Without the Self, you don’t exist. The Self in reality is You! Without the Self, the body, though marvelously engineered by the Master Engineer, is only a shell. Of itself, it has no consciousness. It cannot independently function. It would not have a “beginning”, so not existing. What then is this Self?
We call the Self the soul, the spirit, spark of Divinity among others. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “There is no place where the soul ends and God begins.” There is a continuum, and no separation. But we feel that there is a separation because of the body. We see individuality, each with the soul in it. This is false perception. Can we see where the sunlight ends and the sun begins? Of course, we cannot. Satguru Kabir said the same thing,
“जल में कुम्भ कुम्भ में जल है,बाहर भीतर पानी
फूटे कुम्भ जल जलहि समाना, ऐसा ज्ञान बिरले जानी”
(There is water in the jar and the jar is in water. Water is inside and outside the jar. The jar breaks and both waters become one. We need to understand this wisdom).
The Self is not influenced by people’s opinions, judgments, criticisms, curses, condemnations, or other behaviours that may come to you from others. How can the Spirit of God be affected by them? If you feel hurt, humiliated, annoyed, depressed, lose self-esteem, and other negative responses, then you have not experienced your Self. Your negative responses are from your ego, emotions, “thin skin” and need to blame the one who caused you to feel the way you do. You have not tapped into the power of the Self. The power of Self gives you mental stability, strength and balance. These lead to better mental and physical health. Life would become joyful.
Realize the Self that you are. It is more powerful than all the adversities of life. Sit in meditation, and in the deep silence, feel the consciousness of the Self. You would be amply rewarded!
