Self Improvement

Whether it appears on your book shelf, on your To-Do List or on your last nerve, “self-improvement” doesn’t just apply to the eponymous industry. We see attempts in all aspects of our existence; in the gym, at university and in front of the mirror on a Friday night.

It’s interesting that we put all this energy in to physical, emotional and intellectual betterment when one day we will all die. All the investments limited to this life will certainly leave with us. Which begs the question: why it is such a natural desire to move forward in these ways beyond just the fulfillment of basic needs for survival like the animals?

According to the yoga texts of ancient India, this “self” is not the body, the mind or the intelligence. The individual “me” in each of us is a minute particle of consciousness that goes by many names – the light, the life-force or the soul, that which never dies or degenerates.

Vedic knowledge explains that this eternal soul is constantly evolving through different stages and species of life, using this body like a vehicle. As one may crash a vehicle, and get out into another one, when we leave this body our soul continues its journey in another body.

The petrol that fuels us on this journey is desire. The nature of the self isananda, happiness, and that is what all our desires are aimed towards in one way, shape or form. Ultimately it is not the mastery of a particular skill or some bits of paper and copper that we work so hard for. In and of themselves, these things are inconsequential. It is the happiness we think will be derived from such things that we are actually motivated by.

Similarly self-improvement is just another way to maximise happiness; togain more esteem from ourselves and others and to remove any blocks to enjoyment. Our capitalist, consumerist culture falsely offers us that happiness, though deep down we know that no amount of material acquisition will bring that permanently. Ultimately happiness comes from love, which is cultivated in relationship with others. Love is a reciprocal energy.

This is where we see some irony in that many self-development programsovertly or subtly encourage selfishness; prioritising oneself’s needs and beliefs over and above anyone else’s. The nature of true love is selflessness, to emerge out of our own sphere and to lovingly serve another person and their needs.

In Sanskrit the word “dharma” loosely translates as “nature” or “that which sustains” – for example, the dharma of sugar is its sweetness. Without the quality of sweetness, sugar can no longer be sugar. The dharma of the soul, the true self, is this selfless love. Doing good to others feels good; even if we do it with impure motivations, we still get a buzz and that is because it has brought us closer to this inherent nature.

So real self-improvement means cultivating this mood of service- to our loved ones, to others, to the world. In the highest sense this service mood can be applied to the soul’s relationship with the Supreme Soul, the ultimate higher reality. Only when we take that step out of our own sphere of interest will our connection to our true self, our eternally happy soul, be improved and perfected, and all our desires for happiness be satisfied.

 

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