Human beings have always wondered about the mysteries of the universe: the sun, the moon and the stars, the planets, their orbits and the galaxies they live in, the plants, the animals and everything in between.

Once we got control of our environment, established our societies and civilizations, evolved our survival skills, the human species was ready to go on out into the world and explore every last corner of the earth. We strived to classify and categorize every plant, animal and mineral into their individual containers. We built boats, planes and trains to travel the world, and we put together robots, spaceships and satellites to probe the universe.

And yet, we continue to question. The questions never end. We dig even deeper, climb even higher, or explore even wider.But Creation is a puzzle we have never been able to piece together completely. It continues to puzzle us, intrigue us, and invite us into its mysteries. This is what the Vedic rishis called Maya.

The more involved we get with the material world of Maya, the more intriguing it becomes.

And so we get lost, and forget our own existence. There's only one way to transcend the multiverse of Maya, and that's to pull back our probing tentacles into ourselves, stop wondering about matter, and start asking questions about what matters.

What matters is to ask "who am I" when all the matter goes away - when all the material world is discounted? Who am I if I lose all my possessions? Who am I if all my education didn't mean a thing? Who am I if my quirks and characteristics are meaningless? Who am I if stop believing all my beliefs and stop being afraid of all my fears? Who am I if I lost myself?

Koh in Sanskrit means "who" and Aham means "I". Koham, or "Who am I?" is the most important question of all that matters, according to the ancient Vedic sutras. We are afraid to ask this question because it exposes us in the starkest way possible to our own selves. So we turn away and get lost in the material world around us. But when we become weary of the material world, this is the rope that leads us back to sanity. This is the light that guides us back to our true selves.

Use the Koham meditation to ask this important question for yourself. Unveil the layers of Maya, one by one. It will lead you to self realization - to the true nature of your Self.