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“I Am My True Self” An Ekatva Vedanta
Reflection on the Identity of Atman and Brahman Introduction The
statement “I am my true self” appears to many as an affirmation of
personal authenticity: the idea that behind our shifting roles and masks
there lies a stable essence, waiting to be discovered. Yet within the ancient
vision of Ekatva Vedanta, this
utterance is not merely a psychological insight nor an adaptive achievement,
but a profound recognition of the eternal reality that underlies all
appearances. In this
essay, I will explore the statement “I am my true self” as a Vedantic mahāvākya—an utterance that points beyond the
transient conditions of existence to the ultimate identity of Atman and
Brahman. Here, authenticity is neither achieved through effort nor proven by
survival fitness but is eternally established by the very nature of being
itself. 1. The Self as Atman In
Vedanta, Atman is the innermost Self: ·
That which witnesses all mental states, ·
That which is never born and never dies, ·
That which is untouched by action, suffering, or
transformation. This
Atman, though clothed in countless names and forms (nāma-rūpa),
remains ever the same—pure awareness, unconditioned existence. When the
sage says “I am my true self,” he is not
referring to the individual ego (ahaṃkāra),
nor to the bundle of habits and memories (manas), but to the witnessing
consciousness itself. 2. The Illusion of Becoming In the
realm of Samsara, the cycle of birth and death, beings appear to pass
through innumerable transformations: ·
From seed to sprout to tree, ·
From infant to youth to elder, ·
From ignorance to knowledge. This
becoming gives rise to the notion that one must strive to become
authentic, to become real, to become pure. But in Vedanta, this
is only an appearance arising from Maya, the cosmic power of
projection and concealment. The Atman
does not become: It simply is. 3. Atman Is Brahman The heart
of Vedantic insight is expressed in the mahāvākya: Tat Tvam Asi (“That Thou Art”). Here, That (Tat) refers to Brahman: ·
The infinite, ·
The unconditioned, ·
The reality beyond all attributes. Thou (Tvam) refers to the Atman: ·
The witnessing self, ·
The inmost consciousness, ·
The apparent individual. Their
identity is the central truth: Atman is
Brahman. Therefore,
whatever forms Atman assumes in the world—human, animal, plant, star—its
essence remains unchanging and perfect. 4. Authenticity as Recognition, Not Achievement Unlike
evolutionary or adaptive models that posit authenticity as the result
of optimal becoming, Vedanta affirms authenticity as the recognition
of what always already is. No series
of best choices can confer reality upon the Self: ·
The Self is not perfected by any action. ·
The Self is not diminished by any ignorance. ·
The Self is not conditioned by any environment. Hence the
Bhagavad Gita declares: Weapons
cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot dry it.
The Self is eternal, all-pervading, unchanging, and immovable. When the
sage utters “I am my true self,” it is not a statement of
accomplishment but of remembrance. It is the dissolution of the illusion that
one was ever anything less. 5. The Best of All Possible Worlds Leibniz
once declared: “This is
the best of all possible worlds.” From a
Vedantic perspective, this is true in a deeper sense: the world, however full
of suffering and change, is the manifold appearance of Brahman. Its seeming
imperfections are like the ripples upon an infinite ocean. Whatever arises
within Māyā is, in essence, none other
than Brahman itself. Thus, to
realize “I am my true self” is to see that all phenomena, all emergents, all cycles of becoming, are but the play of
consciousness upon itself. 6. The Final Affirmation In this
vision, the statement “I am my true self” becomes the highest
proclamation of monism (Ekatva): ·
The Self behind all names and forms is one. ·
This Self never becomes, never changes, never
perishes. ·
This Self is Brahman. Therefore,
the realization of the true self is not achieved by surviving, thriving, or
adapting. It is known by dissolving the ignorance that imagines separation. Conclusion The
declaration “I am my true self” in Vedanta is not merely an expression
of authenticity but the recognition of the only reality: Aham Brahmāsmi—“I am
Brahman.” This is
the knowledge that liberates. This is the end of all striving. This is the
abiding perfection that no circumstance can alter. Whether manifest as a drop
or as the ocean, the Self is always itself—pure, luminous, and free. |