On the path of spiritual progress, the first step for a sincere sadhaka to undertake is Self-Enquiry. It is through Self-enquiry that one paves the way towards God-realisation. Self-enquiry leads the sadhaka to seeking the Divine within the Self. You must have often heard the statement ‘you are not this body, nor are you this mind’. So, then who are you? If you contemplate upon this, if you think deep enough, you will realise that you are but a conscious entity, clothed in this body, with a mind that generates a variety of confusing thoughts within.

When you are fast sleep, when both your body and mind are no longer active, you may often experience dreams. So, who is the one who is experiencing the dream. It is definitely not your body or your mind. At times, you sleep peacefully without having any dreams, and wake up feeling refreshed. Start contemplating on “who it was that enjoyed the sleep’, or who it was that experienced the dream, or dreamless state. Thus, you will understand that you are beyond your body or your mind.

Self-enquiry is enquiring your source, enquiring with yourself – “who am I?”, “what is my real nature?”, “who was I before taking birth in my mother’s womb?” Ask yourself – “what is my reason for taking birth on this earth?” When you ask these questions to yourself, keep in mind the fact that you are not asking about your individual ‘I’ or about your physical presence upon this earth. You are asking about that inner Self which is not seen, which is consciousness, pure awareness. Every moment, you must remind yourself that you are not this body that you see, nor are you this mind that thinks. Keep reminding yourself that you are pure consciousness, pure awareness.

When anything good or bad happens to your body or mind, instead of becoming affected by the happening, just remind yourself that you are the pure consciousness that remains unaffected by any happening. No matter how sad or happy or painful you feel, you must only witness the event that is happening. Cultivate this habit of being an observer, a witness to everything that happens to you. Slowly and surely, you will realise that there is a conscious Self that watches what is happening to your body or mind without getting affected by the good or bad happening.

As you become a detached observer to whatever is happening in your present life, you will realise that you are in fact, identifying with your spiritual Self, your true nature. Continue to remain in this world, live your life fully by fulfilling all your responsibilities, without getting affected by the events that happen in your life. Thus, you will realise your true Self – Brahman – which is God-Realisation