Paul Brunton modified the inquiry ‘WHO AM ‘I’? to ‘What am ‘I’. But still the enquiry: “What am ‘I’?” is half way***

All the mystic experience is based on yoga and religion. Yoga is necessary for preparatory stages and yoga is not meant for Self-realization. Religion is used in the past as a tool condition the mind to be, to behave, to believe, to live and create its own pedigree of mindset to  help the society to live in harmony with its own code of conduct. Religion is nothing to do  with spirituality. Spirituality is the tool to unfold the mystery of the mind, which is in the form of the universe. Therefore, religion and  glorifying of  Gods or Gurus, scriptural studies are not necessary for the pursuit of truth.  

The soul-centric reasoning  only will help the seeker to unfold the mystery of the mind or human experience. 

The seeker cannot sit expecting some mystic experience to happen and which will unfold the mystery and helps one to experience the bliss. 

The conservative religious background in which every Indian seeker is sentimentally involved is the main hurdle and obstacle in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. Therefore,  it is necessary for everyone to know how they are a hurdle and create fatter in truth pursuit. It is necessary for the seeker of the truth to have the courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth when the truth is unfolded through inquiry and reasoning and analysis. The inner grace will pour only when the seeker accepts the truth and rejects the untruth. 

The main hurdle one has to cross when one inquires “WHO AM ‘I’” and proceeds further as per the instruction in the book, one finds it difficult in the latter stage and finds something is inadequate and wrong somewhere. 

When one gets the answer I am not the body then the inquiry ends there. If ‘I’ is not the body then one cannot inquire on the physical base. Since the mind, ego senses whatever one experienced as a person of the world, god, religion, scriptures and whatever seen and known loses its meaning because ‘I’ itself cannot exist without the physical body.  Therefore,  there is no meaning in carrying out inquiry on the physical identity saying I am not the senses, I am not the mind, and I am not this I am not that etc. because along with body the mind sense and ego and the physical experience of the world is rejected along with the physical body. When the physical body is not ‘I’ there is no entity to the  practice Self inquiry. Then if you accept there is nothing further then it becomes Buddha’s emptiness. But it cannot be empty because still something remains to say it is empty as  Sage Sri, Gouadpada declares.  Therefore,  it becomes difficult to inquire on the physical base.  

Paul Brunton modified the inquiry ‘WHO AM ‘I’?    to ‘What am ‘I’. But still the enquiry: “What am ‘I’?” is half way.  

   Then “What is ‘I’?” takes the seeker further and he realizes the fact that ‘I’ is not “Self”.

·         “But what is ‘I’?  When ‘I’ is not “Self” then “What is ‘I’”.

v Even  after many years of practice inquiry one becomes aware that the Who am 'I'? inquiry alone will not yield any fruits but inquiry with soul-centric  reasoning and analysis will take the seeker towards reality of the true state of the mind.