The Evaluator

Jun 16
Aham Brahmasmi.I suppose that at some level we are all striving for this... When one realises this profound statement one is very clear as far as extra version/introversion judging/Perceiving, sensing/intuition and Thinking / feeling is concerned.I am reminded of this wonderful poem by shankracharya called Atma shatakam (Song of the Soul):-

I'm neither ego nor reason, I am neither mind nor thought,

I cannot be heard nor cast into words, nor by smell nor sight even caught:

In light and wind I am not found, nor yet in earth and sky –Consciousness and joy incarnate, Blissful am I.

I have no name, I have no life, I breath no vital air,No elements have moulded me, no bodily sheath is my lair:

I have no speech, no hand and feet, nor means of evolution –

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss in dissolution.

I cast aside hatred and passion, I conquered delusion and greed;

No touch of pride caressed me, so envy never did breed:

Beyond all faiths, past reach of wealth, past freedom, past desire,

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is my attire.

Virtue and vice, or pleasure and pain are not my heritage,

Nor sacred texts, nor offerings, nor prayer, nor pilgrimage:

I am neither food, nor eating, nor yet the eater am I –

Consciousness and joy incarnate, Bliss of Blissful am I.

I have no misgiving of death, no chasms of race divide me,

No parent ever called me child, no bound of birth ever tied me:

I am neither disciple nor master, I have no kin, no friend –

Consciousness and joy am I, merging in Bliss is my end.

Neither knowable, knowledge, nor knower am I, formless is my form,

I dwell within the senses but they are not my home:

Ever serenely balanced, I am neither free nor bound –

Consciousness and joy am I, and Bliss is where I am found.

On a question by Col Jagpal as to why Indian scriptures were not used to explain personality traits ,I have made an effort to bring out that our scriptures were far more evolved with respect to one of the theories to as to 'who Iam'. In the present day world, myers-briggs model holds equally good. We went to great lengths to learn this today , ably guided and efficiently taught by our extremely knowledgeable prof Vishwanatham. He has this endearing quality of driving home the lessons learnt in an emphatic fashion ensuring that all of us were clear about learning about ourselves. As was amply proved during the class there was more to us than we thought that there would be. The learning process slowly but surely progressed towards the aim set for ourselves: 'WHO AM I? We were amply supplied with examples- both personal and otherwise to arrive at suitable conclusions. In the end the personal  evaluation revealed a hazy picture about ourselves and left us both clear and confused ..... What was more important was our ability to understand as to which personality traits we had to stress upon if we were to be acceptable in the corporate world as a saleable package. The documented proof was by no means conclusive with the professor saying that I gave out mixed signals and my moderate assessment of extraversion may not be helpful in my possibly(?) chosen field of HR. This exercise of self evaluation left us exhausted because while we may have a lot of physical stamina, mental work still left a lot to be desired. The class was enthusitically participated by all concerned. In the coming times we hope to iron out the kinks in our pesonalities with the help of 'The Evaluator' . ..