None! The Soul indeed is our real identity.
We generally believe our name to be our identity and hence introduce ourselves as, ‘I am John (please insert your name here).’
However, Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, the Enlightened being, asks us a very simple question here: “Are you yourself John or is your name John?” It is our name, isn’t it?
So, Param Pujya Dadashri further interrogates, “Then who are you? If John is your name, then who are you? Are you and your name not separate?
If you are separate from your name, then who are you? Do you understand what I am trying to say? If you say, “These are my eye-glasses,” then you and the glasses are separate, right? Similarly, do you not feel that you are separate from your name?
In the same token, there is nothing wrong with naming a shop ‘General Traders’. However if we call out to the shop owner, “Hey General Traders, come here!” he would retort, “My name is Jayantilal, General Traders is the name of my shop.” The owner, the shop and the merchandise inside the shop are all separate entities. What do you think?”
Yes, likewise we, our body and whatever we brought forth as our merchandise (mind, intellect, ego, anger, pride, deceit, greed, etc.) also are all separate entities. “However”, Param Pujya Dadashri adds, “people insist, “No, I am John.” which means, ‘I am the owner of the shop and I am also the sign on the shop.’”
John is just a means of identification
“From your very childhood, people kept calling you John and you have come to believe, ‘I am John.’ You believe this name to be you. In reality, you are not that, but you insist that you are John because everyone tells you so. Since you do not know who you really are, you believe yourself to be the name that you have been given.
And this has had a very powerful psychological effect on you. This effect is so deeply ingrained within you that you believe that you are John only. But this belief is wrong; and because of this wrong belief, you have spent countless lives ‘sleeping with your eyes open’ (oblivious to your real identity)”, says Param Pujya Dadashri.
He further states, “Even when you fall asleep at night, you do so as John. All night long, this wrong belief reinforces itself, thus becoming stronger and stronger. Only when you realize the answer to the question ‘who am I?’ does your wrong belief stop. It is because of this wrong belief that you have been wandering from one life to another.
You do not know your true identity and furthermore you impress upon yourself, the belief of that which you are not. You have imposed this wrong belief on your real Self (which is the Soul). In addition, you have accepted the notion of, ‘I am John’ and as a result, have behaved accordingly. This false accusation is a blunder and this blunder is the root cause of all suffering. The suffering comes in the form of inner restlessness, misery and discontentment. At the moment, you have so many worries; all of it is caused by your false belief of, ‘I am John.’”
To know really ‘who am I’ is called Self-Realization.
The false imposition of ‘I am John’ on the Self (the Soul) is ignorance, and that’s what binds karma and brings forth suffering. The experience of the Soul leads to the destruction of the belief, ‘I am the body.’ When the belief of ‘I am this body’ goes, new karma ceases to bind you. No karma means no suffering!
Self-Realization can happen only with the grace of Gnani, the Enlightened One!!!
In Akram Vignan, Gnani, with his divine spiritual powers, changes our wrong belief to right belief, through a two-hours scientific process called ‘Gnan-Vidhi’ (which is totally free of cost).
“So by right belief (given in Gnan-Vidhi), you are separated from John. This is the beginning of the experience of the pure Soul - say 1 degree of experience, and you have to reach upto 100 degrees. Slowly, as you practice the five principles (explained by Gnani during the Gnan-Vidhi), your awareness will go on increasing and you will get more experience of Pure Soul”, claims Gnani.
Thus, Gnani not only makes us aware of our real identity, but he also teaches us how to live our daily life with this real identity. And over time, He gradually helps us grow to a stage where we leave behind our false identity (of ‘I am John’) completely and totally dissolve into the real Self, the Soul. We become one with the Soul!!
Hence, when we meet Gnani, the Enlightened One, our work is done!
Self-Realization is the ultimate purpose of human life. This purpose gets served when He gives us the real knowledge of ‘who am I’ and puts us on the path of liberation. So come let’s go to Gnani NOW....
Please visit: https://www.dadabhagwan.org/self-realization/
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.