You are Pure Spirit - Not Body

We live solely by habit. It's not entirely our fault, as we've been programmed since the day we were born to think in terms of being this body. Before we can even comprehend what is happening to us, we are identified by a name, as this body, as the child of our parents, and our general place in the universe.  By the time our mental capacity has developed to recognize what's going on (sort of), we already believe that we are an "I" with a name and fully identify as that.  

We could say it's also not exactly our parents or teachers' faults, as they too have grown up in a society of illusion, and raised by those who don't know the truth.  And we didn't have a chance. We were born into this ignorance. It's an ocean of illusion! The entire world is called Maya, which means "Not that", or 'it's not what you think' :-D

If, however, you had been born as a child of Queen Madalasa (many thousands of years ago), or parents of a similar understanding, you might have had a chance, for she sang a lullaby to her son each night, proclaiming the truth of our existence.  Here is one of the verses:

शुद्धोऽसि रे तात न तेऽस्ति नाम कृतँ हि तत्कल्पनयाधुनैव।

पच्चात्मकँ देहँ इदँ न तेऽस्ति नैवास्य त्वँ रोदिषि कस्य हेतो॥

suddhasi re tata te'sti nama ktrtam hi tatkalpanayadhunaiva

paccatmakam deham idam na te'sti naivasya tvam rodisi kasya hete

My Child, You do not have a name.  A name is only an imaginary superimposition on you. This body made of five elements is not you, nor you belong to them. Then why are you crying?

(Here is a link to the entire story and lullaby:  click here)

This verse is quite similar to one from the Ashtavakra Gita:

न पृथ्वी न जलं नाग्निर्न  वायुर्द्यौर्न वा भवान्। 

एषां साक्षिणमात्मानं  चिद्रूपं विद्धि मुक्तये॥१-३॥ 

na prithvi na jalam nagnir na vayurdyaurna va bhavan | 

esham sakshinam atmanam chidrupam viddhi muktaye ||1-3||

You are not earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor sky (the 5 material elements of the body and everything else). For the purpose of liberation, know the Self as the Witness and Consciousness.  

We may not have had a choice in our birth and upbringing, but now we DO have the choice to change that.  Our day to day lifestyle is generally one of habit and beliefs, and beliefs are simply a habit of the mind.  We have been trained to think a certain way since early childhood, but as the saying goes - keep doing what you're doing and you'll continue to get what you've always gotten. In other words, unless you make a conscious choice to change, nothing will automatically or magically change for you.  And chances are, you're not thrilled with the way things are for you at present.  Unless you're already free.  :-)

I think it was the previous post where I mentioned the following Ashtavakra verse from the one above - which states, "If you seperate yourself from the body/mind, and rest in the shelter of Consciousness, even now, you can be happy, peaceful, and free from bondage." Ashta 1.4  

So, recognize, to the best of your ability, that you are NOT this body, nor the elements of which it is made; you are not your name, or anything that you identify WITH.  You are the Self, which is the Presence, Consciousness, Awareness, Witness, IS-ness that is already always Here Now.  Find the "I", then sit as That which precedes the word "I".   And be happy!!

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Linktr.ee/ajathomas

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे 

हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे