QnA with Sri Sri
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Q: How do we know the answer for the question “Who am I?”

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Keep asking yourself this question again and again – “Who am I?” This itself paves the way for going deeper into meditation. Just keep aside whatever you think of yourself or what you feel you are. This question cannot be answered through words. One who answers it through words does not truly know. This question is very important. So keep asking this question to yourself again and again – be it a hundred or a thousand times, over and over.
Then ask yourself, “Why am I?” I would say first you should know who you really are. Then think over why you are, and also why you are not. Think whether there is anyone for whom you are not (in existence).
You are not here to be troubled, you are not here to disturb others either. You are not here to simply eat, drink and sleep from one day to another. You are not here to gossip. So when you think deeply in this manner, you will slowly begin to understand why you are here. Start making a list of all the things you are NOT. Go on negating one (identity or label) thing after another that you are not. Then you will know why you are here, and that you are here to be useful and be of help to others around you, and for yourself as well. When a few people get comfort and relief because of you, then the happiness and contentment that you get cannot be expressed in words at all.

http://qnawithsrisri.artoflivinguniverse.org/