Who Am I ?

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Even if someone is fortunate enough to ask this question, he or she is rarely given a proper and correct answer. In my student life, our teachers used to ask, "Who are you?" and they would teach us that the answer should be "I am a student," "I am an Indian," "I am Oriya," "I am Hindu," and so on. These are not our real identities. What is your real identity? Who are you really? We identify ourselves with the body and the things related to the body. But the question remains, are we really the body?

Born in Jagannatha Puri in 1957 he became associated with ISKCON while in his second year in college. He joined the society in 1978 and was initiated by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami the following year during the Gaura-parnima festival in Sridhama Mayapur. From then on he served in various capacities, first as the sankirtana leader in Kolkata, then on the boat preaching party in Mayapur. Starting in 1983 he served four years as the temple president in Bhuvaneswar. In 1987 he returned to Mayapur to become the general manager. Under his supervision the Gita correspondence course program, college preaching and book distribution were developed. At present Maharaja is serving in Mayapur as co-director and one of the GBC members.

There is a Bengali proverb that says, pradipera nice andhakara. It means that there is darkness at the bottom of the pradipa, or lamp. The light from a lamp shines in all directions, but the bottom of the lamp remains dark. In a similar way, human beings seek to know so many things. They educate themselves about so many subjects, and yet they neglect knowledge of the self. To know the self is not ordinary, but it is a science — the science of self-realization. This science has been revealed in the Vedic literature.

People mistakenly think they are the body and so identify themselves with the body and everything related with the body. Thus they remain in ignorance of the real self. This book will explain how we are not the body, how we are not the mind or the intelligence but rather something higher, something beyond body, mind, and intelligence. According to the Bhagavad-gita, the mind is higher than the body, the intelligence is higher than the mind, and still higher than the intelligence is the soul, which comprises our true identity. The soul is part and parcel of Krsna. And each soul is an individual, remaining eternally an individual part of the Lord, distinct from the Lord Himself. The eternal individual soul never becomes one with God. It has its own unique characteristics.

The main cause of our suffering in this material world is ignorance of our real identity. Our suffering and enjoyment are not real. In this material world, both suffering and enjoyment arise from ignorance. It is for this reason we have to know our real identity. Without knowing our real identity, we will never be able to achieve real happiness. Through analysis based on scriptural evidence, this book will reveal our real identity: We are all eternal servants of Krsna, jivera svaripa haya krsnera nitya dasa.

In its constitutional position, the soul is an eternal servant of Krsna.

If we are once again situated in our constitutional position of serving Krsna with love and devotion, then we will derive real happiness, which is the goal every one wishes to attain in life. In preparing this book, I have extensively quoted the books of Srila Prabhupada. As a result, I hope the readers of this book will come to understand their real identity and feel inspired to engage in loving devotional service to God and His creation. In so doing, they will achieve the goal of life - krsna-prema — and become happy.