Who Am I, Really?
Who or what is the 'I' that asks the question? Who is the "I" that seeks to know itself? Are there two "I's?" A self that seeks and a Self to be found? Who is that? And who or what am I when "I" realize the answer?
"My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
And I intend to end up there.” Rumi "This sense of I which arises in the body is otherwise called the ego, ignorance, illusion, or individual self…Inquire keenly within what it is that shines within the heart as "I." Underlying the unceasing flow of varied thoughts, there arises the continuous, unbroken awareness, silent and spontaneous, as I-I in the heart. If one catches hold of it and remains still, it will completely annihilate the sense of "I" in the body." Ramana Maharshi
"The Self is infinite, like space. It is self-luminous in the heart as pure consciousness, as the One without a second and, manifesting universally as the same in all individuals; it is known as the Supreme Spirit." Ramana Maharshi
"Ye are gods, sons of the most high."
Psalms 82:6 and Jesus in John 10:34 "It is the truth that we are gods." Paramahansa Yogananda
"The one Self, dwelling in all, transcends all. He is one, the lord and innermost Self of all. To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart belongs eternal bliss." The Katha Upanishad
"The Self is immutable, immortal, indivisible, infinite; The same in every creature." Ecknath Easwaran
"The Infinite Expanse is the Reality known as the Supreme Spirit or the Self, which shines without egoism as the consciousness within the I, as the One in all individuals. Let this be meditated on…the Real is the State free from ego." Ramana Maharshi
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"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings."
Buddha “This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place, I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile, I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary. The day is coming when I fly off, But who is it now in my ear who hears my voice? Who says words with my mouth? Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul? I cannot stop asking. If I could taste one sip of an answer, I could break out of this prison for drunks. I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way. Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.” Rumi "The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth. We know truth when we see it, let skeptic and scoffer say what they choose." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"This Ancient One is unborn, imperishable, eternal…this Self forever dwells within the hearts of all. What a man is free from desire, his mind purified, he beholds the glory of the Self and is without sorrow." The Katha Upanishad
“Look within, with pure eyes and simple trust and you shall find the Deity mirrored in your own soul.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Two people have been living in you all your life. One is the ego, garrulous, demanding, hysterical, calculating; the other is the hidden spiritual being, whose still voice of wisdom you have only rarely heard or attended to." Sogyal Rinpoche
"There are two selves, the apparent self and the real Self. Of these it is the real Self, and he alone who must be felt as truly existing. To the man who has felt him as truly existing he reveals his innermost nature." The Katha Upanishad
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