Who am I?

[Ramesh M. Shani]

I am no-body.

Once upon a time I was a seed. Passing through a journey I landed in a womb. Doctors called me fetous. When I came out from the dark chamber people around called me a bright baby. My mother called me huggy baby and several other cutie names. Each of the family members called me names of his choice. During the naming ceremony the priest gave me the name of Ramesh. As I grew, parents of my kid companions gave me names each suiting their temperaments. In the school each teacher added an adjective to my name, the kind that suited them most. When I majored, I was called an adult. While on my job, my boss called me good for nothing while my colleagues called me a workaholic. On the day of my marriage the invitees called me a bridegroom. After my marriage I become a husband to my wife who would give me plenty of honey flavored names. My mother-in-law titled me as her son-in-law. My business associates would call me a man of integrity. My staff would call me an adorable boss. People who received charity from me called me a philanthropist. People whom I displeased would call me non trust worthy. People with whom I had a fight would term me a rascal. There were others who called me proud or egoist. When my wife was blessed with a baby boy I began to be known as a father to a child. At the birth of my second child I became a father to two children.
After my daughter married her husband referred me as his father-in-law. When they were blessed with a baby girl people pounded me as maternal grand father. These names repeated themselves when my son married. Now people are waiting to call me paternal grand father. When I wound up my business people called me broke. Now I am referred to as retired or Mr. Idle. Time may not be too far when the world will call me a dead body.

You, dear reader, may be bored with the multitude of names and titles bestowed upon me or taken by me in ignorance. Refer back to your life. In all likelihood yours may not be any different than mine. So yours could be as boring as mine.

However since I got blessed to move on the Path 25 years ago, I realized within a couple of years that I am no-body. All my actions before that were unknowingly and naturally unconditional, as if in ignorance, probably due to past karmas. While in this birth I have fully realized to be a no-body.

All the bonding stands void when we act from a no-body-ness because we surrender fully to the power within.

[Bonnie Zimmermann]

So well said -- and I hope someday to surrender to the power within and become a no-body as well. I feel as if I am on the path but have a long way to go.

So many names, so many titles -- we just need to be.