What is this ‘I’?+

Without knowing what this 'I' suppose to be in actuality it is impossible to realize the Self hidden by the 'I'. 

People study Vedanta and they under the delusion and conclude that they declare:~   "I-Am-Brahman",   but they fail to realize the fact that Brahman is everywhere and in everything! The existence of Brahman is not limited to his physical identity, because, it is the very essence of form, time, and space.

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

Sage Sankara: ~ VC Let erudite scholars quote all the Scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

Sage Sankara said:~  Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

The ‘I’ is ignorance. Till one holds the ‘I’ as the Self, it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Thus,   the seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

What is this ‘I’?

The ‘I’ is not a thought.  The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe.  The universe appears as a waking or dream (duality and disappears as deep sleep (non-duality).  

The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality) is the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states.

 Without knowing what the mind is, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  People think the mind is within the body, but deeper self-search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself is the mind. 

When the ‘I’ is there then only the mind is there. If the mind is there then only the universe is there. If the universe is there then only the waking is there.  Thus, it is very much necessary to realize ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality.  Without knowing ‘what is ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

Till you hold the ‘Self ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization.  ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the innermost Self. ‘

'I’ is ignorance.

‘I’ is the duality.

‘I’ is form, time, and space.

‘I’ is the universe.

‘I’ is the waking.

‘I’ is the dream.

‘I’ is the illusion.

‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.

Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.

Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space.

Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.

Without the ‘I’ there is no waking.

Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.

Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion.

Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. The ‘I’ hides the truth.

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say ‘I,’, If you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word ‘I’ or I AM for the Self.:~Santthosh Kumaar