If one has read or heard any of the literature on Advaita, it is repeatedly mentioned that you are already what you are looking for or seeking. You already are THAT. Meaning that what is being sought is already the one who is seeking. The well known Mahavakya " Tat tvam asi" ( that thou art) is self explanatory. Even though the ancient sages tried to make it very simple, it escapes most seekers. There are several reasons for this. The mind has been conditioned since early childhood to believe that there is an entity, a person, which is the body-mind. The other reason is that the mind is led to believe that no results can be obtained without effort. Therefore, there must be some effort to "get" or "attain" this whatever you are looking for- call it "enlightenment", "peace of mind" or "Self - Realization". Therefore even the simple and clear statement that you are already what you are looking for, can be misinterpreted by the mind to believe that there is an entity here called "me" which will find by pursuing a course of action. The other misconception is that by repeating the Mahavakyas ( Great words) one will attain "liberation" or "enlightenment" etc.
Let us SEE and find out if there is really a "me" here. I ask you as who you really are. You say "I am so and so" by which you mean that you are the body-mind standing in front of me. If you are indeed the body, can you please point out to yourself, where exactly in the body are "you"? Meaning, where exactly in the body is the headquarters or the centre? As you are perhaps aware, every part of your body is constantly changing every day, every hour and every minute. The skin cells are discarded. Waste matter including body cells are discarded in the feces and so on. Would that not mean, that you are dying and being born every minute, so to speak!! Look and SEE, if you can find a centre called "me" in the body. Don't just read this!! Really LOOK and SEE. Some will say that the entity "me" is in the mind. O.K., assuming you are indeed the mind, can you please look and see where is the mind? If you point to your head, then where exactly in the head is the mind? ( For the scientific minded, please be aware that science has so far failed to locate the source of mind). Have you heard of the statement "it has a mind of its own"? Ever seen a chicken without a head? The body continues to run even without a head. That is why people use the term " running around like a headless chicken". That should make it clear that the mind is not in the head. In fact, you cannot find anything like the mind. It is just a bundle of thoughts. Now, what are thoughts? Can you look and tell me what are thoughts? Are they not just vibrations of energy without any location in particular?
Having not found a centre anywhere in the body or the mind, why is it that you continue to believe in an entity called "me"? Is it not clear that the entity called me is an imaginary entity created out of memory of the past and projected into the future. Is it not clear that the "me" is itself nothing but a thought. In fact, all thoughts are latched on to the primary thought -I, the I-thought. But, when this simple investigation into the "I" is undertaken, one cannot find the "I".
Despite not finding the "I' or the "me", one still exists. This Knowing or knowledge of existence is present even in the absence of thought. Try holding your thoughts for a fraction of a second. Do you disappear? Obviously not. Why? Because, the thoughts are not what is holding you together.
Can you deny your existence/awareness/presence at this very moment? No thoughts, and yet you are aware. Is it not the existence/awareness, which sustains the thoughts or is it the thoughts that sustain existence/awareness? Unless, one himself or herself investigates along these lines, there is no hope of finding the Truth. Do not believe the above statements in the least bit. Please, investigate yourself.
Now, what are you doing to be aware at this very moment? Are you "doing" anything to be aware? Is it not true that presence-awareness is self-shining, always fresh, without any action or effort on your part?
