Who Am I?

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Who Am I?

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Peace & Joy

Who Am I?

2 Feb 2018

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Who Am I?

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Positive Psychology

Advaita Vedanta tradition provides a beautiful answer to the 'Who Am I?' question: 'I am nothing; I am pure consciousness'. But what do concepts like 'nothingness' and 'consciousness' mean? And how does knowledge of these concepts help us experience positive emotions and promote excellent personal conduct? Through the articles below, I share with you my understanding of these concepts, drawing inspiration from Advaita Vedanta, which has its own unique terminology and style of teaching.

Not the Body, Not the Mind

The overall approach to solving the 'Who Am I?' mystery is to study a series of questions, each of which is answered in the negative. Each answer must emanage from direct, personal experience. This process leads to the realization that 'I am nothing but pure consciousness'.

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Three Properties

Once the answer to the 'Who Am I?' question has been understood in terms of 'The Experiencer' and 'The Experience', three fascinating properties emerge: nothingness, change and non-duality. Understanding these properties is helpful in practicing non-attachment.

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The Fourth State

In physics, the term 'spaciotemporal' denotes phenomena with both space and time components. The question-based approach outlined in Not the Body, Not the Mind emphasizes the 'space' part of the 'Who Am I?' mystery. There is another approach which emphasizes the 'time' part of the same mystery :)

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Sameness & Interconnectedness

The concept of Oneness (non-duality) is different from 'sameness' and 'interconnectedness'.

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Non-Attachment

How does an intellectual understanding of concepts like 'nothingness', 'change' and 'non-duality' help us experience the following in our daily life: (a) a positive state of mind, and (b) excellent personal conduct? Turns out that 'non-attachment' is the bridge that connects the two.

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Emptiness & Non Self

Once the concepts of impermanence and non-duality are grasped, then Non-Self (anatta) and Emptiness (shunyata) in Buddhism become easy to grasp. And vice versa! :)

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Advaita Vedanta Resources

What are some good books and lectures that explain Advaita Vedanta?

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Christian Mysticism

Just like Eastern mystics and Sufi mystics, there are Christian mystics too! Their main practice is 'contemplation' which seems very similar to Eastern 'mantra-based meditation'.

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Personal Experience with 'Who Am I?'

How did I come in touch with the 'Who Am I?' approach? And how did I make progress?

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