'I', 'I AM' and 'ME'

Sage Ramana asks us to contemplate on "Who AM I", which is a pointer to REALITY. What is REALITY then? Who is this "I"? Is the 'I' different from what I AM? These are dobts arising in ME. My understanding is: "I" is Consciousness (bhodam) ; This "I" Consciousness is the expression of "AWARENESS". I AM is an appearance on the I Consciousness as a sense of Existence. Without I there is no I AM. To understand these concepts we need an analogy. Water,( the Reality) expresses as Ocean (I Consciousness), and waves thereon make an appearance as I AM. The Universe is perceived as 'I AM'. Without "AWARENESS" there is no "I". Without "I" there is no "I AM" and in the absence of "I AM" there is no Universe. Apart from Awareness, I-Consciousness, I AM-Universe, there is an imaginary "I" (a phantom" I " known as ME or MINE) claiming individualiy and freedom of volition. The status of this imaginary "I" can be remembered by the status of an individual wave among the innumerable waves in the Ocean. How ridiculous for a wave claiming independent existence and freedom of volition! Sage Ramana's advice is to find out the REAL I (in the analogy of ' Water - ocean - waves - wave', the wave has to castaway the enclosure it has assumed around it) . Sri Sankara's aphorism " Brahma Satyam; Jagan mitya; Jeevo Brahmaiva na aparah " - Brahman Alone is Real; the world is unreal; the individual soul is non-different from Brahman - may be remembered in this context. The 'world is unreal' has to be understood as "All differences and plurality are illusory"; " Brahman is homogeneous and Whatever is, is Brahman".


In the vedantic texts there is a mention about seven spheres of ignorance. They are:


Beeja - Jagrat; Jagrat; Maha - Jagrat; Jagrat-swapna; Swapna; Swapna - Jagrat and Susuhpthi.


Beeja-jagrat = I-Conciousness (in a static stage, without object) otherwise known as 'Avyakta' 'Akshara" or Ishwara

Jagrat= "I AM"-Consciousness with the sense of perception - otherwise known as 'vyakta', 'kshara' "viswam"

Maha-jagrat: 'Iam so & so (with a name and form) - sense of individuality and volition of its own = Vyakthy; phantom I

Jagrat-swapna: vyakthy entertaining desires, fear and anxiety

Swapna: an echo of maha jgrat and jagrat swapna

Swapna-jagrat: -do -

Sushupthy: deep-sleep where "I" consciousness remains dormant, and "I AM" and "ME" are absent


Similar to the seven spheres of ignorance there are seven spheres of Knowledge. They are:

subeccha; Vicharana; Asanga-bhavana; vilapani; satvapatthi; Pathartha-bhavana; Thureeya

Good intention; spiritual inquiry, attitude of detachment; vasanas - submerging, bodhananda bhava; enlightenment and Mukthy.

Thureeya is " I Consciousness" witnessing its own sankalpa of "I AM" the Universe and "ME" the imaginary individual I .



It is "I Consciousness" that decides out of sankalpa, the course of the Universe, similar to Ocean deciding the course of the movements of the waves.

Only by doing all these tatwa-vicharas we may be able to understand the purport of the Sage's advice. In the absence of sravana, manana and Nidhityasana, a mere repetition of the advice "Who AM I" as a mantra , I am afraid, would lead us nowhere. Sage Ramana is pointing out the temporality of the phantom I and the eternity of Real I. He is pointing out the illusory wave claiming independent status, visa-vis the Ocean, the substratum, and the water, the reality.