Who is actually seeing? Who is actually knowing? Who is the real perceiver? These are the questions that every seeker for the Truth should ask oneself. The pointers here may make the answers come easier. Remember, the pointers are not the Truth itself.
There is just this knowing, seeing, hearing, thinking, and doing. The eye does not say it is seeing. The ear does not say it is hearing. The body does not say it is doing something. The brain does not say it is thinking and knowing. The organs by themselves do not claim ownership of the function that is being performed through them. The eye cannot see by itself, can it? If it could, then one could take his one eye out and leave it at home and say "I am keeping one eye on things happening at home"! The ear cannot hear by itself. Obviously, this functioning is possible only when some other power is already present.
What is actually happening in that case? Let us take the example of knowing. Knowing is happening as an appearance in this ever present Awareness. The thought "I", which is merely a thought, a thought of a personality, a mental construct of an entity based on memory and conditioning of the mind, comes into play. This "I-thought" cannot exist without attaching itself to some event or object, be it the mind or the body or another thought or object of perception. The "I-thought" interprets the pure knowing as "I am the knower". The object of the knowledge then becomes the known. In this way, what was pure knowing, becomes split into a subject and an object, a knower and the known.
In the same way, there is seeing. The eye does not say "I see". Seeing is happening even without anyone claiming ownership of the function. However, the "I-thought", immediately takes ownership of the function, and claims it as "I am seeing, I am the seer", thereby creating in the thought pattern a subject (seer) and the object (seen). The fact is that a thought cannot see!! Just think over this carefully. Can a thought actually see? Can a thought actually hear? Can a thought actually do anything?
What you think you are is just that. A thought!! If you just stop thinking, even for a moment, you still exist. Try this yourself. Why is that? It is because, you are obviously not a thought. The Awareness that you are, is prior to any thought. It is just that this Awareness, gets translated into a thought, "I am". You do not have to repeatedly remind yourself, " I am, I am" to know that you exist!! Obviously, existence or Awareness is the background on which all thoughts appear including the primary thought "I am". This primary thought "I am" must be investigated for what it is, just a thought. In deep dreamless sleep, there are no thoughts including the thought "I am" and yet you exist. What is your identity then ( in deep dreamless sleep)? In deep dreamless sleep, you still exist despite absence of identity of the body, mind, or the world. For, in the morning, you wake up and with certainty say "I slept". This continuous Awareness, was there throughout the states of deep dreamless sleep, dream sleep and wakeful state.
It is because, one becomes stuck (or firmly believes in) with the identity assumed during the wakeful state, that there is unnecessary suffering. Be free of this false identity assumed during the waking state and see what happens. You realize that everything just is happening spontaneously. Investigate, know and BE.
