Is ‘I am’ a thought or feeling or cognition? The ‘I am’ or ‘aham vritti’ can be considered as a form of cognition, but it’s more than just a thought or a feeling. It’s a fundamental sense of existence or being. Lets look at it from all three standpoints:

Thought: In the context of thoughts, ‘I am’ is not just a thought. Thoughts are usually transient and changeable, but the sense of ‘I am’ is a constant and unchanging awareness that underlies all thoughts and experiences.

Feeling: ‘I am’ is also more than a feeling. Feelings, like thoughts, can come and go, and they can be influenced by external circumstances. The sense of ‘I am’, however, is a deeper, more fundamental sense of existence that remains regardless of what feelings may be present.

Cognition: ‘I am’ can be considered a form of cognition in the sense that it is a knowing or awareness of one’s existence. However, it’s a unique kind of cognition because it’s not dependent on the mind or the senses. It’s a direct, immediate awareness of being.

So, while ‘I am’ involves elements of thought, feeling, and cognition, it’s ultimately a deeper, more fundamental sense of existence or being. It’s the foundational awareness that underlies all other experiences. This ‘I am’ feeling or ‘aham vritti’ is the irreducible element of any human knowledge, experience, perception, etc. The ‘I’ feeling is the very source of the personality, the irreducible starting point of all experiences. It has the tendency to identify and attach itself to different experiences. This very identification ‘solidifies’ the ego-consciousness. Tracing it back to its source is a way to reveal atman (the Supreme Self). Atman is the immortal and immutable aspect of mortal existence. It is the substratum of every object in creation, including humanity.

In the practice of Karma Yoga, striving to remain fully present and surrendering during all activities, the sense of ‘I am’ serves as a powerful anchor to the present moment and to a deeper dimension of being. This becomes highly significant. By letting go of any attachments this ‘I’ might have—be it thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations—you can experience the pure sense of ‘I’. Just release them all at once. If they return, which they might, simply let go of them again as soon as you become aware of them. You’ll find that something always remains: a sense of Presence. This sense of Presence is the ‘I am’, which refers to the undeniable awareness of one’s existence. The term ‘aham vritti’ signifies the initial movement or the first whirl. Imagine Pure Awareness as a vast ocean, with ‘aham vritti’ being the first wave that emerges in this ocean of consciousness. It is simply a movement, where the ‘I am’ represents the way in which Pure Consciousness, or God, manifests itself in the physical plane. Thus, ‘I am’ is both a divine principle and a bridge between the unmanifested and manifested realms.