Self-Discovery and Hinduism

[shanmonster]

At first, I wasn't certain I'd be able to find information on self-discovery in relation to religion in the text I was lent (Oxtoby, Willard G. 2002. World Religions Eastern Traditions Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.) However, after searching, I was able to find something in the section on Hinduism.

The importance of self-discovery is written about in Kabir (Oxtoby 65):

Your mind is blind. You've no knowledge of yourselves.
Tell me, brother, how can you teach anyone else?

An excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita (Oxtoby 36) discussing the immortality of the soul explains reinvention of self:

As a man discards
worn-out clothes
to put on new
and different ones,
so the embodied self
discard
its worn-out bodies
to take on other new ones.

The spectrum of discoveries one can make of oneself are referred to in another sacred text, The Tiruvaymoli (Oxtoby 61):

Being
the joys and sorrows that we see,
confusion and clarity.
Being
punishment and grace,
heat and shade

I was unable to find anything else about self-discovery in the text, and my knowledge of Hinduism is so scant that any guesses I may make are sure to be purely conjectural.

Comments

[o-lucky-man.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love Kabir! One could probably interpret all his poetry as being about self-discovery. I love that line which Robert Bly translates as, "Who is it we spend our whole lives loving?"

You may already have this link, but just in case you don't...Tagore's translations are very good too! http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/other/kabir_poems1.htm

I enjoy reading your essays and musings...thank you for sharing them!

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

Until today, Kabir was unknown by me. Now, it's still unknown, but not entirely unheard of. I need to do more reading.