Self-Realization
We usually identify our existence with our position in society, our friends and family, the needs and desires of our body, and the emotional and intellectual expressions of our mind. But we rarely take the time to contemplate the real nature of our existence; to ask the question, “Who am I?”
We all have the feeling of existence; of “I exist”. That “I am” feeling dictates our thoughts, our memories, our feelings and our actions. It defines who we are as individuals. It is our identity of our mind with our body and with the world around us.
If we take the time and the effort to look deeper into our “I am” feeling we would find a deeper sense of being: a deeper “self”. The realization of that experience is not merely one of “I am”, but the more profound experience of “I know that I am”. That “I” of “I know” is the essence of our existence: pure consciousness. And the realization of that consciousness – our inner self – is called self-realization.
“Cosmic Consciousness abides in the very sense of existence, in one’s very heart’s desire.”
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
Knowingly or unknowingly, we all want to attain self-realization, because only by attaining it can we attain what we really want at the core of our being: perfect peace; infinite and eternal happiness – bliss. The method of doing that is called spiritual practice and its core technique is meditation.