<p>The great Indian sage of modern times, Ramana Maharishi, often had only one thing to say to those who sought his advice --- ‘Continually ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’. This can strike one as rather inane, but it is actually very important, for it can reveal that many of the things we identify with, are not who we really are.</p>.<p>Who indeed are you? You are not your name – you could change it if you wish to do so. You are not just daughter or son, wife or husband; you have other important relationships. You are not your bank account which can rise or fall according to the conditions prevailing. You are not your house into which you can go or come.</p>.<p>You are not your job for you can lose it, retire or resign from. You are not your religion which, after all, is man-made and sometimes not tailored to your needs. You are not your emotions either; they can be stimulated or die. You are not your body; some people undergo surgery and lose a part of it, yet they retain their old selves. What is more, a hundred years from now, you will be remembered by only a few, if at all. If you not any of the things mentioned, then who are you really? </p>.Transcending identities.<p>It is evident that external events do not define you. You have to look within you to be successful. You will then find out that what you are is much more important than what you do. P B Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias illustrates this truth well. It ends, My name is Ozymandias. Look on my works ye mighty and despair. Nothing remains beside. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.</p>.<p>Finding out what you are means introspection, reflection and most of all discipline. It means being honest, hard-working and compassionate. It is to see the ineffable mystery surrounding each living being, to help the stranger, the poor and the oppressed. It means living on a higher godlike plane and to wake up to one’s true self. As Wayne Dyer puts it, ‘You are not here as a human being only; you are a spiritual being having a human experience’.</p>
<p>The great Indian sage of modern times, Ramana Maharishi, often had only one thing to say to those who sought his advice --- ‘Continually ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’. This can strike one as rather inane, but it is actually very important, for it can reveal that many of the things we identify with, are not who we really are.</p>.<p>Who indeed are you? You are not your name – you could change it if you wish to do so. You are not just daughter or son, wife or husband; you have other important relationships. You are not your bank account which can rise or fall according to the conditions prevailing. You are not your house into which you can go or come.</p>.<p>You are not your job for you can lose it, retire or resign from. You are not your religion which, after all, is man-made and sometimes not tailored to your needs. You are not your emotions either; they can be stimulated or die. You are not your body; some people undergo surgery and lose a part of it, yet they retain their old selves. What is more, a hundred years from now, you will be remembered by only a few, if at all. If you not any of the things mentioned, then who are you really? </p>.Transcending identities.<p>It is evident that external events do not define you. You have to look within you to be successful. You will then find out that what you are is much more important than what you do. P B Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias illustrates this truth well. It ends, My name is Ozymandias. Look on my works ye mighty and despair. Nothing remains beside. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.</p>.<p>Finding out what you are means introspection, reflection and most of all discipline. It means being honest, hard-working and compassionate. It is to see the ineffable mystery surrounding each living being, to help the stranger, the poor and the oppressed. It means living on a higher godlike plane and to wake up to one’s true self. As Wayne Dyer puts it, ‘You are not here as a human being only; you are a spiritual being having a human experience’.</p>
