[Advaita-l] WHAT AM "I"

[Akilesh Ayyar]

Namaste,

"Thus, a complete description of I is as follows: I am something. And I am
not that which I can even think about."

Not quite. To say "I am something" is also a thought with all the
accompanying limitations. Thus the only complete description is silence.

On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 2:28 AM Sudhanshu Shekhar via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Hari Om,
>
> I am something. I am not nothing. And I am not that which I can see, hear,
> smell, touch, taste, feel, decide, or identify with. I am not that which I
> can think or visualize.
>
> This is a complete description of myself.
>
> Any word of Shruti which appears to describe "I" positively is nothing but
> negation alone. "I" cannot be described positively. So words like Satyam,
> Jnanam, Anantam etc are not positive but negative description alone. For
> eg, I am jnanam. So let us not think that Shruti indicates me as some sort
> of "light of awareness" or "consciousness" etc. But She is merely saying
> that I am not jada.
>
> Thus, a complete description of I is as follows: I am something. And I am
> not that which I can even think about.
>
> Regards,
> Sudhanshu.
>
>
>
> On Fri 7 Jun, 2019, 09:55 Belavadi Shankar via Advaita-l, <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > Please read Ashtawakra Samhita.
> >
> > On Fri, Jun 7, 2019 at 7:53 AM sreenivasa murthy via Advaita-l <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> > > Dear friends,WHAT AM " I "? This  is  the  question
> > > which will be in the mind of
> > > a sincere student  of  Vedanta.The  answer  for  the  above  vital
> > > question  is :
> > > The  uncreated , unborn,  light of  awareness  is what  I  am.
> > >
> > > That is  the basis  substratum,  andcontainer  of  all experiences.
> > >
> > > Theworld, senses, body,  mind,  waking, dreaming,  sleeping,
> > >
> > > knowledge,  lack of  knowledge,  consciousness,
> > >
> > > unconsciousness– whatever  can  be framed  as  some
> > >
> > > kind  of experience—these  are  allappearances  in  this
> > >
> > > changeless  reality of  my  being.
> > >
> > > I  am prior  to  those things  and  yet  Icontain  them  all.
> > >
> > > No  experience is  separate  and apart  from  what I  am.
> > >
> > > UNQUOTE.
> > > Is it  not  the message  of  the  Upanishads?
> > > Allof  us should  cognize  this within  ourselves  by   ourselves
> > > so that we can be krutArthas.
> > >  Withrespectful namaskars,SreenivasaMurthy.
> > >
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