Foundations of Indian Psychology, Volume 1

12

Being an Authentic Self: Some Insights from the Lives of Sri Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi

Shivantika Sharad¹

 

You must learn to act always from within—from your inner being…. The outer should be a mere instrument and should not be allowed at all to compel or dictate your speech, thought or action.

 

Sri Aurobindo (1970a, Part 2, pp. 691–692)

The Upaniṣadic realization that what is natural is also beautiful and true (satyam, śivam, sundaram) implies that beauty and truth cannot be artificially made or fabricated. This ideal implies an inherent design in which these three always exist as aspects of a true and integral self. But their overt manifestation is often blocked or distorted by our misinterpretations. Unfortunately, contemporary psychological ...