Blog Post #106 - Whom am I is the wrong Question and real question is ...

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

-  Albert Einstein



When a man saw Buddha after he was enlightened he asked       ' What are you?' and not 'Who are you?' His answer I am Buddha  (the awakened).

This man - Siddhartha got up from his sleep . Did you?

Till Dec 27 2014 all my blogs will continue to be spiritual and religious . Skip this post and don't read the rest of the blog....


I mean it..

So , you still here? . That means you like to read boring blog posts - welcome to my world and my expertise !

Most of the time when you visit a Hindu Temple you will see the Verse - Tat Twan Asi mostly above Ayappa's  statue. 

This post will cover a bit about Tat Twan Asi (You are that) and Aham Brahmasmi( Iam infinite truth).



Let's start with more boring and deep discussions. Let me digress a bit about Spirituality and Religion.

Digress  -  a new word I acquired into my vocabulary  and have been waiting for an opportunity to use it..

Digress - leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing..
and I like to digress. 

Once you find a new word you will find it everywhere and will be tempted to use it (I got my opportunity - hey!!!)

How about you? Do you stay with the topic? - Again realize I have read about or trying to experiment on 'Being in other person's shoe- What ever that means' and ask ' What do you think?'

Why this transformation?

Let's give credit to Swami Sarvapriyananda -  a dynamic young monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Swami Vimalananda of Chimaya Mission- Learn more at http://chinmayauk.org/our-leaders/swamini-vimalananda/ 

The reason these people are important to me is because they are teaching (or trying to teach) Vedanta.

A vast topic and I have less patience for long lectures unless the speaker is like me(I always think I present interesting topics - don't you?)

There is no distinction between spirituality and religion. You can be spiritual about Religion and Religious about being Spiritual - but these are just word plays and useless to common (wo)man.

What is more important is to ask the question - Who am I ? - Great Saint of Arunachala Ramana Maharshi used to say

1. Ask the question ' Who am I?'
2. Then ask the question - ' Who is asking the question Whom am I?'




If you read the above 2 lines and wanted to continue to read I will not let you...STOP..

STOP... Re-read the lines above and for your convenience I have them below

1. Who Am I ?
2. Who is asking 'Who Am I?'

Ramana knew Vedanta and knew how to condense and deliver in a form that is practical and impossible!

What? yes. It is practical to sit and ask these questions and impossible to get the answers. 

If you answered the questions by yourself then you are a 'Yogi'. 

If you are like Vivekananda you might want to try serving people  - 'Blowing air through nose practicing breathing is important but servicing people is more important' was his message and he claimed - 'Doing good is better than being good'.


You have an option to serve humanity after you become a Yogi but for now continue reading this blog to get some help from Adi Shankara.

First - this example that Swami Vimalananda gives in her speech.



'This is a watch' - she pulls out a watch and then says ' This is my watch'.

You know it - but the watch doesn't!

If you laugh and say ' Ha Ha funny/Silly  but not profound' she continues (and I paraphrase)

'This is my Baby' - you know it and the Baby doesn't!

In Life - once we have kids we forget the kids are through us and not from us. Think again - You came to Earth through your parents and not just because of them.

The real Question that we keep asking is ' Who am I?' Let's take the answer first approach and the answer is Neti Neti - "not this, not this", or "neither this, nor that"

Let's use the basic approach from Science and Vedanta

"The Knower is different from the Known"

We learnt about the watch and baby and learnt 'My watch' and 'My baby' are not the same as watch and baby. For the baby and watch it is the same but for you - you have claimed ownership of it which the baby or watch may not know!

Now apply that to our experience. Seeing is believing.

Now you see - see through your eyes your phone or computer.

You know it is your phone or your computer (OK !! -got that idea let's move on!) now you are different from your phone or computer (big deal  -  I knew that - I don't need a blog post to tell me that!)

Your Eyes and your phone are different.
Your eyes are being experienced by your mind.

Your mind knows if there is eye pain, eye closing or opening or itching. So you are not your 'Eye' (or any other body part).

Even if your hand or leg is cut you are still you. When they perform open heart surgery or brain surgery(open brain surgery?) - they practically remove your heart and brain.

So you are not the body part. 

You are the mind!

But.. you change your mind. Your mind 'sees' the eye, hears the 'ear' et all but even that is not stable. 

You liked music louder when you were a kid. You also liked playing with sand.

Do you now? 

Have you changed your mind on anything lately? If you are married you mind  might have been  - by force!(by your spouse!)

There is a reason Spouse is called better half - that leaves you as the worst half as the  whole is neutral! (Digress!)

Your 10 year old body is not same as this one. 
So you were not the body.
You are not the mind ( we even digressed to learn that!)

'Neti Neti'  - "not this, not this", or "neither this, nor that" .

You have taken your baby step into Vedanta ( I have 2 extra steps than you and I am superior at this point atleast in terms of baby steps!)


Then what are you?

So the question changed - from Who am I ? to What am I?

Enter 'Turiya' and Adi shankara to your rescue!!! (this is not THE answer but A answer - in Sanata Dharma we have a buffet and a spicy food for non sweet lover like me -- do you know I don't like sweets - Digress!)

Turiya - the experience of pure consciousness.

Swami Sarvapriyananda explains these very well in IIT kanpur

Swami Sarvapriyananda at IITK - "Who Am I?" according to Mandukya Upanishad-Part 1 - Link

The story he talks about is about Janaka and his dream. Google for King Janaka and Ashtavakra.

King Janaka has a bad dream and he lost a battle and suffered a lot after his life was spared and woke up and asked “Was that a dream, or is this a dream?"

After sometime Saint Ashtakvakra explains to Janaka - Both are true. The dream may not be true but you did experience it (What is you - we will come to it)

You experience the waking world , the dreaming world and a Deep sleep without dream (and wake up and know  - you are you!). Imagine Tamil ,Telugu and Hindi  movies  the Protagonist  (fancy word for Hero!) wakss up and says ' Where am I ' and sometimes 
' Who am I '. The real you should wake up with or without a dream and know the real you and the world if not you will be considered mad (If you understood this and start explaining you will  be considered mad too!).

Turiya is what knows the waker,dreamer and the deep sleeper. Like your school teacher of college professor who knows all these 3 types of students in her class!


Adi Shankara who questioned everything and integrated Sanatha Dharma into one unit (Known to people as Sindu/Hindu Religion).

Sanatha Dharma means has 'Eternal' Religion.Another post another topic (Digress)

Welcome back to learning about yourself and Adi Shankara  - the leader, the integrator, mathematician (see my posts on triangles) and great Linguist.

Adi Shankara says the language is useful for

1. Jathi - species - belongs to a class. Cow is a cow. You are a man or a Woman or a human being.

2. Guna - Quality. Red flower! Gunam . You have black pen.

3. Kriya - call the cook or driver! - function. You are a computer Nerd or a Dancer or a Pilot

4. Samanda - relation. This car belongs to me, Watch belongs to my wife. He is 'my' friend.

5. Convention - Prakasha - Once you can find it as an unique thing you get to name it!. Your own name given by your parents u- to name you they had to point 'you' out and 'set you'  apart from others!  

Now Turiya (remember pure conscious)  that knows waker,dreamer and deep sleeper - that is you and that is not something that language can come to you aid to explain.

If this was difficult to understand it is meant to me. 

That is why these are called Vedanta!. 


So answer to what am I is Turiya and we can also call it Shiva!

Shiva is pure joy.

You have been happy - the last time you got 'that' thing . A car or when you got married or had a baby - you were happy. But you were not pure joy.

To experience pure Joy you need to know that you are 'Turiya'


To conclude let us explore the great song that Adi Sharkara has written to explain this to us all
Video link here .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AHBSi2_Dpc

From http://livingunbound.net/inspiration/atmastakam_shivoham/

I got this translation for ATMASTAKAM or Nirvana Shatakam or Shivoham

I am not the mind, intellect, thought, ego, or some form of the supreme being; I neither have ears, nor tongue and I neither have nose (nostrils) nor eyes; I am not the sky, earth, light or the wind; I am the fortunate, joyful, supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.

I am not the most essential air that everyone breathes. Nor a part of essential five gases related to bodily functions (which are Prana, Aparna, Vyana, Udana and Samana). I am not the seven-fold material (Rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Medas, Asthi,Majja and Shukra) that help in body’s physical development, I am not part of five coverings that help to build up the personality (food, air, mind, knowledge or wisdom and pleasure). Nor am I the five organs of action (which are speech/mouth, hands, feet, reproductive and rectum), I am the fortunate, joyful, supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.

I have no likes or dislikes; Not I have any greed or delusion; I have no pride or arrogant vanity; Nor am I jealous of anyone or in competition with anyone ; I do not need the four main necessities of life (which are Dharma (Law of Life), Artha (Wealth), Kama (Desires) and Moksha (Liberation); I am the fortunate, joyful,supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.


I am not attached to any righteousness or sin; I have neither pleasure nor sorrow; I have no need for any Mantra; I have no need for pilgrimages ; I have no need for any sacred scriptures; nor do I perform any sacrifise or rituals; I am neither the meal nor the one who consumes or what is consumed;
I am the fortunate, joyful,supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.


I have no fear of death, nor do I have caste distinctions; I neither have a father nor mother because I was never born; I have neither kin/relatives nor friends; I have no gurus and nor am I a disciple; I am the fortunate, joyful, supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.
 
I am free of thoughts and beyond imagination since I have no form; I am all pervading and exist everywhere; I am the king of all sense-organs; I am always impartial to everything and everyone,; I am free from everything and I have no attachment to anything; I am the fortunate, joyful, supreme being who is the very emblem of truth, knowledge and eternal bliss.
I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva, I am Shiva.

Let Joy be with you and you be joyful
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran