Who am I? Am I what my parents named me? Or am I what I am doing â am I my profession? Am I a student? Am I a doctor? Am I a shopkeeper? Can I say that I am my body? Yes, why not! My voice comes from my mouth which is essentially a part of my body.
So I may safely say that I am my body.
But that is not the case.
What is causing that voice? When I die, the body is still there, without me inside it.
Where did I go? Then, the body was not me.
I am not the body; I am something else.
I am not the five senses â touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing.
I am not the brain.
Am I my soul? Am I that unseen being present within the body? No, for there exists a secondary voice within me.
Then who or what am I? There can be only one answer.
I am consciousness.
I am awareness, the nature of which is existence.
Existence is truth.
What exists in truth is I or self - Atman.
This world, our own soul, God, all these are mere manifestations of it.
Self is God, God is self.
Shivoham.
I am Shiva.
Shiva is me.
Realization of I- The Self The âIâ in us is the mind.
Mind originates in the heart, where âIâ originates.
Realization of the self requires understanding of the mind.
Mind is a luminous power resting within the self.
Thoughts â that is mind.
Mind is nothing but thoughts.
Consequently, thoughts are the nature of the mind.
Now, apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as world.
When we sleep, we dream.
Dreams are nothing but a flow of thoughts.
There exists a world in dreams.
Deep sleep is devoid of thoughts.
Accordingly, it is devoid of a world.
When we quiet the mind, the world, taken as real, will disappear and self will emerge.
Quiescence of the Mind Mind must be calmed to realize the self.
It must be free of all thoughts.
Start by focusing on the single question which forms the basis of this article, who am I? Do not let other thoughts bother you.
How to achieve this? When other thoughts arise (believe me, they will), do not run after them.
Instead, start questioning their source.
From where do they originate? The reply would be, âTo meâ.
Upon repeated enquiry into âwho am Iâ the mind will go to its source, and the thought will become quiet.
When the mind goes through the brain, names and forms (the world as we see it) appear; but when the mind goes through the heart, the same disappear.
You will find that the thought, âwho am Iâ has also ceased to exist.
Another world will arise, the world that is self.
It has its own language; probably the language that you used when you were in your motherâs womb, we will never know.
This stage is the stage of self-realization.
You will not be able to stay in this thoughtless state for long, it requires practice.
Mind can also be silenced by practicing preksha-dhyaan, a breathing technique to quiet the thoughts.
Meditating, repeated recitals of the mantras, fasting, are all methods to control the agitated mind.
Through meditation, the mind becomes focused on a single position.
It ceases to meander.
Waking and Dream When we are awake, what we see we say is reality.
Same for dream, when we are dreaming, the happenings of a dream seem real.
Apart from that, you are awake longer than you dream or is it otherwise?