Part 2 ---------> I-Am-Not-I-Who-Am-I

 part 2         I-Am-Not-I-Who-Am-I             What is the MIND?

What is the MIND?

The mind is the subtle part of our body. It is that aspect of us that is known to think, remember, recall and choose. Generally thought to be contained in the brain, the mind actually functions through all the nerves and senses. It is like the software of the body machine. The mind consists of several domains – a thought factory that produces thoughts, up to 50 thoughts a minute, a memory that is far bigger than any computer, an intellect that discriminates and decides, and an ego.

Most of us think that we are the mind because it is the mind that is the controller of the senses, the body, the thoughts and the decisions that we make. The mind seems to be the king or the ruler of the body, and most people think, “I am my mind and my mind is me”.

What is the EGO?

The ego is the identity that a person creates for himself. It is the “I-ness”, the “my-ness” and the “mine-ness”. Generally, it is considered to be that aspect of the individual that seeks to create one's own self-esteem. The ego exists as long as a person is alive.

We exist as long as the ego exists. When one realizes that we are not the body – but we have a body, and we are not the mind – but we have a mind, one transcends the ego. The ego ceases to exist!

As long as we say, “I did something” or “I want something”; as long as we say, “This is my body and my mind”; or as long as we say, “This house is mine, and this car is mine”, we submit to being the ego. The ignorance that envelopes us is such that although we know that we come empty-handed at birth and we go empty-handed at death, all through life we permit ourselves to be in the clutches of ignorance, believing that we are the ego.

What is the SOUL?

The soul can be dened as the spiritual, immortal part of a human being that is subtle and non-material. It can't be touched or felt. It is energy that gives life to the human body. However the soul is often confused with the mind, which is the other subtle part of the human being. There is no empirical evidence of the existence of the soul. But through inference, we realize that every human being has a soul. Death happens when the soul departs and the human being has no breath; we become lifeless. Therefore, the soul is the life energy that exists in a human being from birth to death.

Very often, souls are labelled as “good” soul or “bad” soul. In reality, souls cannot be good or bad, only a body or mind appears good or bad on the basis of our actions and behaviour when a soul gives life to it. The soul is pure energy. If one reects upon the soul, it is invisible, but all- powerful. It exists, but it can't be touched or felt. There is no evidence of where it comes from or goes. The soul is consciousness. Spiritualists believe that the soul energy is omnipresent like air that is everywhere. The soul leaves the human body at death and merges with the universal consciousness, just like air when released from a balloon merges with the atmosphere.

Man has progressed from pin to plane. Technology can connect you on a video call anywhere in the world. We make cars, ships and supersonic jets. We have invented thousands of instruments and gadgets. But it is sad, that we have not discovered who we truly are!

We Have Discovered Everything, Except Ourselves!

We human beings have practically discovered everything, but we have not discovered ourselves. We go under the oceans to discover what lies on the bed of the ocean oor. We go into the skies to discover the distant planets and stars. But we don't go within to discover ourselves. Even if we go within, we only touch the tip of our physical and emotional self. Scientists and psychologists are busy studying the body and mind. But not many people are studying what lies beyond that. According to biologists, an adult has 100,000 miles of blood vessels - enough to wrap around the Equator nearly four times. I was

abbergasted to read this and I thought that there must be some mistake here. But it is true. Each human being is a true wonder of the world, with eyes, nose, ears, tongue, hands, head and heart. We have 7 wonders and more within each one of us. In fact, the whole universe is full of wonders. And instead of realizing that everything is a miracle, we are trying to prove that nothing is a miracle!

There is a power beyond human comprehension that controls everything – rotation that causes day and night, revolution of the earth around the sun, seasons, life, birth and death. The wind that blows, the water that ows and the sun that glows are caused by an energy. There is energy everywhere, and it is that energy within us that we need to discover. It is sad that we human beings don't focus our time and life on what truly matters. What truly matters is to discover who we are.

Fairy Tales Conceal the Truth

From the time we are born, we are told stories. These fairy tales become the foundation of our life. They become our belief system and stop us from the realization of the truth.

Story of the Stone Cat

Once, there lived a spiritual master who along with his disciples would meditate every evening. The teacher had a cat and when the teacher and disciples would meditate, the cat would play around, distracting everyone. Seeing this, the teacher ordered his disciples to tie the cat every evening. This went on, and soon it became a daily ritual to tie that cat so that their evening meditation was not disturbed.

Years later, after the teacher died, the disciples continued to tie the cat before the start of the meditation practice. When the cat eventually died, they got one more cat to be tied. Many cats died, and nally, they made a cat out of stone and started worshipping the cat. This had no relevance or logic, but it became a ritual that was rigorously followed.

We humans often create rituals and follow them without understanding the reason why, just like the stone cat.

Solar Eclipse Myths

Science has explained several natural phenomena, which were earlier attributed to strange myths and superstitions.

In fact, it is interesting to know how different cultures and countries viewed occurrences like the solar eclipse.

In the past, people considered the eclipse to be an evil happening. It evoked fear and was considered ominous. It was believed that a demon was causing the eclipse. Hence, people would gather in large numbers banging pots and pans, making a ruckus to frighten the demon away.