What matters more in life: being understood by others or understanding yourself?

 First is to understand we are jivatmas in a material body, conditioned by false ego to think we are our bodies. That is the most important self-understanding.

It can take a while to realize that, so in the meantime we have to deal with the false concept we have of ourselves, and others have of us. Here again it’s best if we understand ourselves. Others may understand us nicely but if they point to weaknesses and flaws in our character the tendency is to be defensive if we don’t recognize them ourselves. If we have already identified them we can agree with an attitude of, “You’re right, I have to be more careful in this area.”

Or it could be positive feedback focusing on strengths. Again if we already have some concept of what’s there we are more likely to benefit from it.

“Really, you think I’m good enough to …..?”

“Sure you have a natural talent that not many have.”

That’s helpful because it’s building on something we are already aware of.

Often a therapist tries to get a person to see themselves more clearly. Even if a therapist has a good idea about a person and understands a lot about them, it’s only really helpful when the person themselves sees it.

So understanding ourselves is better, unless we have explicit trust in someone who understands us better than we do and then relying on their advice.

Ultimately, self‑understanding means recognizing our eternal identity as servants of the Lord. External guidance is valuable when it helps us see what is already true of us. Others who understand us well can help us get there, but we must realize it ourselves

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What does Lord Krishna says about death in the Bhagavad Gita?

Lord Krishna says death both exists and doesn’t exist. Bhagavad Gita straddles the two worlds of the absolute and the relative. Krishna speaks transcendent truths but applies them in the temporal, mundane world. This is the role of a guru. He must reveal what is beyond sense perception but through the medium of sense perception. He must explain what reality is, using what is not reality. Krishna says that for the soul there is neither birth nor death. (BG. 2.20) Obviously, for matter, there is no death because it’s not alive. So the soul doesn’t die, and matter doesn’t die, and there are only these two energies in the material world (BG 7.4–5), so what is death?
Read more

Action in Inaction and Inaction in Action as per Bhagavad Gita

Under the laws of karma, every action carries a reaction. Only by having zero personal attachments and desires can one avoid reactions Theoretically, if we don’t perform any action there won’t be any reaction which is what we want right? But it’s not possible to live in this world and not perform any activity. People may sit silently in meditation trying to control and empty the mind, but this is still activity. They must eat something, breath, move around a little, so even though they may appear to be inactive, there are still reactions being chalked up, so they are not ‘inactive’ because reactions are accumulating. So actually they are performing actions even though aiming for inaction. This is the meaning of seeing action in inaction. Another person may be active, but their consciousness is completely devoid of any personal desires or interest in their activity so there will be no reaction. It’s as if they were inactive.
Read more

Difference between Shrimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita is mainly philosophical. It was spoken by Krishna Himself and is the conclusion of all the Upanisadas. In this unparalleled dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna everything that is important in life is mentioned. In itself it is complete but it is very concise and Krishna deals with one point after another without elaborating. It serves to orient a person so that they know who they are and what they should be doing. While Bhagavad Gita is only 700 verses, Srimad Bhagavatam is 18,000 verses, but the conclusion is the same. The difference between Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita is in the detail. For example, in Bhagavad Gita Krishna says: This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again. Bg 9.10
Read more

What is human fallibility and redemption as per Bhagavad Gita?

A human is a spirit soul in a human body. The spirit soul or jivatma is always pure, but due to its tiny size it can fall into illusion and think it is its body. In its embodied state the jivatma is fallible. Once we are under the illusion that we are our ‘human’ body, we are restricted by the limitations of the body. We have imperfect senses, we make mistakes, we fall into deeper illusion, and we cheat. These are the basic failings of humans and the result of them is that we make errors. The theological concept of redemption is to be forgiven and freed from the consequences of these errors. It’s more commonly used in Abrahamic religions. In Christianity I believe Christ is understood to be the redeemer of all mankind by his death. Judaism and Islam don’t agree with that understanding but the core principle of being forgiven and freed from bondage is still present and dependent on the Lord’s mercy. The understanding in Sanatan Dharma is that the Lord can forgive and free the living ent...
Read more