Soham Swami

The Reality of Self Soham Swami

Who am I? From where have I come and where will I go? What is this consciousness that continuously generates the awareness - "I exist". Is it a feature of my body and will I perish with the death of my body? Or am I the mind? If I am the mind then how do I exist when my mind disappears in a swoon or the deep sleep state? What is the mind? How is it born and how will it perish? Or am I the soul? What is the soul? Is there a single soul or a unique independent soul in each entity? How will I know who I am? What is my reality? - If these questions bother you, then this book is just right for you. In the concluding chapter of Soham Samhita, the Advaitin monk Soham Swami answers all these questions and more. He guides the desperate seeker of the knowledge of the Reality of Self or Atmatattva on the transcendental path that leads to the ultimate truth. About the Author: Paramhangsa Soham Swami (1858-1918) was an Advaitin monk. In his pre-monastic days he was known as Shyamakanta Bandopadhyay. He was famous across the Bengal Presidency in the last two decades of the 19th century for his unusual vocation - wrestling with tigers. His goal was to instil fearlessness in the minds of people of a subjugated nation and prepare them for the war of independence. At the age of 41, abandoning wealth, family, and fame, he became an ascetic and realized the Truth of Self in Samadhi. To eradicate superstition and social, religious, and gender-based discriminations that were obstacles to the development of society, in the last 10 years of his life he wrote copiously on Advaitavad or the philosophy of non-dualism.