The quest to discover the Self is not merely a philosophical exercise or a mere curiosity.
It is about identifying the fundamental nature of your personality or character. It relates to seeking the authenticity of “I” as well as developing an identity and individuality.
It is an earnest attempt to live in alignment with our true Self and personal values, rather than conforming to, complying with, or satisfying society’s ethos or commands.
Over the years, we pick up all kinds of habits, expectations, and roles just to fit in or be liked. We build a version of ourselves that knows how to smile politely, nod at the right moments, and say the things people want to hear.
But after a while, that fake version starts to feel a little off, as if we’re succumbing to societal impositions.
True self or authenticity is less concerned with our social status or public image. Instead, it’s more about uncovering the realness of who we are beyond external labelling or expectations.
Authenticity arises from the profound insight that humans often live or exist in an inauthentic manner. Social relationships, cultural values, and norms construct this inauthentic, false, or artificial Self.
Authenticity isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being genuine.
The journey to find that Bonafide Self isn’t grand or dramatic. It’s quiet. It sneaks in during late-night reflections or long walks in the quietness of nature.
The pursuit involves discarding the false Self, which reflects the fabricated behaviour to please others.
To rediscover our authentic Self, we might need to pause and ask: Is this what we really believe? Is this what we truly want? Or am I just going with the flow?
At the heart of this pursuit is the desire to live in alignment with our truest nature. The process involves shedding what I call the false Self—the persona we adopt to gain approval, avoid rejection, or meet expectations imposed by others.
This false Self is not necessarily a lie, but a fabrication—crafted subtly and gradually through socialization, comparison, and survival.
Recovering the authentic Self requires a radical re-examination of cultural contexts, habitual lifestyles, and ways of thinking, as well as a review of our mindset views.
However, authenticity of the self is not a fixed state, but a dynamic, ongoing process of realigning with one’s true nature. It emerges from the courageous act of self-examination: questioning our inherited beliefs, challenging long-held assumptions, and reconfiguring our way of being in the world.
It is a dismantling as much as it is a construction—a peeling away of the artificial to reveal what is pure, grounded, and real.
Becoming authentic is not instantaneous. It is cultivated through deliberate practice, ethical intention, and emotional honesty.
In doing so, we recover the Self not as a fixed identity, but as a living, evolving presence—real, rooted, and wholly our own.
Promod Puri.com 