Where were you before your were conceived and before you were born?????

“Whatever is mine, is not me”

By absorbing and understanding these words, one can the password that everybody requires, for their inner search. If not, people always question “How does one discover one’s true self? What is this true self? And the replies, they get from various people, (who are again humans)  are usually that one should meditate with 100% concentration, shut out  thoughts, and one will progress deeper. But this can easily be said than done, for the mind strays, and people get frustrated with meditation and conclude that they cannot do it and they let it go. But if you were to start with what you know, and keep editing that material, you will eventually come to that which you don’t know, but that which is your seeking.

Syed Usman

I have a Car, but I’m not my Car

We start with the words “Whatever is mine, is not me”. So, anything that you can say is yours, anything that you can see as being separate from yourself, anything that belongs to you, to which you can show possessiveness, cannot be you Because, you and that thing that you possess, are obviously different. I have a car, I have a house, a brother, a wife, a son, I am a doctor, I am fat, I am thin—–all these are my assets, my possessions. Obviously, I am not my car, my house, my brother, my wife, my son, my profession—so all these get edited out.

I have legs and hands, they are mine, but I’m not my legs and hands.

Then what remains is my body-mind complex. But I can see my body, can’t I? Yes, I can see that I have legs and hands, and eyes, and a nose and a mouth and so on. So, if I have these things, like I have a car or house, these things are mine, but they are separate from me. I can see them, I can feel them, I know that there is something or someone who is seeing them—-so, my body with its various components, belongs to me, but is not me. That brings me to my mind. Can I see my thoughts?  Yes, I can. Can I see my mind thinking all the thoughts? Yes. We often tell people “To my mind, this does not sound good” or “To my mind this sounds logical”.

So, we are able to see the mind in action and can see with the mind, the logic of a situation, the right or wrong of a situation. We can also see that the mind is not constant. It is frequently changing. Yesterday, I disliked someone. Today, I like that person. Yesterday, I wanted to see a movie. Today, I am not interested. A few years ago, I wanted a fancy car. Today, I am not interested. We often tell people “:I changed my mind”. If I can see the mind as an entity different from myself,, an entity which is not constant but always changing, it cannot be me, can it? To call something as ‘me’, I need something that is fixed, unchanging, rigid and constant. And my possessions, my relations, my body and even my mind changes with time.

They are all mine, but they are not me.

Having edited out most of the things that are mine, what remains, is me. This is the search that we have to undertake. Ramana Maharshi said the same thing, in different words, “Who am I?” Was the only question he wanted his disciples to answer, to themselves. Nisargadatta Maharaj said the same thing when he said “Where were you, before you were conceived, before you were born? That is the real you. Zen people have a term for it “Your real identity is the face you had before you were born”.

These word “Whatever is mine is not me” are the golden passwords for our inner search. Start applying them today and see how far this journey takes you. What you will discover cannot be obviously described. It can only be experienced.