In the same token there is nothing wrong with naming a shop ‘General Traders’. If we were to call out to the shop owner “Hey! General Traders …come here!” He would reply “My name is Jayantilal, General Traders is the name of my shop”. The owner, the shop and the merchandise inside the shop are all separate entities. What do you think?

Questioner: That makes sense.

Gnani: People insist “No, I am Chandulal”. That means, ‘I am the owner of the shop and I am also the sign on the shop’. ‘Chandulal’ is just a means for identification.

From your very childhood, people kept calling you ‘Chandu’ and you have come to believe ‘I am Chandu’. You believe this name to be you. In reality, you are not that, but you insist that you are Chandulal because everyone tells you so. Since you do not know who you really are, you believe yourself to be the name that you have been given. This has had a very powerful psychological effect on you. This effect which is deeply ingrained within you that you believe that you are Chandulal. This belief is wrong. Because of this wrong belief, you have experienced countless lives ‘sleeping with your eyes open’.

Dadashri: Will you not have to investigate who you really are? How long can you go on being in the dark unaware of your Self? Do you not think it is ignorance to not investigate your true identity?

Until you realize who you really are, everything proves to be wrong and incorrect.

Even before you purchased this watch, did you not inquire about its make, quality, price, warranty, etc.? Then is it not ironic that you have not made inquires about your own Self yet? Who are you? You have no knowledge about your real identity, where you come from and where you are. You know none of these things and even without knowing the answer to this one vital question,“Who am I ?; you complicate your life further by actively participating in this relative world. In this state of ignorance, you further complicate your life by getting married, having a family, etc. This is how confusion and puzzles arise in the relative world.

 

…to be continued in next part…

–from the book shivoham

–Shikha Punjani