The Most Important Question

Who am I? The question has sparked off many a spiritual journey and ever since Sri Ramana Maharshi wrote a book with this title, it has attracted thousands in the West to the path of Advaita (or Non-Duality).

In the  10 min clip below, spiritual master Mooji (of the lineage of Sri Ramana) provides a short introduction to this path of questioning everything about yourself. Some important reminders we all could use, no matter our path in life.

Short Excerpt

(2.08 – 4.20)

“The earliest mistake is made – who do you take yourself to be? Mostly we are living in an idea of ourselves that is constructed through our society, family, so many factors. Most of them are untraceable – how they came to contribute to your sense of self. But whatever that sense of self is, it always feels some distance from This. So then, came the concept of practice – you have to practice to get there because you’re not there, you have to practice so many things. Human concepts.

At one time in Japan also (I’ve used this example before), it was common thinking amongst that nation that as a woman you could not be enlightened! ‘Tough luck, sorry, next life maybe!’ And people believed it, lived by this. So many false things we pick up. Sometimes very intelligent people, but very stupid thinking nevertheless.

So of course it feels as though That which we speak about, even though you read your are one with That, some part of our intellect appreciates this, feels something from this. Because even this is good news, even if it’s only mental. It still does something. But it seems not enough. Because an earlier belief is sitting in the chair and it’s saying ‘near, but not enough’, ‘close, but not yet there.’ So in the beginning, when this enquiry first comes, it feels a struggle. Because we’re so used to asking objective questions – ‘how do you get to this place?’, ‘so and so and so’, ‘how do you find this thing?’, ‘so and so’. You can have objective answers, objective questions. But to This?

To whom do answers and questions come? Who am I? Who dwells here?”