Who am I? (part 2)
November 5, 2006
This is one of the stories that I often remember whenever I think of the question “Who am I?”
A sage, an enlightened soul once came to a country. The word about his radiance and power spread across the town and a lot of people started visiting the sage. When the news reached the king of the country, he too wanted to see the sage. He sent a messenger to the sage, inviting him to the palace. But the sage refused to move out of his kudil. Surprised and even enraged by this response, the king himself came to the kudil to meet him.
When the king arrived the sage was in meditation. So the king had to wait for some time. When the sage opened the eyes, he saw the king standing in front of him. The king thought that the sage would be pleased, because the king himself had come to see him. But to his shock, without any expression on the face, the sage asked him, “Who are you?”
This took the king by surprise and he said with a tinge of anger in his voice, “Can you not guess who I am…? I am the king of this country!”
The sage looked at the king. “Oh… is that so? The king is your position… your job…! But who are you?”
With his face becoming even sterner, the king answered “I am the great Raja Marthanda Chakravarthi! Haven’t you heard of my name?”
The sage politely told him… “Yes. I have heard of that name. But it is just a name and you are not the name…! Who are YOU?!”
Now, beginning to get confused, the king realized that this man was no ordinary man. So he thought for a while and said pointing to his own body “See me, I am the king, Raja Marthanda Chakravarthi, in this body, alive and standing in front of you!”
The sage smiled and said “That is just your body… but who are YOU?”
This triggered something in the king and this time he cautiously said, “I am this body with all the flesh, blood and every thing put together”
The sage was not impressed. Pointing to the king’s arm he asked “What is that?”
“My arm” said the king.
“YOUR arm? If that is YOUR arm, and the arm is not YOU, and like that every part of YOUR body belongs to you but it is not YOU, then who are YOU?”
The king started realizing that this was not a simple question. So he thought for a while and finally said, “I think … I am the prana… the breath, because if there is no breath, then I won’t be there”.
The smile in the sage’s face broadened. He said “can you hold your breath for a while?” and the king obeyed. Then the sage asked him, “So, when you were not breathing, did you cease to exist? You were still here, right? YOU were breathing. So, if the breath is not YOU, then WHO was breathing?”
The king was now totally lost. With all reverence he said… “I guess it is my thought, my feelings and emotions, my intellect…” before he could complete the sage interrupted,
“MY thoughts, MY feelings, MY this thing… MY that thing… WHO is that MY?”
The king realized his ignorance and fell at the feet of the sage and told “Swamiji, please take me as you disciple and let me know the answer…”
The sage smiled and said, “If you keep meditating on this one question, you will attain enlightenment!”
When my Guru told me this story, it created a stirr in me, and I did loose many nights sleep thinking of this story. My Guru did give me some answers. But, he also said that those were his answers and that need not be mine. It took me many years to get just glimpses of my anwer. I know that no one could give me my answer. Every one needs to find their own answer. I am still searching inside me!
Entry Filed under: values. .
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1.
Kavitha | November 6, 2006 at 9:31 am
This question has come to my mind many times. Often I keep probing into it to find an answer. But I would finally end up with the thought, why should I find the answer to that question. What am i going to do on finding the answer. I have born on this earth to live and perform some duties. I have my own responsiblities to play different roles in my life. Any good deed is possible, i do it without any hesitation. And i have ceased to think about the question. (May be because of the inabitlity to find the anwer to the question).
2.
shiv | November 6, 2006 at 10:47 am
Great Kavitha, you are nearing enlightment …
. Droping of the question itself is the first step to find the answer. But the important thing is that the question should drop on its own, not resigned for inability to find answer. 
3.
Vasu | November 7, 2006 at 11:50 am
Hi Shiv,
The article was really good. I thought of thinking about this question in my mind long time back. I am still searching 4 the answer. I am sure that I will get the answer. Sorry, something or some thinking will give me the answer. I will let you know once I get the answer. Keep blogging.
4.
Sathish Narayanan | November 7, 2006 at 4:29 pm
Dear Guruji,
Thanks for sharing an inspirational story on ‘Who am I?’
It will certainly motivate all spiritual aspirants in this universe. By the way, could you please share your knowledge on ‘Enlightenment’. When will a person attain that stage? Is it possible for a person submersed in this wordly life to attain that stage? I am sure you have the answers for these questions. I have sensed the enlightened qualities in you on a number of occasions!
5.
Dass | November 9, 2006 at 10:12 am
Hi Friend
Ultimately nobody can find themselves by their own. Law of cause and effect states that “Every material effect must have an adequate cause that existed before the effect”. How can an effect know about it without knowing its cause? How can it be possible for a creation to know about it without knowing its creator? (You can refer http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1762) For me, knowing ourselves is not possible until we know our creator. Let us search the creator to find ourselves…
6.
PriyaBharath | November 27, 2006 at 11:42 am
Hi All,
This blog has again kindled my thoughts…”who am I”.
I suppose that it’s an endless quest. I play different roles in my life as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, as a neighbour…and so on, the list is quite a long. I do even think about “who am I?” and I always get the answer as “Know your role and perform everything that you could give to others”. This may be my motto. If you ask me “who am I”, I may very well say “I am the mother”…since I may be doing or performing that job. At any point in time, I may relate myself to the roles that I perform, I can say “I am your sister who is talking to you” or “This is your friend who is replying you”……
To conclude, as such I don’t have any definition of “who am I”. It’s everything related to others..I can only be identified with how much I give and with how much I take from them.
7.
Cheeni | November 29, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Hi People,
That was great on Shiv’s part to script a narrative story which ultimately makes poeple to think “WHO AM I?”. Only the internal feel of “U” can give you the answer. There are; at present many religions. Do you think they were created to segregate people? No not at all. The first religion as am ignorant cannot specify which is the one, had some rules, regulations and ways of leading lives and prayers. Ever since the people, to say “the followers” who were flexible to the varied religions started adopting and preaching on them. And now, there can be no dis agreements that this particular religion is the worst in its mannerism. Each of them have their own specialities. Please do not get me wrong that am talking like an atheist, but these are the facts. Same the way sages have their own gurus and paths to travel. Their ideas could be taken for granted as an enlighter. But the real fact lies in you. We say “Out of my own experience”, this is applicable for all thoughts and ideas. To discover the My in U, meditate, meditate and you would feel things in your soul.
Other ideas, book writtens could be taken as guidelines for the way, but cannot be nlankly accepted as the only path for all findings.
“Even though i do not have the age to talk about all worli things before tasting the sweet, its a blog to post all ideas and i did my part.”
Thank you so much for all your patience…
With lovve
8.
sindhu | December 25, 2006 at 10:12 am
Hi Sir
I am too late in reading his article. If u ask me i would say that enlightment is a stage or a state of mind where u just be a spectator of ur life. You actually dont get attached to people or incidents occuring in life.An enlightened person will not have the concept of ” I ” at all.
I agree to to the above concept of enligtenment, which i had read in a spirtual magazine.
So relating to what i know about enlightenment, i feel that we will never get an answer for “Who am I”…Because there is nothing called ” I ” at all……. Its all an illusion(Maya)