Who am I is a question that has baffled philosophers. A modern "intellectual" may look at you and wonder whether you have gone soft in the head if you ask this question. But these are very profound questions, answers to which can enable us to understand ourselves better.
King Janaka, one of the greatest philosopher kings had a dream that he was a beggar. Next day, he called his wise men and asked, " Was I a king dreaming that I am a beggar or am I really a beggar dreaming that I am now a king? What is the reality? Who am I? " The wise men then take the king on a journey to say who he really is. Shall we begin our discovery of who we are?
The Indian way of thinking which starts off with the hypothesis of what we are and nullifies it is an excellent way to delve into this interesting journey of who I am. Let us start with what most of us identify ourselves the most with. With very few exceptions, most of us identify ourselves with the body. This in the Indian way of thinking is called as Annamaya Kosha. Now, let us ask ourselves, is the body my identity? Well we may look at the mirror, admire our beautiful face and say, yes, this face is me leading to the extension that this body is me. Let us try to disprove this from different approaches. Assuming that in some freak accident, I lose my eyes, nose, ears etc and through plastic surgery everything new is put so that my face is totally changed. Now, does that make me someone different? Assume that I lose my hands, legs, ears etc due to something. Does it make me non-existent or am I not "I" anymore? I am sure most of you will agree that even with loss of limbs or with the change of my face totally, as far as I am concerned, I am still I. So that means someone is sitting within that body and declaring the identity. So that someone is me and not the body. Secondly just a layer within the skin, we are nothing but blood, bones, tissue, pus, waste matter etc. Am I that? Imagine through some surgery if my skin was somehow removed and I was shown a picture of what I am inside and all of would be walking around as mounds of flesh, bones and blood, would I still say, I am this body? I think most of us would recoil in horror to know that we are that. So, the body based identity or the Annamaya kosha based identity does not seem to be me.
Well what drives the body? It is the vital air, which provides oxygen to the various parts that enables a body to be alive. So, is this what I am, the vital air? As per Indian thinkers, this layer is called Vayumaya Kosha. It appears to be a strong case that the vital air that provides the ability for the body to function then is really me. Well, does the vital air create emotions of love and hatred? Though the vital air provides ability to the brain to function, is the vital air the emotion producer?
Looks like there is someone else behind this vital air sheath enjoying the pleasures and hating the pains. Now can we say, we found our identity? The guy who is enjoying or hating the various emotions is me! As per Indian thinkers, this sheath in us is called the Manomaya Kosha or the Mind layer. The mind is a collector of all information from the sense organs. But is it the one who decides what the sense object is and what feeling should be associated? You may love a garden because it has beautiful flowers and you met your beloved there. Now assume that when you were in that beautiful garden one day, your beloved decided to ditch you. you go to the same spot. Do you experience the same happiness? What changed? The same sense organs are giving the same signals to the mind, but the mind is now not happy. It appears as though there is someone else behind the mind telling it when to be happy and when to be sad. Gotcha! I think that is what I am.
The layer behind the mind which processes all information, calls past memory in an instant and decides what to feel and how to react is the layer of the intellect, also called as the JnanaMaya kosha. It is this layer that gives ability to conceptualize, get the concept that I am an Indian, I am a patriot, I am an unselfish person etc. This looks to be a strong candidate for who I am, because it is through this layer that I decide I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian. Should we stop and declare victory in our search? Well, let me ask a question? When you are fast asleep, do you know you are a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian? If when I am fast asleep, someone comes and tells that I am a good for nothing donkey, do I know it? But as soon as I get up, I know that I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian. So who knew this. What did I experience in deep sleep? Did my nagging wife or my terrible boss bother me when I was deep asleep? Did the fact that someone called me a donkey bother me? So even though I was totally ignorant, I was at bliss. Given a chance would I not want that layer which gives me bliss and at the same time remembers everything about me. Imagine the disaster if each day in morning I had to remember all over again that I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian! So there is some guy sitting behind the intellect and maybe that is me? This sheath by Indian thinkers' terminology is called Anandamaya Kosha or the sheath of bliss. Thank God, I think we reached the end of our journey, we are the Ananda Maya kosha.
Well, sorry to disappoint you!!! We know we are ignorant in sleep. Though ignorance may be bliss, do we want to end our search by telling that we are ignorant of our existence and we are happy and hence that ignorance itself is our identity? What is my true identity?
Let me open the Anandamaya Kosha to a identity where I know that I exist and I know that I am full of bliss. Contrast this to the deep sleep state where I do not know that I exist and I know that I was full of bliss after I wake up. How would it be, if in waking state, I could be in that state of bliss where neither my nagging wife nor the horrible boss can disturb my peace and still be awake. Well yes, that is our true self, Satchidananda broken up as Sat Chit Ananda, meaning Awareness, Reality and Blissfulness. I am Satchidananda Brahma which is the highest saying of the Upanishads, " Aham Brahmasmi".
I am that Supreme Brahman who by wrong identification with the body/mind/intellect comprising the various layers think I am a mere living being and feel constrained.
King Janaka, one of the greatest philosopher kings had a dream that he was a beggar. Next day, he called his wise men and asked, " Was I a king dreaming that I am a beggar or am I really a beggar dreaming that I am now a king? What is the reality? Who am I? " The wise men then take the king on a journey to say who he really is. Shall we begin our discovery of who we are?
The Indian way of thinking which starts off with the hypothesis of what we are and nullifies it is an excellent way to delve into this interesting journey of who I am. Let us start with what most of us identify ourselves the most with. With very few exceptions, most of us identify ourselves with the body. This in the Indian way of thinking is called as Annamaya Kosha. Now, let us ask ourselves, is the body my identity? Well we may look at the mirror, admire our beautiful face and say, yes, this face is me leading to the extension that this body is me. Let us try to disprove this from different approaches. Assuming that in some freak accident, I lose my eyes, nose, ears etc and through plastic surgery everything new is put so that my face is totally changed. Now, does that make me someone different? Assume that I lose my hands, legs, ears etc due to something. Does it make me non-existent or am I not "I" anymore? I am sure most of you will agree that even with loss of limbs or with the change of my face totally, as far as I am concerned, I am still I. So that means someone is sitting within that body and declaring the identity. So that someone is me and not the body. Secondly just a layer within the skin, we are nothing but blood, bones, tissue, pus, waste matter etc. Am I that? Imagine through some surgery if my skin was somehow removed and I was shown a picture of what I am inside and all of would be walking around as mounds of flesh, bones and blood, would I still say, I am this body? I think most of us would recoil in horror to know that we are that. So, the body based identity or the Annamaya kosha based identity does not seem to be me.
Well what drives the body? It is the vital air, which provides oxygen to the various parts that enables a body to be alive. So, is this what I am, the vital air? As per Indian thinkers, this layer is called Vayumaya Kosha. It appears to be a strong case that the vital air that provides the ability for the body to function then is really me. Well, does the vital air create emotions of love and hatred? Though the vital air provides ability to the brain to function, is the vital air the emotion producer?
Looks like there is someone else behind this vital air sheath enjoying the pleasures and hating the pains. Now can we say, we found our identity? The guy who is enjoying or hating the various emotions is me! As per Indian thinkers, this sheath in us is called the Manomaya Kosha or the Mind layer. The mind is a collector of all information from the sense organs. But is it the one who decides what the sense object is and what feeling should be associated? You may love a garden because it has beautiful flowers and you met your beloved there. Now assume that when you were in that beautiful garden one day, your beloved decided to ditch you. you go to the same spot. Do you experience the same happiness? What changed? The same sense organs are giving the same signals to the mind, but the mind is now not happy. It appears as though there is someone else behind the mind telling it when to be happy and when to be sad. Gotcha! I think that is what I am.
The layer behind the mind which processes all information, calls past memory in an instant and decides what to feel and how to react is the layer of the intellect, also called as the JnanaMaya kosha. It is this layer that gives ability to conceptualize, get the concept that I am an Indian, I am a patriot, I am an unselfish person etc. This looks to be a strong candidate for who I am, because it is through this layer that I decide I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian. Should we stop and declare victory in our search? Well, let me ask a question? When you are fast asleep, do you know you are a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian? If when I am fast asleep, someone comes and tells that I am a good for nothing donkey, do I know it? But as soon as I get up, I know that I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian. So who knew this. What did I experience in deep sleep? Did my nagging wife or my terrible boss bother me when I was deep asleep? Did the fact that someone called me a donkey bother me? So even though I was totally ignorant, I was at bliss. Given a chance would I not want that layer which gives me bliss and at the same time remembers everything about me. Imagine the disaster if each day in morning I had to remember all over again that I am a brilliant handsome patriotic Indian! So there is some guy sitting behind the intellect and maybe that is me? This sheath by Indian thinkers' terminology is called Anandamaya Kosha or the sheath of bliss. Thank God, I think we reached the end of our journey, we are the Ananda Maya kosha.
Well, sorry to disappoint you!!! We know we are ignorant in sleep. Though ignorance may be bliss, do we want to end our search by telling that we are ignorant of our existence and we are happy and hence that ignorance itself is our identity? What is my true identity?
Let me open the Anandamaya Kosha to a identity where I know that I exist and I know that I am full of bliss. Contrast this to the deep sleep state where I do not know that I exist and I know that I was full of bliss after I wake up. How would it be, if in waking state, I could be in that state of bliss where neither my nagging wife nor the horrible boss can disturb my peace and still be awake. Well yes, that is our true self, Satchidananda broken up as Sat Chit Ananda, meaning Awareness, Reality and Blissfulness. I am Satchidananda Brahma which is the highest saying of the Upanishads, " Aham Brahmasmi".
I am that Supreme Brahman who by wrong identification with the body/mind/intellect comprising the various layers think I am a mere living being and feel constrained.
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