Divided Self.
What is personality? It is derived from the word 'persona' which literally means a mask. People with great personality are people who wear a thick mask. What are we hiding from? Why do we constantly divide ourselves to suite the needs of others' and destroy our own selves? Be bold and face life with dignity. Bravery is not jumping out of an aeroplane or jumping in-front of a moving train. A person who has controlled his/her brain is a brave person. The Sanskrit word dharyam means a person who has controlled his/her brain and it is translated as bravery.
Never humiliate anyone, at the same time, never be humiliated. Everyone loves themselves the most. The fact whether it is a boon or a bane is debatable. If this much is clear, how can anyone say that they love their child/mother/wife/husband the most. If anyone says that, be sure that its a lie. Life is all about struggles. Be it a struggle within you or a struggle amongst your peers. Even if you come out of that, we have to struggle for air and food. If the struggle ceases, life itself is at an end[sic.]. Then what is freedom? Freedom comes with complete self-abnegation. Realize your true self and negate it. This is the very end of karma yoga or any yoga for that matter.
We behave differently with each context and each person. A great man never changes at any instance. He will be the same all throughout. A fool will subject himself to change thinking that it is wise to 'adjust' his/her personality for other people. At the work place we are different. At home we are different. People think that it is a need. But for a person who is looking to radically change his thought process should completely open his/her mind in order to accept what should be accepted and reject what ought to be rejected. This is true bravery. A hypocrite will always say, "Oh my dear people" where he should be saying "oh my dear self". We need to be selfish to an extent. Why do we constantly lie to ourselves? The greatest failure one can bring upon themselves is to lie to one's self. But the mind will listen to only itself. We still lie. That is where the brain should be used.
Should we or should we not? These binaries are the work of the mind. The decision is made by the brain. Peace can only be attained by controlling the senses both internal(mind, brain, memory, ego) and external organs within your reach. A person who has gone behind the mind is stupid fool. He will lose what is near and dear to him in the end! A person who is perturbed by his/her own mind cannot function well in a society. The intellect has limits. Everything cannot be understood by mere intellect. Experience is what makes a person who he/she is. Learn whatever is needed from your experiences and forget the emotions attached to it. Emotions lead to attachment and attachment is self-destructive.
This is to say that only non-attachment will help us attain true freedom. Be attached not even to the self. Our little worlds make us be like a frog in a well, thinking that the whole world is that well. Expand and explore. The infinite nature of us humans is beyond the perception of even this universe. So why worry about our petty selves? Be the same everywhere and try to make a difference. The sum total of evil and good in the world remains the same. No matter what we do!
Regards!
Never humiliate anyone, at the same time, never be humiliated. Everyone loves themselves the most. The fact whether it is a boon or a bane is debatable. If this much is clear, how can anyone say that they love their child/mother/wife/husband the most. If anyone says that, be sure that its a lie. Life is all about struggles. Be it a struggle within you or a struggle amongst your peers. Even if you come out of that, we have to struggle for air and food. If the struggle ceases, life itself is at an end[sic.]. Then what is freedom? Freedom comes with complete self-abnegation. Realize your true self and negate it. This is the very end of karma yoga or any yoga for that matter.
We behave differently with each context and each person. A great man never changes at any instance. He will be the same all throughout. A fool will subject himself to change thinking that it is wise to 'adjust' his/her personality for other people. At the work place we are different. At home we are different. People think that it is a need. But for a person who is looking to radically change his thought process should completely open his/her mind in order to accept what should be accepted and reject what ought to be rejected. This is true bravery. A hypocrite will always say, "Oh my dear people" where he should be saying "oh my dear self". We need to be selfish to an extent. Why do we constantly lie to ourselves? The greatest failure one can bring upon themselves is to lie to one's self. But the mind will listen to only itself. We still lie. That is where the brain should be used.
Should we or should we not? These binaries are the work of the mind. The decision is made by the brain. Peace can only be attained by controlling the senses both internal(mind, brain, memory, ego) and external organs within your reach. A person who has gone behind the mind is stupid fool. He will lose what is near and dear to him in the end! A person who is perturbed by his/her own mind cannot function well in a society. The intellect has limits. Everything cannot be understood by mere intellect. Experience is what makes a person who he/she is. Learn whatever is needed from your experiences and forget the emotions attached to it. Emotions lead to attachment and attachment is self-destructive.
This is to say that only non-attachment will help us attain true freedom. Be attached not even to the self. Our little worlds make us be like a frog in a well, thinking that the whole world is that well. Expand and explore. The infinite nature of us humans is beyond the perception of even this universe. So why worry about our petty selves? Be the same everywhere and try to make a difference. The sum total of evil and good in the world remains the same. No matter what we do!
Regards!
Vinod, you seem to be at a bit of confusion and in contradictions. (Not that I am all enlightened! Please do correct me if I have interpreted wrongly of what you have written.) I cannot define 'personality' simply based on its etymology, for as we know the little of how our world of languages function, definitions keep changing with time and with how cultures evolve and participate in the production and reception of meanings. Let's keep the linguistic dimensions aside, and simply understand a basic aspect called 'individualism'. We all strive to stand out in a group (preferably our group) just to emphasize to the world that we are 'individuals'. So, if each person were to remove the 'mask' (as you say), won't we be killing our individuality? You have mentioned of great personalities who wear 'thick masks', and of people who are great who never change at any instance - well, the only reason they are great now is because they have changed themselves to better, and they are continuing to better themselves even more. Look at your own self... Haven't you changed for better? Isn't it good for you? Somewhere, aren't you at peace with your thoughts? I understand that questions can go at length without any answers, but we still try to solve the puzzle that life presents before us, and all through our lives, we work to arrive at an answer, one simple equation that would solve all the problems, and bring us our eternal 'freedom'. Speaking of freedom - Do we really know what it is? Or are we simply giving it an absolutely unnecessary status of which it is not worth? We know of 'freedom' from books, from poetry, from stories, from legends, etc. but if we were to narrow down and sit to define what this term actually means, we will be left with nothing but a gallimaufry of words. Of course, one can say that 'freedom' could refer to the liberation of mind from controlling thoughts. Here comes my argument - Isn't 'freedom' a state of mind, a controlling thought by itself? All said, I do agree with your note on being true to one's own self, for it simply keeps you at peace.
ReplyDeleteNice write-up, keep more of the words flowing!
And, I do not write like the way you do, I mostly scribble. Of late, my fantasy has been invested in 'Erotica Literature', and I do write on what strikes my mind the most and I pen them down immediately. Leaving the link to my blog here, you could share your thoughts on my blogposts (if any) at your leisure. http://contrapuntalmusic.blogspot.com
Freedom comes from unselfish work. The moment we say 'me and mine' we are being selfish. The great personalities in the world may be selfish may not be selfish. That fact becomes very personal to them. Individuality should be concerned with the character and not personality. Personality is never constant. It keeps changing according to the surroundings and it should change. Character is what is there with us from our birth. Personality is what we acquire from our surroundings. There is a big difference. It is this character that makes a man apart from the rest and not his personality. I was trying to talk about the mental filter that we all have. In order for self improvement there are two ways. One is the way of denial, constantly denying that you are not this and you are the absolute blissful being or the way of accepting at the moment that you are this and slowly moving towards that one goal of freedom by understanding that you are not this. Freedom is indeed a state of mind where the mind is absolutely under the control of your brain. At this stage you realize that you are neither the mind nor the body. I hope this clears your doubt. Thank you for sharing your questions. I read your poem by the way(erotic). I just loved it.
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