Those who don’t ask questions remain baffled for their lifetime. Questions help to understand other people and their problems, and sometimes, fortunately, the solutions pave their way through the heaps of ashes form by questions. The answer, like a phoenix, rises from the questions, it remains hiding in them.
Questions act as a conduit between two persons, two cultures and help to understand each other better. The Socratic method helps to see through words, to connect with the souls.
Sometimes, we ask questions to ourselves, to our minds. And, perhaps, this process is an insatiable one as we seldom get satisfactory answers. The most disturbing question I’ve faced with myself is, “Who Am I?”
The thirst of knowing myself, the inter-connection between He and me and the universe- this always remains an unanswered one to me.
I keep on searching the answer….I need to know it…this is perhaps an ongoing quest for me, travelling through levels of realization to reach the end, the destined one.
Ever faced that haunting question? “Who Am I?”
This is a very important question, Maniparna! However, I try to discover how I actually am through my travel experiences.
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Who am I ? It’s a question I think we all ask of ourselves . I’m not sure if the answer never comes to us because live changes to fast. A powerful post it makes one think
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Thank you, Sara. I too think that it’s a complicated question to have a concrete answer.
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Maniparna your words are as deep as your persona.
“We all are PANCH TATAVA’s ‘JAL, VAYU,PRITHVI, AGNI, AAKASH’and ultimately one day we all will reach the final destination i.e. ‘the cremation ground’ the ultimate play ground where everybody goes with friends, relatives, near and dear ones but never returns. And this so called beautiful, sexy, ravishing, strong, robust, tough and muscular body will go in flames and we all be in heaven except bloggers, writers, poets, story tellers(LOL) . And your, mine and everybody’s existence will be just in 1ft by 1ft photo frame. If you want a little big bigger photo frame of yours in your sweet home, get it prepared from a nearby photoshop today only and install it in your home in your life time only.”
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Haha..I won’t mind going to hell if I all my blogger friends and eminent writers are happened to be there 😀
Thanks, Sir, for sharing your views… 🙂
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to paradise – your words makes the blue sky play a melody…
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You are so kind…thank you very much… 🙂
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I’m still looking for the answer to that question and yet I don’t really think one ever truly finds out who one is 🙂
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“Who am I?” is a very significant question. We grow and change throughout our lives, and it helps us to become a better person by reflecting upon our character, attitude, beliefs, etc.
I enjoy your philosophical nature, Mani. You have a wonderful soul. ❤
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Truly, I think, as we grow up, we gradually learn and understand new things that help us to improve ourselves. You have summed it up nicely, Rose…you are one of those friends in the blogging world whom I really crave to meet at least once in my lifetime… 🙂 ❤
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Thanks Mani! I would love to meet you. I think we’d have fun laughing and reciting poetry. 🙂 ❤
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Yessss!
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I agree with you about the importance of questions. I remember reading Carl Sagan saying in one of his books that he really liked talking to young children because they firmly believed there was no such thing as a stupid question. 🙂
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Incidentally, the “Who am I?” question is one I think most people must surely ask themselves at some point. I haven’t come to any firm conclusions about the answer yet. 🙂
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Not from my side either. Old Hindu scriptures do have some highly philosophical answers, but one needs to reach “Nirvana” or Zen to actually relate with them… 🙂
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Yes, I think it’s Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”…it is one of the best books I’ve ever read.. 🙂
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It is a great! 🙂
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Who am I? Screamed and asked … the speck of dust http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/10/17
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Haha…thanks for the link, Mridula…they are my favourites… 😀
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The quest that makes our life worthwhile 😉
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Absolutely…:-)
I left a comment on your latest post, but it’s not showing up. Please check your spam folder and restore it…
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Glad that you noticed this! It is now published 🙂 have a great day!!
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Thanks… 🙂 facing this problem for a couple of days, so I had to notice… 😀
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Questions, I too feel, are the first step to knowledge. The mysteries of life are never obvious if you do not seek, however simple they might turn out to be in the end. I myself is sometimes intrigued by such questions.
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Me too, Bushra. Questions can really turn up new horizons… thanks for stopping by… 🙂
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Too complicated thought process for me. I don’t know that, I just know I have a role to play in this life and trying to play that well.:)
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That’s such a prudent perspective… 🙂
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I have strong thirst for deep conversation, and sent this to my husband suggesting that maybe your words help to explain why.
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I’ve that thirst too. Hope your husband will find my words satisfactory… 🙂
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Quite a thought-provoking article dear. It’s a divine feeling reading those words throughout :’)
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Glad you felt that way, dear… 🙂
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मणिपर्णा, बहुत बढ़िया लेख। अपने आप से सवाल पूछ कर ही हम कामयाबी हासिल कर सकते है।
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Absolutely… well-said, Jyotiji… 🙂
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A thought provoking post dear. During meditation, I feel closer to my inner self and to the Divine.
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I think I have to start meditating again… I stopped it due to shortage of time… 😦
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Great post Maniparna Ji. Yes, we should never shy away from asking questions. That’s the only way leading from darkness to light. However the more pertinent question is put up by Hariod Brawn above – ‘Where is awareness ?’ I second his opinion in this regard.
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Rightly said. I got Hariod’s point here… 🙂
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This question is something that never lets go even after you have an answer. But that is what makes the journey so eventful and fruitful, Mani 🙂 What an excellent post!
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Thanks, Prajakta. Yes, this question keeps us going…that’s the journey of life… 🙂
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loved that question and answer phoenix relationship! Have often found myself asking ‘why’….. but the ‘who’ per se, guess ‘ve not reached there yet!
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Who and why are somewhat interconnected, I think…you can’t just answer one without pondering over the other.
BTW, Mridhula, plz check your spam folder for my comments on your posts… 😦
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This is a question everyone ought to be asking and seeking answers for herself / himself. You may not have the answer now, Mani, but you will eventually get to it.
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I hope so, someday…maybe… Thanks for the assurance, Sir… 🙂
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“Who am I” the biggest philosophical question, the Indian philosophical books can help you to find the answer, but it’s not as easy as i am saying coz though i have read lots of books still unable to attain the level of realization, we all know it’s very tough, we are stuck in this mundane world and its tough to find the answer with so many desires in heart and mind. yah, one more book i can suggest in “Life divine” and i know there is no need to mention the name of the author.
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Have read it…”Life Divine” by Sri Aurobindo. Have read the Gita and some other Hindu Shastras in bits and pieces… it takes time to go through them, you definitely know. Surely, to connect with those philosophical revelations, we need to attain a state much higher.
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Who am I? There is no end to the depths it can take one. By meditating on this Raman Maharshi got enlightened. As you have rightly named the post, the question can take one on a life changing ‘Quest’.
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Indeed…it’s a lifelong quest in search of the answer. And, one need to reach a level much higher than the mundane world to understand the answer… 🙂
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Early morning food for thought this was. The questions make so much sense and the answers – really no clue….
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Indeed…we can only search and continue our worldly journey… 🙂
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Looks like I have not yet reached that pinnacle of spirituality and never let that question bother me or haunt me but yes, sometimes, other questions such as why am I here, what made God to give me these human connections and such weird stuff do prop up, of course with no finite answers…and the crusade goes on and on …
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😀 😀 All these questions are inter-connected, I think.
By the way, don’t even try to give it a thought that I’ve attained a certain level of spirituality 😛 I’m a happy-go-lucky sort of person. But, sometimes, when I’ve nothing else to do (rarely happens), these kinds of weird thoughts ransack my mind.
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I was nodding YES YES YES…i too have same question. I have written about it sometime back. Hope you like it Maniparna- http://lifethroughmybioscope.com/who-am-i/
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Thanks! Actually, comment went into my spam folder. Restored it from there and hence the late reply! Heading to your post right now… 🙂
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The only way towards answers is through questions. Love your post Maniparna.
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Thanks, dear Kiran 🙂 Hope you are doing great…. 🙂
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hmm, mani..nice thought! i often wonder the same… but who are you??
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Hehehe…I’m searching the answer. Will let you know once I got it… 😛
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hahaha…shall wait
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😀 …
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Love this post!
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Thank you>>> 🙂
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Pingback: Quest: Shopping Trolley | What's (in) the picture?·
Loved the post and the questions you have posed, The ability to ask the right questions lead us to the answers. It is the quest for knowing that keeps us going.
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Right that…
Somali, plz spam folder check koro tomar. My comments are landing
there for the last few days. Eto frustrating laagche, kono blog poRte ba comment kortei ichche korchhena… 😦 Have contacted WP support..let’s see…
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Hoye onek shomoy aamar -o tarpor nijei theek hoye jaye. Will check spam. Shubho Mahalaya
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Shob blog ei hochche aamar…that’s frustrating.. 😦
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maniparana.. when i fall into the thinking trap, i felt myself very odd to think on “who am I”.. but now i know, there wont be a single person who hasnt ever thought on the same..
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Yes, probably none of us (mundane beings as we are) is able to find out a concrete answer, but eventually, all of us have faced the question at some point in life… 🙂
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so true.. may be the answers we get are of varying nature…even then, waiting for an answer
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🙂 …
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It is knowing which questions to ask.. 🙂 and that Quest for answers for me will never stop while ever I keep on asking to learn something new.. 🙂
Lovely post dear friend xx
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Thanks, Sue, yes, it’s a lifelong quest for all of us… 🙂
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🙂
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The journey of discovery is wonderful, varied and neverending, I love to learn and who am I but what I learn and experience?
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True that, after all, we are here to learn something, to enjoy the goodness of being a human… 🙂
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Beautifully written…. hmm when ever get overwhelmed by life in any way .. I do ask my self
Who am I
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Just like that… you got it. Thanks a lot for stopping by… 🙂
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That question is haunting indeed
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True that… 🙂
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Journey is important than destination ,who am I is something we kept wondering but never get the perfect answer ,may be in the journey we will find out 🙂
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Well said…it’s the journey of life and the search continues. Thank you…:-)
Also, kindly check your spam folder and restore my comment on your #childhood poem. For some reasons, my comments are going in the spam 😦
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Done ,thank you mani 🙂 🙂 for wonderful comment on childhood poem .
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I was also searching for that answer …..
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Perhaps, we all are… 🙂
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Your question reminds me of a conference my daughter attended and told me that it started with the question “who are you?” And all people struggled to answer, pondered and the answers were manifold. So long back, after hearing that story I had asked myself the same question and got some interesting answers, many of which I keep sharing in the form of my poetry. To begin with, we can say…I am a female, a mother, a wife, a grandmother and you can add many adjectives before all the roles we play! Spiritual and philosophical answers could be more profound and varied! 🙂
Good topic, which can be discussed and taken much further!
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Yes, we can have easy answers to this question if we take it simply. But, a philosophical root helps to delve deeper and, perhaps, it’s almost impossible for mundane beings like us to get a concrete answer to this question. Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts, Balroop… 🙂
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That question has haunted everyone at some stage I am sure. . The answer to which not many have been able to give ..
I think that is the mystery that will always remain because of the way life is.. full of ups and downs. . And each experience or episode takes us nearer to answering that question.
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Right, life is a stupendous journey and, it makes us wiser with every passing moment. As for the answer, I don’t know if anyone ever has been able to get a satisfactory answer! (not speaking of the sages and Maharishis of ancient times)
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Your write up for the picture made it so beautiful Mani. Who am I?? is a question which has remained a question haunting people since long. The answer to which remains elusive even today!!
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Right you are…it’s an eternal question and the answer perhaps remains in our journey called life… 🙂
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Great post filled with truth Mani! 🙂 ❤
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Thanks, Natalie… ❤
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Excellent. I love the phoenix analogy, a very poetic yet realistic expression of the question/answer relationship. Asking ourselves who we are is a daily meditation I think, and the answer is always changing, even if ever so slightly. Really interesting and thought provoking post.
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Thanks a lot. Indeed, this question has no specific answer. From the philosophical standpoint, our Hindu scriptures do have some answers, but one needs to attain a level much higher to actually relate with them. We, mundane beings, keep on searching the answer along with the journey of life… 🙂
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I loved this … Thank you to Terry Spearfruit for pointing me your way. I wonder if any of us ever really understand who we are. Those who claim to are often staying tight in their comfort zone because the question is, I think far to scary for them. The others, like me spend many hour navel gazing and trying to work it out and many more trying to forget!
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You said it rightly. Perhaps, nobody ever has received the answer to this question. There maybe philosophical discussions and arguments and explanations, but that leads to nowhere for common people like us. We just spend hours pondering on it and then forget all about it as life beckons…
Thanks a lot for visiting my blog. I visited yours and left comments on a couple of your posts. Kindly check your spam folder for my comments and rescue them…this is a problem I’m facing with WP lately. All my comments are landing as spam.
Also, it would be a great favour if you kindly ask Terry to check his spam for my comments. I know it could be tiring for him at this stage…but I just have no other option left :-((
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I will check my spam when I’m back on my Mac and look forward to reading your comments. This is a problem that I, too, have had. I will tell Terry that you may be lurking in his. It makes me really cross actually – wordpress need to sort their filters out a little or a lottle better. Anyway. Thank you for following me … I hope not to disappoint you and I look forward to finding out more about you too!
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Thanks a lot. It’s a pleasure to follow your wonderful blog 🙂 I’m now out of the ‘spam’ cloud…the WP Support Team helped me out.
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Oh that IS good news and I will make sure to ask them if it happens to me again!
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Sure…they are helpful… 🙂
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Quest!
It pulled me, and then I read your opening lines. As a rule, I don’t read posts, unless they are really interesting. My taste is horrible. Even I think so. How can you account for a guy, who thinks that snake is beautiful?
It’s trendy to ask the question you asked. Who am I. 😀 Ko hum?
Did you ever try asking yourself the more poignant and important question, lady?
Kasmaat Amasthi? Why am I? I’m more bothered with that than who am I. 😀
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Hehe… you don’t read posts? That’s really news to me… 😀
Why am I sounds more depressing :-P.. On a serious note, I think both are interconnected..the identity and the reasons of existence…
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Throughout the history of mankind, the subject of identity has sent poets to the blank page, philosophers to the agora and seekers to the oracles. The answer may be philosophical.
Well, you may find the answer in “Shivoham” mantra composed by Sage Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century:
“Shivoham Shivoham Shivaswarupoham
Nityoham shuddhoham buddhoham muktoham”
It expresses the inner experience of knowing oneself as that Self, which is identical with the pure awareness personified by Shiva. As per Isha Upanishad: “The light which is thy fairest form, I see it. I am what He is”.
Soham (I am He) is very common in ancient and medieval Indian literature. Many upanishads, tantras and stotras have “Soham” in shlokas.
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Absolutely! “I am He” …we often say this. I think, if one can feel that connection tangibly enough, that epiphanic point is called Nirvana…
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Yes Maniparna, I think this is what we are seeking to achieve in our own style and manner. 🙂
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Indeed… 🙂
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The problem with that question, as I see it Mani, is that any answer would necessarily be conceptual, or an intuited percept. In other words, it is an impossible question because the answer to ‘who I am’ can quite obviously never be a concept or percept. Is this what you mean, a philosophical or ontological question? The better question might be – ‘where is awareness?’
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That’s true, Hariod. I got your point.
Perhaps, we will never be able to find the answer to this question. A palpable answer. Though in Hindu Shastras (old scriptures) it is said, we are part of the universe and everyone of us is also a part of the Greater Being, that is, He himself, He is the Awareness, the Knowledge, the Light, the Enlightenment. But these answers are really philosophical and do not make much sense to mundane being like us. If anyone ever became aware of the answers, she/he would attain Nirvana or Zen… 🙂
Thanks for the comment, it’s always a pleasure to have your opinion… 🙂
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And it’s a never-ending quest but a fab journey. We should never be shy in questioning things and our inner self.
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Right, it’s the journey that matters at the end and these questions are the inspiration… 🙂
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Every once in a while I stop and ask myself Who am I? What is my mission? Where am I heading?
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Yes, I think all of us did that at some point… 🙂
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deeply amazing and beautiful…
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Thanks a lot, Miran… 🙂
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