Throughout life, we consider ourselves to be the gross physical body. We have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, and a sense of touch. We have 5 organs of action. We exist through several functions – respiration, digestion, excretion, and reproduction. We also have critical organs like the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, and the brain. All this is true. Nobody can deny it. We can touch and feel our body. We can identify some organs through an X-ray or an MRI. Beneath the skin, there are tissues, flesh, nerves, blood, and bones. Inside the bone, there is bone marrow. But who are we?
The body starts its journey as a single cell, a zygote. It develops into an embryo and we are finally born. Then the body grows from a tiny baby into an adult, till one day, the body grows old and dies.
All this is true. But are we the body? The body is constantly changing. It starts as one cell and ends as a handful of ashes. We are not this body. When the body dies, people say, 'He departed,' 'He passed away,' 'He moved on.' What is the Truth about the one who died? If we are not the body but for sure we exist, then who is the 'me' that lives and dies?
What is the Truth about our existence if we are not the one who has a name, whom we identify with throughout our life?