The Spiritual enquiry of the self starts from the question ‘Who am I‘. This question requires a lot of patience and stability. If this question does not keep much importance in someone’s life then he/she can’t stable with this question. The outcome of this question is the highest possibility of human being that is to know the actual self which is different from the known self.
To know the answer to this question, you should ensure your survival and basic needs like money, health etc. But after ensuring the basic survival most of the people run after more and more money which is endless. This type of people can’t be able to understand the ‘self’. So you want to know yourself, you should do everything in moderation. After this you can able to find the purpose of life.
Most people have much knowledge of the physical world but they don’t know who they are.
If someone has all the knowledge of this universe and he/she doesn’t know ‘Who am I‘ then all the knowledge is meaningless.
We all see what we want and do not see what is. We all need to know the ultimate purpose of spirituality which is mukti (liberation), liberation from bondage, liberation from the known, liberation from limitation and to know you are unlimited, you are infinite, everything is inside you. You are the sound of silence/consciousness/om and beyond the time and space. There is always the present moment spiritually.
Mind, ego and enlightenment:
Mind is formed by our beliefs, family, society and experiences. If we live with good people we become good and if we live with bad people we become bad. So our consciousness can be changed by changing the environment and good thoughts. So the ‘mind is thought’.
The root cause of suffering is ‘self’ or ‘ego’. Ego is like a ghost. It means ego is not true. There is no separate existence of us. We all are interconnected and interdependent. So that ‘I’ is also one. So there is no separation between you and me in spirituality. Everywhere and everyone is me. To understand this is called moksha (liberation). For example in a river, it seems that the bubbles are separate from water but it is not true. The truth is that they all are water and water is the common thread and base of all bubbles.
So, understanding that you are everywhere and in everything in this universe is enlightenment. This is the highest possibility of human life. Upnishads and Shrimadbhagwat Geeta are the sources of self-knowledge. The understanding starts from the question ‘Who am I‘.
What is consciousness?
We think that consciousness exists only in humans, animals etc. But it is not true. Consciousness is everywhere in this universe, in every living and nonliving thing.
The Consciousness that is felt in humans and animals is ‘content of consciousness’ which is also the type of consciousness. For example, we call the reflection of light light but the light is darkness. Darkness and reflection of light both are light. For this reason, dharma/religion has the significance of the moon. The half-moon is the symbol of the reflection of light and the darkness. It means the reflection of light is symbolic of human consciousness which can perceived through the five senses and darkness is symbolic of ‘consciousness’ which is beyond our five senses. When we question ourselves, ‘Who am I‘ then all our questions related to spirituality can be answered but we need patience for this.
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