'कोहम' to 'सोहम'...

I remember myself being asked in my childhood - What you want to become in future? And I used to say - Teacher. Everyone of us had some responses ready on this question in our childhood. Some used to say 'Doctor', some used to say 'Engineer', some used to say 'Pilot' and so on.

Now when I look back, I have this question - In such a small age, how were we be able to give such answers when we had no enough idea about being a teacher, a doctor, an engineer or a pilot.

In my case I used to say 'teacher' beacuse I had been watching my mother being a schoolteacher. And in childhood in that particular age, for a girl, her mother is a one with whom she can identify so she, a mother becomes a role model for a daughter. In my case it happened same. Now also if someone asks me what do you aspire to become, I would say 'a teacher'. It's exactly what has been documented by Social Learning theorist, Albert Bandura, A phenomenon of 'Observational learning'.

Most of us, we learn things from others. Most of our learning - our beliefs, thoughts, perceptions, values even the emotional reactions have been taken from others, have been learnt by observing others. It won't be a case of exaggeration if we say that most of our part is the product of others' thoughts and emotions. 

If it's the truth then where are 'WE' in all this? What is 'OUR' special contribution in designing our own life? Do we 'SPEND' our entire life in just copying and pasting from others readymade books and don't we ever write 'OUR OWN' story with our own pen and pencil - our very own thoughts and emotions?  Do we ever come to know our 'Real self'? Do we ever and can we ever actualise self? Do we ever get this question that - Who are we truly? What do we exactly possess which is own own? In terms of materials, we own nothing. But I am talking about something more than that. Most of our thoughts, emotions, values, beliefs have been PASSED ON to us. We start holding them as ours that's a different story altogether. But the question remains - What is that which completely mine? Who am I? Where do I belong?

This question - 'कोहम?' has disturbed many souls on this planet till now and have gifted us very well known saints. Each on of them spent their entire life in search of answer for this question - 'कोहम?' and they got the answer 'सोहम'. Would we, a ordinary person ever reach this state?

I think life is all about this journey - from 'कोहम' to 'सोहम'. Some people get this answer early in their life, some may get it later in their life. Some may reach this state effortlessly and some may with great effort. But I guess we all reach there. After all that's the ultimate goal of human life.  I think we belong there, to that ultimate energy, that ultimate light which has created us, which has been protecting us and nourishing us... Being a teacher, being a doctor, being an engineer or being a pilot are just preliminary steps to reach that ultimate step ahead which there is just Light... Bliss and happiness... Where no one would ask - 'कोहम'... Where everyone would say only 'सोहम'...

Happy journey.

-Dipti S. A. Shinde

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