The word that is probably used most often by each one of us in our everyday life is the single-letter word ‘I’. Try spending a couple of your waking hours without using the word ‘I’ in thinking or speaking to others and you will know for yourself. ‘I’ means ‘One’s self’. Each one of us is aware of ‘One’s self’, which is, one’s own name, family, place of residence, educational background, likes and dislikes, etc. However, having information about one’s self doesn’t mean knowing one’s self. How has this ‘One’s self’ got moulded? What are his or her subtle virtues? Likewise, what are the drawbacks that come in the way of his or her progress? In short, what is this ‘One’s self’ like? This has been explained in Spiritual-Science Prabodhinis very clearly.

When we say, for instance, ‘I helped him to complete his education’, we unknowingly point to our chest. This means that our body was instrumental in helping the other person. However, any physical action was taken only because we made up our mind to help the other person. Thus, our self is made up of our body and mind. Our body and mind have an abiding relationship.

It is the mind which says: ‘My body is aching’. On the other hand, it is the body which says: ‘My mind is confused’ or ‘That thought arose in my mind’. This shows that the body and mind have a very close relation. The mind always keeps thinking about the physical comfort of the body. For example, during severe winter, it is the body which experiences the cold and not the mind. However, it is the mind which thinks how to have a hot water bath. Physical pleasure and comfort satisfies the mind following which it may give a sigh of relief: ‘haaa’. If you (mentally) feel like attending a music programme, the body may well face scorching heat or severe cold and bear other discomforts while reaching the venue. This means that the body and the mind are constantly striving for the other’s satisfaction and pleasure/comfort respectively. Thus, ‘One’s self’ is made up of the body and the mind.

Man is just alive physically but he actually lives, that is, thinks and behaves mentally. Involuntary functions like respiration, circulation, digestion, etc. go on because the body is alive. However, our voluntary actions are a result of our desires and decisions. The body is the mind’s medium for expressing its desires and decisions. It is the mind that suffers agony or tension which in turn has adverse physical consequences. The body will be in a state of coma if the mind is removed from it. Voluntary physical actions are not possible unless we make up our mind to do so. Thus, the mind and the body have a very close relationship. Of what use and value is the body without a mind? And, the mind exists in the body itself. So each person’s ‘One’s self’, thus, comprises of the body and the mind.

Each one of us becomes aware of ‘One’s self’ or one’s own existence within a few days after birth. A newborn child’s physiological and physical functions begin immediately after birth. It sees different colours and toys, hears the mother’s voice and feels the mother’s touch. Its five organs of perception get activated gradually. The child is christened with a name after which it is addressed with the given name or alternatively with a nickname. The child responds when so called and thus becomes aware of ‘its self’ for the first time.

Slowly, each child’s ‘self’ gets smeared with the four of the six passions. When the child begins to speak, it learns to use the words ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’ and begins to feel ‘I am the centre of the universe’. According to Spiritual-Science, you have to accept personal doership and responsibility for your actions in everyday life but it is totally incorrect to believe that ‘I can do anything and everything’. It is equally important to be aware of the existence of a Supreme Power – Almighty God or the Source - which controls and governs the entire Universe.