We are neither the body nor the 'I or ego but Consciousness
The
'I' or ego (which is energy field and not just a thought) is an illusion and by its
unimaginable capacity to identify with everything, causes many illusory
identifications.
The two fundamental identifications of the ego are: The identification of the ego with the physical body and the identification with consciousness.
1. The ego identifying with the physical body makes us feel and believe that we are the physical body and live in the world as a 'body-me'. The ego-energy assumes the solid sense 'the body is me', by which we are deluded and think we are the body.
2. The ego identifies with the consciousness and creates the illusion that the consciousness is something that belongs to the ego, that we as ego we are self-conscious. Βut due to the fact that the ego is identified with the body as well, creates the illusion that we are the body and as a body we are self-conscious; i.e. that the consciousness belongs to the body and that we as a ‘body-me’, we are self-conscious.
However the truth is that the body, the ‘I or ego and the mind are objects in consciousness. Consciousness pervades and permeates the mind (the ego is part of the mind) and lends its luminosity to the mind. Because of the mutual identification (between ego and consciousness) our ignorance and lack of discrimination, it seems to us that our mind is self-luminous, that the consciousness is something that belongs to the mind, our ego and the body as well.
A similar to
understand this is the moon-light. The
moon seems that shines by its own light while in reality its light is only a reflection of
the sunlight. Similarly
our mind seems to be self-luminous or self-conscious, that has have its own
light (consciousness), yet the luminosity of the mind, (the consciousness of the
mind), is only a reflection of the universal consciousness or God in the mind.
In addition the ego prevents us from perceiving that the apparently personal consciousness that is expressed in us, is the same consciousness that exists in all humans and identical with the universal Consciousness (Brahman, God, Spirit). In reality there is only one homogeneous (sin parts, divisions or differentiations) universal Consciousness, which by reflecting into the individual mind of every human being appears as if it is divided and individual or personal.
Two similar to understand this is the sun and its reflections in various vessels and the space:
1. As the one sun which reflects in various vessels with water appears to be many different suns, similarly the one universal consciousness which reflects in all human minds appears as many different individual consciousness.
2. The space is also undivided and without parts, but due to the walls of a room the space-room appears as separate end as a part of the universal space which is only an illusion. So the millions of houses, rooms and boxes create the illusion that the space is divided in innumerable parts while in reality remains undivided. Similarly the one universal consciousness due to the individual minds appears as to be many different consciousness.
When a person (not awakened) says 'I am conscious', he believes that he is conscious as a 'body-me', meaning that to be conscious is a capacity of the body-mind entity (which is an illusion). When someone is aware or becomes aware that he is conscious, that doesn’t imply that he has been awakened, but it means that he is not lost in the mind, that is to say he is not identified with the thoughts, the emotions, the sensations or the sensory impressions. Undoubtedly, not being identified with the egoic patterns, from one point of view is an awaken state, but the awakening we speak in spirituality is something distinct, it is something more that the state of no identification and to be aware.
It certain that not identifying with the sensations, the emotions, the thoughts, the objects and the ego itself, is the fundamental base of all spiritual work. Not identifying with the egoic patterns is absolutely essential to discover, recognize, understand and dissolve the egoic tendencies as well as to practice self-inquiry and meditation in order to wake up and be established in our own true Self (awareness) as the Self.
Awakening happens when we intuitively realize that we are the consciousness beyond the body, the mind and the ego or ‘I. When we realize that we are the inner silent and luminous space of awareness, which is immovable, timeless, free from suffering (it does not affected by what happens to body and mind), full, peaceful and blissful. This realization also causes a change of our identity and perception. Before the awakening we believed that we were subjects (as body-mind entities) and the things of the world the objects. After awakening our identity becomes the silent space of awareness and the body and mind are seen also as objects in awareness, although remains the sense of Iness.
The two fundamental identifications of the ego are: The identification of the ego with the physical body and the identification with consciousness.
1. The ego identifying with the physical body makes us feel and believe that we are the physical body and live in the world as a 'body-me'. The ego-energy assumes the solid sense 'the body is me', by which we are deluded and think we are the body.
2. The ego identifies with the consciousness and creates the illusion that the consciousness is something that belongs to the ego, that we as ego we are self-conscious. Βut due to the fact that the ego is identified with the body as well, creates the illusion that we are the body and as a body we are self-conscious; i.e. that the consciousness belongs to the body and that we as a ‘body-me’, we are self-conscious.
However the truth is that the body, the ‘I or ego and the mind are objects in consciousness. Consciousness pervades and permeates the mind (the ego is part of the mind) and lends its luminosity to the mind. Because of the mutual identification (between ego and consciousness) our ignorance and lack of discrimination, it seems to us that our mind is self-luminous, that the consciousness is something that belongs to the mind, our ego and the body as well.
In addition the ego prevents us from perceiving that the apparently personal consciousness that is expressed in us, is the same consciousness that exists in all humans and identical with the universal Consciousness (Brahman, God, Spirit). In reality there is only one homogeneous (sin parts, divisions or differentiations) universal Consciousness, which by reflecting into the individual mind of every human being appears as if it is divided and individual or personal.
Two similar to understand this is the sun and its reflections in various vessels and the space:
1. As the one sun which reflects in various vessels with water appears to be many different suns, similarly the one universal consciousness which reflects in all human minds appears as many different individual consciousness.
2. The space is also undivided and without parts, but due to the walls of a room the space-room appears as separate end as a part of the universal space which is only an illusion. So the millions of houses, rooms and boxes create the illusion that the space is divided in innumerable parts while in reality remains undivided. Similarly the one universal consciousness due to the individual minds appears as to be many different consciousness.
When a person (not awakened) says 'I am conscious', he believes that he is conscious as a 'body-me', meaning that to be conscious is a capacity of the body-mind entity (which is an illusion). When someone is aware or becomes aware that he is conscious, that doesn’t imply that he has been awakened, but it means that he is not lost in the mind, that is to say he is not identified with the thoughts, the emotions, the sensations or the sensory impressions. Undoubtedly, not being identified with the egoic patterns, from one point of view is an awaken state, but the awakening we speak in spirituality is something distinct, it is something more that the state of no identification and to be aware.
It certain that not identifying with the sensations, the emotions, the thoughts, the objects and the ego itself, is the fundamental base of all spiritual work. Not identifying with the egoic patterns is absolutely essential to discover, recognize, understand and dissolve the egoic tendencies as well as to practice self-inquiry and meditation in order to wake up and be established in our own true Self (awareness) as the Self.
Awakening happens when we intuitively realize that we are the consciousness beyond the body, the mind and the ego or ‘I. When we realize that we are the inner silent and luminous space of awareness, which is immovable, timeless, free from suffering (it does not affected by what happens to body and mind), full, peaceful and blissful. This realization also causes a change of our identity and perception. Before the awakening we believed that we were subjects (as body-mind entities) and the things of the world the objects. After awakening our identity becomes the silent space of awareness and the body and mind are seen also as objects in awareness, although remains the sense of Iness.
Attention! We
cannot cause awakening by our volition; awakening is something that happens by
itself when we are prepared and by the grace of God. When
our mind is quite pure and sattvic, when we have sufficiently developed the
capacities of discernment, dispassion and detachment, and we practice deliberately self-inquiry then we
create the right conditions in order awakening to happen.