but we are not the mind. We are distinctly different from it.

If we are not the body and the mind, then we could be the ego. But the ego is invisible and intangible. Then, how can we be the ego? We are the ones who have an ego, mind, and body but we are different from these. We know that we are none of these. There remains only one unanswered question after we know what we are not – ‘Who am I?’

We Live In Ignorance

Now let’s consider another analogy. We look at a gold ring, a necklace, and a bangle and think these to be different ornaments. The truth is that while these appear to be different pieces of jewellery, in reality, they are nothing but gold. Our mind doesn’t let us realize the truth that there is no bangle, no ring or necklace. It is only gold that appears in all these different forms. Remove the gold and there will be no ornaments.

We fail to realize who we truly are because our mind makes us live in ignorance. We are not able to go beyond the body, mind, and ego to realize who we are.

We are the Life Energy

We now understand that we are not the body or the mind or the ego. Then, who are we? Scientifically, when the smallest particles in the cells of the human body are examined under sophisticated instruments, they are proved to be nothing but energy.

Yes, the truth is that we are Energy. The Life Energy that causes our breath and without which, there would be certain death.

However, ‘mere knowledge’ of who we are is not enough. It is the ‘realization’ of the self that leads to everlasting happiness, spiritual enlightenment and liberation from pain and suffering. And to progress on the spiritual path to enlightenment, which is the only path to happiness, a seeker needs the guidance of a spiritual guru, besides the grace of God. A true spiritual master can help a seeker realize the self.

“What I see is not me. I am the one who sees. The Body may suffer, or the Mind may suffer, but that is not me!”

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