Who am I
Who am I not
“There can be no true friends without true enemies. Unless we hate what we are not, we cannot love what we are. These are the old truths we are painfully rediscovering after a century and more of sentimental cant. Those who deny them deny their family, their heritage, their culture, their birthright, their very selves!” Samuel Huntington “The Clash of Civilisations & the Remaking of World order”
Huntington’s book is a must read for us to understand the world around us today. The world is reimagining itself — in terms of geography, history, spirituality, ethnicity and religiousity. As the world reimagines, the past comes rushing in bringing back dormant memories and remembered pain. As the past comes gushing out, they will not be forgotten nor forgiven. Thus, it is imperative that Governments, Leaders and Scholars acknowledge the fact that upheaval is bound to erupt at the fault-lines between major civilisations.
Ukraine conflict, Gaza conflict, the rise of nationalist governments in Europe & Asia & South America, the territorial claims of China and the internal conflicts in Africa are all “rediscovering of old truths” as Huntington says.
While this is the churn at the macro level, as an individual , how do we cope with this global turmoil. Fight, Flight, Freeze or fawn is a famous stress response model. The model states that whenever there is a threat or turmoil body & mind becomes :
— aggressive (fight)
— timid and tries to run away (flight)
— immobilised (fear)
— identify, empathise and mimic the dominant trend in the immediate circle (fawn)
As we can see none of them can be a positive response. To enable a mindful response from within and lead a harmonious life with the universe, one should get a good sense of Swayambodh (Who we are) and Shatrubodh (Who we are not).
Swayambodh (Who am I)
Swayambodh is a Sanskrit word for Self awareness. “Who Am I ?” is a deep philosophical question. There are two levels of search that one should be mindful of while exploring this question. The first is rootedness, temporal or this worldly and the second is dissolution or eternal. The sequence of search is a personal journey and varies individual to individual. My firm belief is that “dissolution” is not possible unless one is anchored in “self” and hence for me “Who Am I?” is first a search for rootedness — family, community, heritage, culture and nationality. This sense of rootedness or connectedness is slowly breaking due to modernism narratives :
— Globalisation : technology has made the world a big village and consequently there is a conscious and unconscious move towards a monoculture — one standard way
— Consumerism : the world is becoming a place for TRPs, Likes and Dollars. Everything is being commoditised and value pegged
— Fragmentation : as a result of globalisation & consumerism there is pulls and pressures on family, community, heritage, culture and nationality — the elements of “rootedness” — leading to loneliness and all other issues of mental health
— Decreasing relevance of meta narratives : Traditionally religions provided stories that offered a meta narrative about how we should lead our lives. The understanding of lack of “free-will” led man to get rooted in religion and societal order. Individualism has led to the belief that man is endowed with limitless potential and consequently a decreasing relevance of meta narratives
The elements of globalisation , cosumerism, fragmentation and decreasing relevance of meta narratives led humans to hyperreality. Self is caught in a delusion of not being able to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality. Thus knowledge of Self at the temporal & rootedness level is Swayambodh and is essential for harmony in life. Developing a good sense of Swayambodh will help us in understanding the factors at play at a macro level and not get sucked into the vortex of external churn.
Shatrubodh (Who am I not)
Shatrubodh is a Sanskrit word that means “awareness of enemy”. Though the word “Shatru” means “enemy”, at an existential level I define Shatru as ignorance ; ignorance of individuals to the question “Who Am I Not”. Hundreds of years of subjugation and inculturation has led whole communities and nations to not being able to distinguish between “Who Am I” and “Who Am I Not”. The lines have blurred. Shatrubodh is the awareness of the sense of “Who Am I Not”. “Who Am I Not” is a deep political question. There are two levels of search here that one should embark on :
— exploring the Maya (illusion) of Self and
— exploring the instruments of Maya(illusion) in this world
Due to colonisation for a long period of time in different parts of the world and modernism in many parts of the world, we have started assuming a sense of Self which we are not. The first step is to explore the Maya of Self and build a sense of awareness of the enemy — the enemy is ignorance of “Who Am I Not”. This can be done by two ways :
- Delayering the modernism constructs :
— Globalisation : while feeling of oneness with the world citizens at large is good, it should not be at the cost of discarding one’s local identity. Embracing one’s local identity and thinking & working for global good should become the way forward.
— Consumerism : we have to move from consumerism to a way-of-life that sustains nature & seek happiness from within.
— Fragmentation : We have to defragment and strengthen local bonds at family, community, heritage, culture and national levels
— Decreasing relevance of meta narratives : We have to become more spiritual and mindful. Always remember the fact that “There is no free will”
Shatrubodh is about treating globalisation , consumerism, fragmentation and decreasing relevance of meta narratives as enemies (Shatru) and finding a way to overpower them.
2. Decolonising the mind :
Countries have been enslaved by other countries and religions. Leading a life of slaves, captured and converted for generations and generations have led to a colonised mindset. The enemy here is the “colonised mindset” and one should break the colonial past and get rooted to one's family, community, heritage, culture and nation.
The second step is to explore the instruments of Maya(illusion) that has led to ignorance of “Who Am I Not” . Predatory Religions, Education, Secularism, Government, State machineries , Entertainment, Press & Publications and News media are some of the instruments of Maya that perpetuate the ignorance of “Who Am I Not”.
Shatrubodh is about treating all instruments of Maya as enemies (Shatru) and finding a way to breakout.
To enable mindful existence and a harmonious life in synch with the universe, one should get a good sense of Swayambodh (Who Am I) and Shatrubodh (Who Am I Not). This is a journey I have set off on and hope you too find it meaningful to embark on your personal odyssey.
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