The other day I arrived at the home of a dear friend of
mine. She was on the computer with her 6
year old daughter Tessa. I said hello to them both and asked if they were
searching for jewelry online for Tessa. Tessa loves jewelry, semiprecious stones, beaded jewelry, especially charms.
Then her mom responds, “No, Tessa is looking for herself on Google”. Incredulous at what I thought I had just heard, I said, "Wait, what?" Her mom explained, "Yeah she found her brother on Google because he was mentioned in an article on me years back. And now she is a bit upset that there is no mention of her on Google. "
My heart sank on hearing this. One might say that Googling ourselves occasionally is perhaps common among adults. But something about seeing a 6 year old searching herself on Google, highlighted the absurdity of how we acquire our identity these days. How
our idea of who we are can be based on a false search.
Further:
If upon meeting someone at a party you were to ask them, “Who are you? Tell me more about who you are.”, and they respond, “Just Google me!”, you would
find it absurd. A mismatch of sorts
between the intention behind your question to know someone and the response
which points in the direction of partial knowledge. “Wait, Googling you is not
knowing you!”
In the same way if an Enlightened Master were to ask me, “Who are you?” and I responded, “I am Monica Jaggi. I am a Yoga
teacher. I like spicy food and I also like sweets. I am a Scorpio with Sagittarius rising. I like the warmth of the sun and hate the cold of winter. ” To the
Enlightened Master this would be an equally absurd response. They too would regard it as a mismatch of sorts, a response which points in
the direction of partial knowledge. To the Realized Masters, the idea of ourselves we carry based on the likes and dislikes of our body and mind, based on our identification with our body and mind, is partial knowledge based on false search parameters.
As Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati would say, "I am that I - Am beyond body and mind, although I have a body and mind"
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