Your true self is divine. Most of you go through life without knowing this. Your true self is your atman (soul) which is a part of Brahman the Supreme Being. For some, it is not even necessary to know this; for example, Mother Teresa did not consciously think about it; she lived, breathed and worked her entire life as a truly divine person. Even if you are not as self actualized as Mother Teresa, there are a few steps you can take to understand your real spiritual identity. “Why do I need to do that?” you may ask. You may even protest “But I am perfectly happy with my life; I can’t imagine anything better.”
As I said in my previous article, most of us go through life without spiritual self awareness, because we are engulfed in the “veil of ignorance” called maya. This powerful maya makes us think and believe that we must strive for worldly happiness, as if that is everlasting, only to be jolted into realizing that worldly happiness is transient; such realization becomes apparent to us in the form of the pain, misery, and unhappiness that we experience. Eternal bliss, the meaning of which is – being freed from worldly existence and its associated pain and misery, is the same as our soul escaping the cycle of birth and death, to become one with the Supreme Being.
The path to knowing one’s true self does not involve climbing to the mountain top; does not involve spending enormous sums in search of the path or the wisdom. There are simple steps one can take.
One of he first steps is to not only acknowledge that every human being has atman (soul), but to understand that all souls are equal. How can this be possible, for example, between a highly sophisticated philanthropist and a criminal of the worst kind? Simple: once you strip away the mind, the worldly aspects of each person, and the body, the atman (soul) hidden underneath comes into view, and both souls are completely equal. The criminal may get the harshest of punishments, and the philanthropist may get the highest accolades. But both the souls remain intact. As Bhagavad Gita says of the soul: “Weapons can not cut it, fire can not burn it, water can not wet it, …”, and, “contact with matter makes us feel pleasure and pain, but you must learn to endure pain as well as pleasure, because these are fleeting, …”
How can we internalize the simple truth of
equality of human beings? First, imagine the other person having the same worldly status as yourself. This is straightforward. Second, imagine yourself being in the same circumstance as the other person. This takes some effort; especially if the other person is, for example, a refugee fleeing a war-torn country, or a hungry child walking mile after mile of desert and scraggly brush land in search of scraps of food and drops of water.
The way we humans treat each other must improve. And it has to start with every individual. It has to be at every level, not just in the extreme circumstances portrayed above.
Our Hindu scriptures teach us that “We must act righteously, act without worrying about fruits of our labour, and keep spiritual awareness above everything else in the world”. And keep a prayer In our thoughts and hearts for the well being of all on this earth.
Suresh Basrur practises the Hindu faith, participates in inter-faith activities in Victoria, and speaks to audiences about Hindu religion, philosophy and practices.
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE
