Category Archives: Who am I

Who am I

We Are THAT

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Let us analyse the statement, “The moon is out there in front of me whethere I look at it or not.”

The light from the moon reaches eyes, and the signal from the eyes goes to the brain and mind interprets the signal as moon. It is just the signal that is reaching the brain that the mind reads as moon. Even if the moon is not out there but the signal is there, mind still labels it as moon. In dream for example there is no moon out there but it still appears to be moon. So, actually what is interpreted depends solely on the signal. If moon is experienced, we cannot infer that physical moon is necessarily out there. Hence, the statement is not necessarily correct. Moon may appear to be out there, but what appears need not necessarily be real.

If we go a step ahead then where is the moon for the inert stone. It is only due to the body instruments (senses, brain etc.) does the moon exist for us. An ammeter shows the current, the brain shows the moon. There is no experience in the absence of a suitable measuring instrument or signal.

Since one can see the moon even by closing eyes, it is clear that it is mind that takes the shape of the moon. The logic that is applied to sight can be applied to sound, taste, smell, touch as well. Since it is mind that takes various forms, all we can say with certainty is that everything is mind only. Consciousness and still mind are synonemous. We Are THAT.

Who am I

Is dream really a dream?

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A king saw a dream in which he lost his kingdom, sent into exile and subsequently faced extreme hardships. After waking up he found himself to be the king but the experience of losing kingdom and being treated poorly had gone deep into his mind. He kept on saying, “Is this true or is that true?”. When a sage visited him, the king said the same thing to the sage as well.

King: Is this true or is that true?
Sage: You experienced both things. However, when one experience was present, other was absent. You are experiencing kingdom now but this experience was absent when you experienced the loss of kingdom and events after that. No experience is absolute truth as experience keeps on changing. So, neither is this experience true nor is that experience true. What never changes is absolute truth. The only truth is YOU.

Ramana Maharshi, Who am I

“Heart” in Ramana Maharshi’s Who Am I

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The word heart has come quite a few times in Ramana Maharshi’s, “Who Am I?” as mentioned in the quotes below:

“If one inquires as to where in the body the thought ‘I’ rises first, one would discover that it rises in the heart.”

“When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the senseorgans, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness” (antarmukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation” (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine.”

Heart here does not mean the physical heart – a body organ. Heart here means centre, the source i.e. the field of consciousness/awareness or Self. When you say I, try to notice its source. It originates from pure consciousness. This is the basic idea behind the importance of I thought emphasised by Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. When you take breath and notice its origin, you tend to reach the very same source, i.e. pure consciousness which is like a field.

Who am I

Who Am I?

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Q (Kumar) : Who am I really?

A : The one who is the knower of this reading without any false identification is the real you – awareness. This whole act is taking place in the dream of awareness where awareness itself is playing various roles, one of them being that of Kumar. So, Kumar is in the dream of awareness. The universe/multiverse in which Kumar is present is the dream of awareness. In this dream, consciousness, which is one in reality, identifies with many roles one of which is that of Kumar. In the dream, Kumar’s eyes are looking at the alphabets and his mind is decoding the information from the language and is projecting the decoded information on the screen of consciousness. This is how it is consciousness that is reading this. All these things are taking place in the dream of awareness but since awareness itself is present in the dream, it is making sense out of it.

PS: Consciousness and awareness words are used as synonyms.