Who Am I?

Shriram Sharma Acharya, a pioneer of spiritual renaissance was born on 20th September1911, in Anwalkheda, Agra District. He scrupulously carried out the biddings of his Guru, a great Himalayan Yogi, since he was fifteen years of age.

He took part in the struggle far independence as a volunteer, went to jail a number of times and embarked upon the task of social and moral upliftment through spiritual means in 1935 with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi.

A sage, a visionary and a reformer, the Acharya initiated 100 points Yug Nirman Yojna, lived a disciplined life of devout austerity, visited the Himalayas several times and attained spiritual eminence.

The Gayatri Pariwar fraternity; Shantikunj Ashram — an academy for moral and spiritual awakening; Brahmavarchas Research Institute — which strives to synthesize science with spirituality and over 3000 social reform centres (Shakti-peeths) are his greatest contributions to the modern world.

He translated the entire Vedic Vangmaya and accomplished a feat of writing more than 3000 books on all aspects of life.

The Acharya, Great devotee of Gayatri lived an ideal life for 80 years and voluntarily shed his physical sheath on Gayatri Jayanti, 2nd June 1990.

Around 1940, when he was 29 years of age, Poojya Gurudev Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, wrote a small Tract titled ‘Main Kya Hoon’. It is the first published work of Gurudev, who over the next fifty years wrote about 3000 treatises/commentaries/books/booklets touching on almost all Vedic lore and every aspect of human life - from the most mundane to the supreme spiritual. It is a matter of great wonder that ‘Main Ka Hoon’ - his first creative work, strikes to be one of the most illuminating of his writings on practical aspect of spiritual Sadhana.

Since this little booklet contains the quintessence of practical spiritual insights of perennial value and guidance for seekers of Truth, we are very happy to publish its free English version under the title “Who am I?” It is a matter of great satisfaction that the translators have made a commendable and sincere attempt to preserve the spirit, flavor and flow of the original - to the extent it was possible for them to do, within their own limitations.

In his own inimitable style, Acharyashri has raised the basic questions: Who are we? What is the purpose of human life? What is the genesis of ignorance and suffering? What is the way back to our true Home7 Gently and persuasively - sometimes teasingly and provokingly - through a process of negation and elimination, Gurudev guides the seeker through the maze of false identification as ‘I’ with the body, mind, intellect to the border line of our True Self—The Ineffable Supreme Being and Spirit in whom the whole play of manifestation of multitudinous ephemeral names and forms takes place and of whose Light we, human beings, are sparks — basically inseparable from and one with It, with its fundamental attributes of Sat-Chit —Anand.

Here are practical guidelines of Sadhana useful for all genuine seekers of Truth. It shows a life-affirming, and not a life-denying path of Self-Realization and gives a wake - up call to human beings to singlepointedly search their true identity - as spiritual beings going through human experience as a play; and thus fulfill the ardent Vedic Prayer—

Asato Maa Sat Gamaya;
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya?
MrityormaaAmritam Gamaya.

Meaning: Lead us from- falsehood to truth; darkness to light; death to immortality.

The booklet is highly commended for attentive study and practice to all Seekers of Truth.

In this paradoxical universe the pursuit to discover its mysteries is limitless. The more we know, the more humble we become in the face of what we don’t and cannot know. There are innumerable ways and means for investigating and acquiring knowledge. Amongst these, there are disciplines of objective, experimentally verifiable sciences about which man naturally wants to know more and more. Why? How? Where? When? of everything - he keeps on wondering and inquiring about. It is this natural curiosity which has led man to acquire so much knowledge of the mundane and material world and erect an imposing and gigantic technological edifice of civilization and culture.

Human ingenuity, aided by experimental science and thought, continues pushing back the limits of the unknown. However, the mass of humanity, including the elites, knows pretty little about its own Real Self. We hardly ever think about knowing the reality of our own existence. If we remain ignorant about our own real identity, the course of life remains uncertain, fearful, and confused. Because of ignorance of one’s Real Self, man is unable to think or act wisely and righteously. There is only onehighway to true happiness and peace in life and that is Self-Knowledge.

The present booklet is an humble attempt at “Exploration of the Self”. Words or logic cannot fully explain the riddle of “Who am I?” The only way to know one’s true identity is to explore the domains of consciousness within. An endeavor has been made in this booklet to guide the seeker to explore the reality of Self through specific disciplines of meditation and contemplation. It is hoped that it will be helpful to the genuine seekers of the Spirit.