Everybody knows and feels that he exists. There cannot be any time when a person feels, ”I do not exist”. Hence the main inherent attribute of the Self is ’Awareness of existence’ or ’Awareness and Existence (Chit and Sat)’ – ie. ’I AM’. As there is no doubt in anyone’s mind about one’s being or existence, it should be possible for one to practise daily for some time to remain merged in the feeling of ”amness” or ”existence” to the exclusion of all
thoughts, just like a new born baby.A baby which is just born has no vocabulary of any language and so cannot think of any object. One has to think in one language or other. So a child just born cannot have any thoughts. It can only feel. When once its basic need of hunger and thirst are satisfied, the only feeling the child will possibly have is the feeling or knowledge of being or amness.
The knowledge that someone or something else ’is’ or exists (say, my neighbour or a pot) is an indirect knowledge derived through my senses like my eye and established by the conditioning of my mind which has learnt about what is a pot and how it looks like,
etc. On the contrary, the fact that ’I AM’ is a direct knowledge which has come to me instinctively directly from the very EXISTENCE and not through my senses.Hence if a person manages initially to sit for a few hours daily directing his attention (through imagination) to the spiritual heart and get merged in the feeling of ”amness” or ”BEING” or ”I AM” like the newborn child, he is sure to get Self-Realisation.
One condition is that he should not think or repeat ”I AM” like a Mantra. Secondly, he should not add any more qualifications to ”I AM” – like, ’I am a man’, ’I am 40 years old’, ’I am an Engineer’, etc.
A new born child cannot add or think of such epithets. One of the recent philosophers of repute, late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj of ’I AM THAT’ fame has claimed that by adopting the process of ’I am’ as directed by his Guru, he had attained Self realisation (enlightenment) in three years’ time. This method of remaining in one’s being or Self is nothing but another version of the other method of enquiry as to, ”Who am I ?” advocated by Bhagavan Ramana.
Ramana Maharshi has said that, ”Even if he thinks constantly I-I, one will be led to that place”, ie. the source of ’I’ or mind. This method has also been advocated by Ashtavakra as an instant ’Moksha capsule’ .
”Bereft of the body-sense, if you can remain resting in your Self alone, you will, here and now, become blissful, peaceful and free from bondage.”
According to Ramana Maharshi,
”There is nothing so simple as being the Self. It requires no effort, no aid. One has to leave off wrong identity and be in one’s eternal, natural and inherent state.”(TALKS with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk No.101).
~ From Golden Guidelines to Who Am I? book by Swami Shantananda Puri
