The Illusion of Certainty
If one is asked the question “Who are you?” without identification with one’s body and mind, it may appear to be metaphysical and very complicated. On the contrary, everyone is very comfortable and confident about their understanding of the world, relationships, and events — to the extent that any opinion other than one’s own becomes unacceptable.
Most conflicts in the world arise from this certainty about one’s own view or idea, and from the inability to accept a contrary view. This assumes that creation, the world, and the complex web of relationships are so easy to understand that one can take a definite position about them.
That is the paradox in human understanding. The fact is that we do not understand most of the workings of creation and its nature. If we did, science could have declared that we have reached the end of knowing. However, scientists know more than anyone else that there is a lot more to know, and that it is getting more complex. The sum total of all that is known is, and will always be, minuscule compared to the unknown. So much for the so-called uncomplicated part of understanding.
The Certainty of Existence
The one that is seen as complicated is, in fact, the most uncomplicated. The question “Who am I?” is often treated as complicated, yet it may be the most direct question of all. If there is one thing that everyone is certain of, it is one’s own existence. That “existence” is conscious of itself. No one needs any external proof to say, “I exist.”
It has always been that I exist, and I have a body and a mind. Everyone refers to one’s body and mind as “my body” and “my mind.” The “my” must be separate from the body and mind, and there is no doubt about its existence to anyone.
Why the Simple Becomes Difficult
Why, then, do we treat this as a very complicated question? The reason is that this “existence” is not tied to any specific experience. It is reality itself, free of identification. For the limited ego, attached to body and mind, reality without identification can feel unsettling.
The ego seeks to perpetuate its identity-oriented existence to fulfill its desires. The more identities it accumulates, the farther away it travels from reality and its true nature. This is why returning to the source feels difficult. Even the recognition that the limited “I” is not my true “I” is hard to reach. Thus, that what is natural and closest to us begins to appear complicated.
Recognizing True Nature in Daily Life
All that is required is a shift from the limited self to true existence, which is one’s true nature. It does not need anything external to fulfill itself. It is complete and fulfilled and already whole. It is happiness itself, not something that depends on another condition to become happy.
This experience is true for everyone, even if, in its pure form, appears only for a brief moment each day and often goes unnoticed. Without this experience, a person would be a mental wreck.
There is, of course, deep sleep for everyone — a natural way of being one with one’s own existence and in bliss, without the need for either body or mind identification. Apart from that, even in the waking state, it is an everyday experience, many times over, that one is in sync with one’s pure existence. Such moments arise when thought pauses and the mind stops chattering, even briefly. These brief interregnums in thought keep us balanced despite the onslaught of pressure and tension that the mind creates. Yet these beautiful moments go unnoticed, as the mind is not trained to recognize them. The mind’s orientation is towards action, reaction or inactivity.
A Simple Practice
A simple practice to orient oneself to this beautiful experience is to focus on one breath at a time. Each breath becomes a direct connection to one’s true nature. Gradually, one can extend that attention across several breaths and rest in the quiet beauty of existence. The complication ends there. How far one goes from there to establish oneself in that space of love and happiness is entirely left to the individual.
