SELF-REALIZATION
As long as we think, ‘I am me,’ we will never find out the truth about the self. Who is this 'me' that we keep talking about? ‘What are we in reality?’ To most of humanity, asking this question is ridiculous. This is because we are imprisoned by Maya, the cosmic illusion. We are slaves of our own Ego which along with our rascal Mind, becomes the 'ME' that lives and dies.
How many people actually go on a quest to realize the truth? How many of us are even interested in what happens before birth and after death? Less than 1% of humanity goes in quest of the truth and of that 1%, less than 1% attains the state of self-realization.
What is self-realization? It is realizing the truth about ourselves. Even these terms – 'I', 'me', 'myself', ‘the self’, ‘the body’, ‘the being’ are very confusing. Is there any doubt that we exist? My writing this book and your reading it, makes us conscious of our existence. If we were dead, neither of us would be able to do so. But who are we in reality?
We are a human being that is made up of a gross body. Will anybody deny this? We have the 5 senses or sense organs. We can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. We also have 5 organs of action. We have limbs to walk, a mouth to eat and talk, hands to grasp, the anus to excrete and the genitals to reproduce. We also have several critical organs – the brain, the heart, the kidneys, and others that make the body function. If one were to dissect a human body, one would first experience the outer skin or the epidermis. Beneath the skin we can see flesh, blood, nerves, and finally bone. If one breaks the bone, we will find bone marrow. Is this all that we are? The gross body of a human being is often referred to as the hardware. It is like a computer that has a screen, a motherboard, a keyboard, and several other drives that when put together enable the machine to be operated. But can the hardware function without the software? When we boot our computer or even our mobile, we first see it start with an operating system. Then it loads all the software that makes it run. Even the human body has software. Most of us think it is the mind which we cannot see or touch. But in reality, it is MIME. Our subtle body consists of the Mind, which is the thought factory, the Intellect that discriminates right from wrong, the Memory that records everything to be recalled later if needed, and the Ego, that says, 'It is me.' If a computer could talk, it would say, 'I am an Apple MacBook' or 'I am a Samsung laptop,' just as a Samsung mobile would say, 'I am a Galaxy S10.' In fact, some of them do - when you switch them on, the first thing they show is their identity. In us human beings, it is the ego that constantly expresses itself with a name, a nationality, a religion, and an occupation amongst other marks of personal identification.
Together, the MIME – Mind, Intellect, Memory, and Ego, forms our subtle body or software. Without the MIME, we would not function, just like both hardware and software are both needed for a gadget to work. Those who think we are just skin and bone, are mistaken, just as those who think we are just the brain or the mind. It takes all this together to make a human being what it is. However, can the laptop or the mobile phone function without a power supply? It may be a power cord connected to an electrical source, a battery or a power bank. There needs to be a source of power for the gadget to function. What is the source of power that we human beings have that makes us walk and talk? We too have life energy that we call the Soul, the Atman or the Spirit. What does the Soul do? It gives power to the gross body and to the subtle body, and it makes us live.
There are several systems that run the body. We breathe to inhale oxygen. After respiration the heart pumps blood so that the circulation can lead to the supply of oxygen to the entire body. In fact, if our system fails and we don't supply oxygen to the brain, we can be dead in about 5 minutes. When we eat, we have a process of digestion which gives the body energy to live. The leftovers are removed through the process of excretion. And finally, there is reproduction. All these systems are powered by Prana. Most of us just think that our Prana, or life energy is just about breathing. We don't understand the intricate connection of the Prana or life system inside our body. There are 5 Pranas that are titled as Prana, Apana, Udana, Vyana, and Samana. The first Prana is called Prana itself. It supplies the body with oxygen, flowing from the nostrils to the heart. People think this is the only Prana but there are 4 more Pranas. Apana influences the lower part of the body and regulates the elimination process. Udana is famous for its Kundalini Shakti and is ascending Prana flowing from the heart to the brain. Vyana flows through the nerve channels and is to do with breathing. Samana is that Prana that distributes the energy of nutrition throughout the body. The life energy inside us is a power supply that continues to remain a mystery. Some call it the Soul, some the Atman or the Spirit. It is this power that gives us life. Without it, we would be dead.
Therefore, what are we in the final analysis - body, mind or Soul? Are we any of these or all of these? Without any one of the 3, could a human being exist? If there was no body, how could we be? If there was no MIME, there would be no thought, no feelings, and therefore, no action. If there was no Soul, there would be no power and we would be dead. Self-realization is all about realizing who the true self is, who we are in reality. It is only after self-realization that we can reach God-realization – that we can find God.
Many spiritual sages say that we are the Jivatman, the body, and mind, along with the Atman, the Soul. As long as we are alive, we are a body-mind-Soul complex. This seems quite logical. However, realized saints like Ramana Maharishi asked the question, 'Naan Yaar?' – 'Who am I?' Others asked 'Koham?' to which the reply is 'Soham.' Thou Art That, the Divine self, not the body that appears to be, not the mind which we cannot find. Neti Neti - Not this, not this. Adi Shankaracharya went on to say, 'Chidananda Rupaha, Shivoham Shivoham.'
What does all this mean? All these are recitals that are meant to take us to the ultimate truth of who we are. The realization of who we are, or self-realization ultimately opens the door and we will realize God.
What is the key to self-realization? What is the way to realizing the truth about ourselves? A simple way is to realize what we are not. We are not the body. We are not the mind. Then who are we? Because there is no doubt that we are, we exist.
Are we the body? This body is made up of gross elements that we have already elaborated on. We were born as a baby. But even before being born, we were alive in our mothers' womb as an embryo. In fact, we were alive much earlier when we were a foetus and we started our journey in the womb as a zygote. Are we the zygote that finally appears as a body? The cells of the body constantly die and are regenerated. Thus, practically giving us a new body every 7 to 10 years, with every cell being reborn. Are we, therefore, living with our third body or fourth body depending on our age?
What happens at death? The body dies. But we do not doubt that the one alive is no more in the body. That is why we don't hesitate to cremate or bury our near and dear ones. They are no more! We even say that they passed away, departed, or moved on although their body is right here in front of us. If this body is not them now, then it was never them. They were something else. What were they?
What happens at death? We often see, either personally or on television or on the internet, people taking their last breath. Then they die. What happened? Every cell of their body is intact. Every organ in place. The life inside the person departs. It is this life that we refer to as the Spirit, the Soul, or the Atman. When it departs, there is no breath. This is death!
Are we the Soul, the Spirit, the Atman that departs or are we the ME – Mind and Ego, more specifically the MIME – Mind Intellect, Memory, and Ego? For the sake of ease, we will refer to this as ME. All along life, what do we believe? We believe we are ME and we have a Soul. Those who don't believe either in ME or Soul, just live and die. Of course, death is not the end! They will have to pay back for all their actions.