Self and Pseudo-Self

It is not all that easy to really recognize which is our true self and which is our pseudo self. In most cases, we are easily deceived by the mind, and take the pseudo self for the real self. The real self is the image and likeness of God, the Ultimate, and you may name it what you will. To recognize the true self is equivalent to reaching our destination in life; everything will look very different then, even the enemies will be the good company we would long for, even the worst of people may turn to have the very image and likeness it is made of.

But the pseudo self is what we are most often left to grapple with, and it is not an easy task to turn our attention to the true self, because the world and all that in it, would not want us to turn to the real self, in which case we may not come back to treasure and hold on to what the world may offer. It may be a great loss for the world, and so, it wants us to be tied down to it as long as it can hold us, and enchant us by riches, wealth, honor, prestige, pleasures of the flesh and knowledge… The world has its own charm, and it would be wrong to consider that the world has only the bad things; but they are just means to reach the real self.

The danger in life takes place when we find the way so very enchanting, and begin to take the path for the destination, and instead of moving forward, we wish to settle on the road, because it is so very beautiful, enticing, and satisfying. Everything appear so very beautiful in the world, and it would take quite a while to realize that behind the seeming beauty and glory of the world, there is a layer of decay and stench. But by the time we realize that, it might be already too late to get out of there, and run either forward or backward.

The true self is like the father in the story of the prodigal son, who waits for the person to return, to discover (or re-cover) the self, and find the fulfillment of all one’s life’s aspirations taking shape there. This is the state when one can be as one meant to be, at the time of creation, a cosmic force which can enliven the ordering of the universal movement. Here the individual is as important to the existence of the universe as every blade of grass, every drop of rain, every bit of cloud… Here everything is real and everything is transient, but one is not attached to them… they just flow with the current of the cosmic flow.

We seek God outside, but the most intimate expression of God is found deep within. Those who have had even a momentary glance of the true self, would vouch that God is not out there, but here at the core of one’s being. Life’s long years are meant to help us get that precious glance of the real self, and once that is done, we are purified of all the dirt and filth that the world had dumped on us; then we shall be able to hear the laughter of the waterfall, sweet songs of the birds in the morning, murmur of insects in the evening, feel the silent meditation of the still waters, see the master strokes of the Ultimate in the firmament. Then we might feel we are free to communicate with any creature on earth, and feel part of this paradise called the earth!