Who am I?

From time immeasurable, human mind has always wondered about the mystery of existence, the vast universe, the Creator and such other questions; these eternal questions have eluded satisfactory answers from a rational plane.

The most important question for any human being is about his/her individuality i.e. who am I? What is my real nature? What is the purpose of my life? It is important to investigate these questions since without it; life is but a meaningless dream.

A human being can be viewed from two aspects: as body-mind unit displaying consciousness or as Consciousness experiencing body-mind idea.

If we accept the first view, we have to follow the materialistic view of the world explained by 'Classical Physics, and if we choose the second view, then we follow the spiritual view proclaimed by all major religions.

Which one is the correct view?

Though the Truth/Reality/God is one and same for all, the answer to this question, for a person, depends on what he/she thinks of himself/herself.

Do I consider myself a person based on body-mind that is functioning in the world or do I consider myself eternal spirit briefly experiencing body-mind idea?

It is very vital for an individual to decide this question for himself/herself, for on the basis of how we view of ourselves, we conduct our lives and see others and the world around us accordingly.

It can easily be observed in any society that all the moral laws are based on unselfishness. Unselfishness implies that we should be ready to sacrifice ourselves for others and should not be body-centric. Since unselfishness brings peace and harmony within a society and for an individual, it follows that considering ourselves as spiritual entities is extremely beneficial. It also gives us the necessary strength to face the life-situations. Hence it is worth trying to understand this 'spiritual view' of an individual.

Among all world religions and philosophies, it is the Eternal Religion of the Vedas and the philosophy of Vedanta that boldly proclaims the spiritual view of an individual.

Vedanta says that every being is essentially Pure Consciousness. The technical term in Vedanta for Pure Consciousness is Brahman or Atman.

What is the nature of this Pure Consciousness?

It is said to be birth-less and hence death-less, independent of body and mind, full of bliss and infinite. Pure Consciousness is described in Vedanta as Satchitananda (Pure Being, Pure Consciousness, and Pure Bliss).

It is worth noting here what Swami Vivekananda, the modern proponent of Vedanta, says about Vedantic prayer:

 'I have neither death nor fear, I have neither caste nor creed, I have neither father nor mother nor brother, neither friend nor foe, for I am Existence, Knowledge and Bliss absolute; I am the blissful one, I am the blissful one. I am not bound by virtue or vice, by happiness or misery. Pilgrimages and books and ceremonials can never bind me. I have neither hunger nor thirst; the body is not mine, nor I am subject to the superstitions and decay that come to the body, I am Existence, Knowledge and Bliss absolute; I am the Blissful One, I am the Blissful One. This says Vedanta is the only prayer that we should have.'

In the words of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: 'We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.'

Swami Vivekananda has defined the goal for humanity in his famous message: 'Each soul is potentially divine.

The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy, by one, or more, or all of these and be free.

This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.

'The message that Swami Vivekananda gave to humanity is the essence of Vedanta philosophy. In India, for many centuries the teachings of Upanishads—the main source of Vedanta—were restricted to the all-renouncing monks who were living in seclusion from the society. Swami Vivekananda rightly foresaw the spiritual need of common man in the modern age.

He said, 'Shankara left this Advaita philosophy in the hills and forests, while I have come to bring it out of those places and scatter it broadcast before the workaday world and society. The lion - roar of Advaita must resound in every hearth and home, in meadows and groves, over hills and plains.'

In the wake of increasing materialism propelled by scientific and technological advances modern man/woman required a firm basis on which he/she can face this materialistic onslaught.

Vivekananda saw the supreme necessity for man, in this highly technological age, to grow beyond the physical-intellectual dimension and to unfold, to manifest, the ever-present Divine within, so that modern man would be able to digest, and properly direct to human ends, the vast powers that modern science and technology have placed in his hands.

Vedanta philosophy gives us a solid ground to stand upon in this ever changing world. It tells us that our essential nature is Pure Consciousness. Our goal therefore is to understand what consciousness level we find ourselves at present and how to proceed towards Pure Consciousness.