Question:
If there is no individual “I” then how come life is viewing itself to through the same body-mind complex everyday and in that case, what is this dropping of individual “I”?
Sri Prabhuji:
Consciousness is the only reality. Consciousness is like space where there are no divisions. However space “appears” to be separate due to walls. In reality there are no divisions in space. Similarly consciousness has no separation of any kind. However just like space appears to be “separate” due to walls, consciousness “appears” to be enclosed within a body.
Consciousness is the observer. Observer identifies with “I” thought – ego. I thought identifies with the body and memories. Identification with body gives a sense of spacial limitation and identification with memories gives a sense of time. This way spacial and time wise separation appears. However from consciousness point of view, there is no spacial limitation or time limitation. Consciousness is the ever present “Presence” – NOW where there is no sense of separation. Thus a false sense of separation is superimposed on consciousness by the ego.
The concept of individuality is coming from sense of separation from existence. Ego is a product of memories stored in brain. Ego is product of past memories and imagination of future. Ego is never in the present moment. Past is dead and future is unborn. Only present moment is reality. Ego creates a pseudo sense of personality and individuality.
Dropping of individual sense of pseudo sense of separation is living in the present moment – not in the past, not in the future by the process of self enquiry. It is the intellect which does self enquiry and discards the body-mind identity as ‘I am not the body, I am not the mind’. This is process of negation – not this not this (neti, neti) in the language of Vedanta. After negation SELF recognises ITSELF. After dropping pseudo personality, enlightened one lives in eternal PRESENCE (SELF) which is non dual where there is no sense of separation. Please note that entire process involves dropping of pseudo sense of separation created by ego .