Your True Self Is The Part of You That Loves Life

A reflection on a some verses from the Katha Upanishad

I’ve been reading the Upanishads lately, and I was struck by a particular passage about who we truly are, which I’m going to share with you in this article.

What is an Upanishad? The word is literally translated to mean something like “to sit down near,” as in, to sit down near a teacher to receive spiritual instruction.

Here’s the verses:

“That through which one enjoys form, taste, smell, sound,
Touch, and sexual union is the Self.
Can there be anything not known to That
Who is the One in all? Know One, know all.

That through which one enjoys the waking
And sleeping states is the Self. To know That
As consciousness is to go beyond sorrow.

Those who know the Self as enjoyer
Of the honey from the flowers of the senses,
Ever present within, ruler of time,
Go beyond fear. For this Self is supreme!”

— The Katha Upanishad, verses 3–5

The capitalized Self refers to our ultimate, higher, true self, as opposed to the small and deluded self that people tend to identify as, known as the ego.

Because of the ego, most people are confused into thinking that they are their body and…