My theory of understanding the self is that self cannot be understood as a theory. That’s my theory.
Let us take a simple example. Is it possible to understand the taste of bananas by reading all the theory about the taste of banana and never ever eating a banana? Understanding is a logical, analytical, thinking-mind function. It usually arises as a consequence of thinking-mind activity such as reading, studying, listening, watching, etc. This type of understanding is called conceptual understanding and theories are a result of such conceptual understanding and are meant to convey such conceptual understanding.
There is another type of understanding that doesn’t need any concepts or theory. In our above example, to understand the taste of banana, simply eat a banana. To understand self, simply realise self. Self is you and you are self. Self is me and I am self. But this is not evident when we observe ourself normally. Why is this so?
Our five physical senses and our physical body is not the whole of us, it is just a small part of the whole of us. But we get so engaged and absorbed with our physical senses and mental activity concerning these senses all the time that it is as if we are unintentionally turning a blind eye to the rest of the whole of our body, namely our energy body. We try to look at our self, the whole of us with our physical senses and understanding and so it is not a complete understanding.
As we practice with our meditation and go deeper and deeper into the practice, our thinking-mind gets quieter and quieter. When this happens, our intuitive mind and aware mind perceptions become clearer and clearer. They have been there all the time but simply obscured or submerged in the mental noise caused by the thinking-mind. It is not possible to carry on a telephone conversation in a room where the television is on in full volume, we would either have to mute the TV or move out of the room to hear the voice on the call.
When we are open to the full perception of the aware mind, we are simply aware of our wholeness (the we here is singular not plural). There is just The Self, the one universal consciousness, that is showing up in billions of life forms and inanimate matter forms, as the universe. There is no separate matter and energy and consciousness, there is only consciousness. This can be only felt and realised and not studied and understood. Language and grammar doesn’t work when we attempt to explain the theory of understanding the self. That is why mystics turn to poetry. Who can understand the true meaning of poetry without first going through the experiences that the poet went through at the time of conceiving the poem?
