Our identity:
Most people have
either a social security card or an identity card. We also carry a visiting
card with information on our employment history, credentials, and status. We
can practice a particular religion at home, or we may practice a different
branch of the same religion. We are also masculine or female, a husband or
wife, a parent or son. Our ties with different people and institutions shape
who we are. All of our relationships with other people are profoundly impacted
by our knowledge of the mentioned identities.
According
to Vedanta, this is not who you really are. A person is only a human being when
all of the mentioned identities are taken away from him. He is on equal with
every other organism. He uses his senses to perceive the world and experiences
happiness and sadness, just like all other living things. His physical body is
supported by an energy system that is derived from his food intake. His five
senses each detect five distinct objects, which are then transmitted to his
mind for processing and compilation. The "I" within him is content
with this process.
Meaning of Personality:
The
term "personality" describes the particular arrangements of ideas,
emotions, and behaviours that characterise a person and indicate how they
choose to engage with the world. It includes a person's persistent
characteristics, attitudes, values, and behaviours that are largely constant
throughout time and in various contexts.
Numerous
theories and frameworks, such as the following, can be used to understand
personality:
• Trait Theories:These theories concentrate on defining and classifying particular traits.
• Psychodynamic Theories:Stress the importance of early experiences and
unconscious processes.
• Humanistic Theories: Emphasise the significance of personal
development and self-actualization.
• Social-Cognitive theories: Analyse how a person's surroundings and
cognitive functions affect their behaviour.
Everything being considered, personality is a complex, multifaceted idea that
greatly influences how people perceive the world, make decisions, interact with
others, and live their lives.
Evolution of
the body-mind complex
Our Vedic sages shared fascinating facts and
conjectured about the origins of the physical body. It is consciousness that
takes on various forms, from powerful beasts to grass blades. According to the
Upanishad, the Supreme Being revealed as the five elements: fire, water, earth,
air, and space.
Three traits or
inclinations are attributed to the creative force, sometimes known as "The
Nature." They are known as the guna(s), specifically tamas, rajas, and
sattva. This hypothesis is supported by a substantial body of empirical
observation. Three tendencies can be seen in human nature. Some people are
introspective, calm, quiet, and happy. Some have an aggressive, avaricious, and
dominant personality. There are those who lack initiative, are slothful,
lethargic, and uninteresting. Though the psychologists may refer to them as
personality types, the ancient sages made this observation.
All human
behaviour, regardless of its quality, is the outcome of the three gunas. This
is also evident in animals. While some are aggressive and restless, others are
calm and docile. Because of the three previously mentioned qualities, it is
also found that the food we eat affects our thinking. Certain foods are both
calming and beneficial to health. Some result in bodily heat and associated
changes, while others lead to mental dullness. Only these kinds of foods are
the derivatives of the depressants. The three dispositions or tendencies in
everything in the cosmos were noted by the sages.
According to the
Bhagavad Gita, all that exists in the cosmos is a result of the three above
tendencies. The origin of all things in the universe is nature, also known as
Prakrti. The diversity of the universe arises from the endless combinations of
all three of these guna(s). The elements that we are familiar with—earth,
water, fire, air, and space—are the first to result from this. Further, the
three gunas are also present in these five elements. The five elements are the
only substances that make up everything, life or non-living.
The sattva component of the elements evolves into the mind
and senses of all
animals, including man. The rajas component of the elements evolves into the
organs of action (hands, feet and other limbs) of all animals. The tamas
component of the elements evolves into the gross elements around us.
We have five senses, each sense able to cognize only one
sense object. The nose
can only notice smell, the eye can only notice form of an object and so on. The
mind is able to cognize all the five sense objects. Senses and mind are
said to evolve as follows. It is stated that the
sense of hearing evolves from the sattva component of space. It is stated that
the sensation of touch develops from the sattva component of air.It is stated
that the sense of sight develops from the sattva component of fire (fire also
gives light). It is thought that the taste buds develop from the sattva
component of water. It is stated that the sense of smell develops from the
sattva component of earth. It is stated that the mind arises from the
collective sattva component of all the five elements. The five different kinds
of sensory signals that the five senses provide to the mind can be compiled by
the mind.
Four levels are
used by Vedanta to study the phases of mind. Manas is the mental stage of basic
cognition, while buddhi is the mental stage of analysis of that cognition. At
this point, a concept of "I" and "I have known this" exist.
The concept of "I," or "ahangkara," is the name of this
stage. "Cittam" refers to the remembering and subsequent reliving of
an event.
The
Bhagavad Gita provides a summary of the information above regarding the
relationship between consciousness and the physical body. The Upanishads and
later Vedic writings go into considerable length regarding the same topic. We
know that there is another vital component, the life force, in addition to the
mind and senses. We refer to this as Prana-Shakti. Without breathing, living
things cannot exist. It is stated that the body's air system is its vital
force.
Personality - natured or nurtured :
There is a
complicated and ongoing argument about whether personality is predominantly
nurtured (formed by environmental influences including upbringing, society, and
experiences) or natured (genetically inherited).
Nature (Hereditary Factors): There
is a strong genetic basis for personality traits, according to some studies.
Research on twins and adoption has demonstrated that identical twins, who have
almost all of their genes in common, typically have more alike personalities
than fraternal twins, who have only half of their genes in common. This shows
that personality qualities including conscientiousness, neuroticism, and
extraversion are influenced by genetics. Furthermore, specific genes linked to
particular personality traits have been found thanks to developments in
behavioural genetics.
Nurture (Environmental Factors): However,
the environment has a big impact on how a person's personality develops. A
person's personality is shaped by a variety of factors, including upbringing,
parental practices, cultural influences, peer interactions, education, and
socioeconomic status. Children who grow up in loving, caring surroundings, for
instance, may acquire qualities like empathy and emotional stability, whereas
children who experience negative events, such trauma or neglect, may acquire
maladaptive personality traits.
The relationship
between nature and nurture is actually more nuanced than this straightforward
duality suggests. The majority of modern psychologists acknowledge that
personality is shaped by a combination of environmental factors and genetic
predispositions. This viewpoint, which is sometimes referred to as the
"interactionist" or "biopsychosocial" paradigm, recognises
the interaction of hereditary, environmental, and personal elements in the
formation of personality.
While genetics contribute to predispositions and certain traits,
environmental factors play a crucial role in determining how these traits
manifest and develop over time. Personality is best understood as the result of
a dynamic interplay between genetic predispositions and environmental
influences.