When we see someone, we say, “Hey! What’s up?” Sometimes questions go on like, “Hello!” “What’s your name?” or “How are you? What’s up? Where do you want to go? How are you feeling?” If you look at all of these questions, you’ll notice that they all use the same word. The letter “U”! Now, how do most people answer the questions above?
- “I am fine!”
- “I am Mr. George!”
- “I am Mrs. Tina !”
- “I’m a doctor.”
- “I am a singer.”
Which word does everyone use? Yes, you did figure it out. The letter “I”. Now, think for a moment. We ask and answer questions all the time, but do we ever ask ourselves the most important question, “Who am I really?” When the question is answered and understood correctly, it can change the way we look at the world.
Who am I?
Here, let’s look at this short story. A long time ago, there was a philosopher. Normal, everyday man went to see him. The man was looking for happiness, so he asked the philosopher to help him learn how to control his mind, feelings, and worries.
Philosopher: Who Are You?
Man: I’m John.
Philosopher: Could you say that again?
Man: Hi, My name is John.
Philosopher: What a strange thing to say! ‘ “My name is John” and “I am “John””? The name and the entity are the same?
Man: I am confused.
Philosopher– Ok! Whose hands and legs are these?
Man: I own these.
Philosopher: “Whose head is this?” …and whose eyes are these?
Man: Of Course they are mine..
Philosopher: But they are all parts of this body. Does that mean you are this body? You are just the parts of your body. Do you agree?
Man: No… I am more than the parts of my body.
Philosopher: Okay, so your body has both a mind and a brain. Whom does this mind, this intelligence, and this body belong to
Man: I own it.
Philosopher: Does that mean that you are your mind?
Man: No, my mind, thoughts, and feelings are mine, but these things are not me.
Philosopher: What about what you say?
Man: I own it. but I am not what I say.
Philosopher: Whose body is this in its entirety?
Man: That’s also mine.
Philosopher: Does that mean you are your body?
Man: It could or could not be.
Philosopher: You say “it’s mine” all the time, but I’m not it. It means that the person who owns these body parts is a separate person.
Man: Yes. Of course!
Philosopher: Then give me another answer “Who are you to be sure?”
Man: Everything is mine, but I’m still a separate entity. You could say that I own all of this body.
Philosopher: If you are the owner, tell me how you made the parts of your body. How do you decide and create your skin color? How do you choose and create your hairstyle? How do you create your thoughts?
Man: No!! I did nothing to make all of these parts of my body. Even though they are mine, I did not make them.
Philosopher: It means you are not the same person in your body, and neither are the parts of your body, your mind, or your feelings. Is it so?
Man: I’m not sure. I don’t get it. But now I’m really curious about who I really am.
Philosopher: Haha! Close your eyes and think about what to do.
The guy closed his eyes. Started thinking, “Who am I?” After 5 minutes, he said, “I can’t say for sure. I do not know anything about me.”
The philosopher said, “I’m not really looking for an answer! Just tell me about your thoughts, emotions, stresses, and sadness during these five minutes when your eyes were closed.”
The man said, “When I closed my eyes and tried to figure out “Who am I?” “There was no stress, I forgot my sorrows, and while I was thinking, I felt very light and free.”
“Yes!” said the philosopher. My friend ! This is the lesson for today. When we start to ask ourselves, “Who am I?”, we take our first step toward being pure. Our name, our pride, our status, our body parts, our mind, and our feelings are all like clothes we wear on the outside. “But on the inside, I’m someone else, and that “I” is pure and only an observer.”
The philosopher kept going with his talk. “We eat food, but we don’t control how our bodies break it down. Our heart beats, but we don’t make it do that. We are not in charge of making our blood, making hemoglobin, and making many other things in our bodies. Even though we have a brain, scientists still study the magical functions and powers of the brain. Our nervous system is neither our fault nor under our control. There are billions of things going on in our bodies that we don’t know about. All of these things are controlled by some power and energy in nature. Even how we breathe is out of our hands. Our bodies are set up so that breathing happens on its own. Who does all of these things? Who is in charge and running these things? Who am I if a superpower, consciousness, or energy from the outside is controlling my body? Why am I living inside of this body? At what point did “my” journey start? Where do I need to go? Many, many questions will come to mind.”
Philosopher kept talking: “My friend! The first and most important step to becoming calm, quiet, and pure inside is to let these questions come up in your mind and intellect. Try to learn about how to get inside.”
Moral of the story
Hey, readers! The idea behind this story is very similar to the ideas in Ayurveda, which is called the “science of life.” All of these things are better understood thanks to Ayurveda. Questions like “Who am I?” were always at the center of the ancient Vedic sciences. This question is where the topic of anatomy in Ayurveda begins. “What am I?” In most other medical sciences, an anatomy class starts with learning about the body’s outside parts and ends there. This means that they only look outside. But Ayurveda and other Vedic sciences start their study of the body from the inside. Go inside first. Deep thinking about the inner mind. Then you can go outside. Even meditating is a form of self-reflection. Meditation can help you find the answer to “Who am I?” We’re going inside means we’re getting closer to being pure.
Let’s start our inside journey.
a) Try getting up early and just sitting in a comfortable position to meditate.
b) Close your eyes and try to focus on your breathing. Just watch your breathing.
c) Don’t force yourself to do anything. Just step back and watch what happens. Don’t try to go crazy or come up with something new. Just watch and feel the air going in and out of your nose.
d) At first, try counting your breaths from twenty to zero backwards. This will help you focus. Inhale 20, exhale 19, inhale 18, exhale 17, and so on. Try to count and pay attention to the breath as you do this. Can you get to 0 without letting your thoughts get in the way? Just try it out.
e) If still thoughts come up, you should also pay attention to them. Don’t get stuck on those ideas. Everything about you, including your breath, feelings, and senses, is controlled by supreme consciousness. You didn’t make anything yourself.
f) Still, thoughts keep coming to mind, so think only of “Real myself” and “I am pure. I am not my body. I’m not my thoughts. I am not my senses. I’m not my emotions. I’m not my intellect. All things are controlled by different forces.
g) And one day you’ll realize that your path is making you happier and calmer. Because we are going toward our pure soul, which is part of the supreme consciousness.
e) If still thoughts come up, you should also pay attention to them. Don’t get stuck on those ideas. Everything about you, including your breath, feelings, and senses, is controlled by supreme consciousness. You didn’t make anything yourself.
f) Still, thoughts keep coming to mind, so think only of “Real myself” and “I am pure. I am not my body. I’m not my thoughts. I am not my senses. I’m not my emotions. I’m not my intellect. All things are controlled by different forces.
g) And one day you’ll realize that your path is making you happier and calmer. Because we are going toward our pure soul, which is part of the supreme consciousness.
The Vedas say that “he” and “I” are not two different things. Everything is one, and I already have that divine power inside me. That would be “I,” myself.
There is a Zen poem…
Sitting quietly Doing nothing Spring comes And the grass grows by itself.
