For ages, humanity has grappled with the concept of a darker side to human nature. Ideas like the devil, Satan, and original sin often emerge from this deep-seated belief.
We sometimes create these external concepts to explain away our compulsive or negative behaviors, fostering the illusion that something outside ourselves is to blame. However, the truth lies within our own psyche. There, we can find injured parts of ourselves that need healing and release.
Until we address these inner wounds, we may be trapped in a negative feedback loop, bombarded by self-defeating thoughts such as:
- “I am not worthy of love.”
- “I am not good enough.”
- “I am not attractive to others.”
- “I am a failure.”
- “I can’t do that.”
None of these thoughts are true for anyone. Your essential nature is perfect and divine, made in the image of God.
You don’t need countless spiritual practices to achieve this perfection; you already embody it. Nothing you’ve done in the past, no matter how regrettable, can change this fundamental truth.
The Chandogya Upanishad from the Sama Veda beautifully illustrates this in a dialogue between a father, Uddalaka, and his son, Śvetaketu. Uddalaka explains Śvetaketu’s essential nature, the Self:
“In the beginning, son, this world was simply what is existent—one only, without a second. And it thought to itself: ‘Let me become many. Let me propagate myself.’ It cannot be without a root. Look to the existent as the root. The existent, my son, is the root of all these creatures—the existent is their resting place, the existent is their foundation. The finest essence here—that constitutes the self of this whole world; that is the truth; that is the self (ātman). And that’s how you are, Śvetaketu.”
From this profound exchange comes one of the Mahāvākyas, or “Great Sayings,” of the Upanishads: Tat Tvam Asi (तत् त्वम् असि), meaning “That Thou Art” or “You Are That.”
As you go about your day, remember this powerful truth. Slowly, you will begin to release feelings of weakness and unworthiness. In time,
the ego structures that have held you hostage will crumble, allowing you to step into the powerful being you truly are.
