Attaining Enlightenment Always Starts With 'Who Am I': Here's Why

Who Am I? The Ultimate Question on the Path to Enlightenment

Enlightenment is realising the truth about who we are. It is eliminating the darkness of ignorance that we live in. It is about going within on a journey of self-discovery. It begins with the single most important question that we can ever ask and find an answer to: Who am I? The answer to this question holds the key to a life of peace, love and bliss. Realising ‘Who I Am’ or self-realisation leads to God-realisation, and ultimately to Moksha, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, the ultimate goal of human life.

This article is authored byAiR Atman in Ravi, Happiness Ambassador and Spiritual Leader.

So, who are we? From the moment we are born, society assigns us labels. ‘You are John,’ they say, but that is merely a name. ‘You are British,’ they add,that’s nationality. ‘You’re a doctor,’ they proclaim but that’s a profession. We accumulate identities, accolades, possessions and roles. But none of these truly define who we are. These are what we have or do, not what we are. And so, the question remains, elusive yet essential: Who am I?

Ironically enough, human beings have reached astounding heights in science and technology,from exploring the ocean’s depths to launching probes into space. Yet, in all this external discovery, we have forgotten the most important discovery of all: the self. A journey that is not outward but inward. It is only when man discovers himself, experiences a spiritual awakening that leads him to self-realisation and God-realisation, that he will be able to live with true joy.

We think that we are ‘me’. But who is this ‘me’? The best way to find out who or what we are, is to discover what we are not. Are we this body? But just like we have a car and a house, but are neither of these, we also have a body but are not the body. The body came later. It was formed over 9 months in a mother’s womb. We were born before that, as a single cell that ultimately divided to become 25-billion cells and arrived in this world as baby. When we die, people will burn or bury our body and say that he or she has departed. Who departed?

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If not the body, then we must be the mind. But when we try to find the mind, we cannot find it. The mind doesn’t even exist! If we are not the body and the mind, then we could be the ego. But the ego is invisible and intangible. It is an illusion. Then, how can we be the ego? Clearly, we are the ones who have an ego, mind and body but we are different from these. We say, ‘my body, my mind, my ego’,doesn’t that imply a separate me that owns all of these? There remains only one unanswered question after we know what we are not,‘Who am I?’

Not the body. Not the mind. Not the ego. We are the Soul,a Spark Of Unique Life, a part of the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. We are all manifestations of the Divine. Scientifically, when the smallest particles in the cells of the human body are examined under sophisticated instruments, they are proved to be nothing but energy. And that is our truth too. We are Energy. The Life Energy that causes our breath and without which, there would be death. In fact, everything is Energy,the animate and the inanimate.

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But knowing this is not enough. Enlightenment is not the gathering of information,it is the dawning of realisation. It is evolving from living in darkness to living in light, from ignorance to wisdom. And to walk this path, we need not only contemplation, introspection but also the guidance of a realised spiritual master, one who has crossed the ocean of illusion and can show others the way.

The moment we realise who we truly are, we become free from the triple suffering,the pain of the body, misery of the mind and agony of the ego. In this realisation lies peace. In this realisation lies liberation. This is Enlightenment, spiritual awakening. In the moment of death, we attain Moksha, Liberation from the cycle of death and birth as we become one with the Divine.

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