What is real freedom, what is liberation, what is spiritual inquiry beyond the base necessities of existence? That’s actually the hallmark of spiritual culture. Vedanta says, “Athāto brahma jijñāsā”. Now that you’ve achieved human life, inquire about Brahman. That’s where it begins, that’s why it starts with word “athāto”—“now”. Some commentators explained, “It means, now, that you’ve achieved human life, this is what it’s meant for.” What did Socrates say? “The unexamined life is not a life worth living”. Meaning, “ātma-samīkṣa”, self-analysis—to try and understand: who I am? Where have I come from? What is my purpose?

People think that they’re all about “self-expression”, and “I’ve just got to be me”. Sure, you should be you, but nd out, who you are rst. Don’t assume that what you are at present, under layers of acquired prejudice, acquired tendency and false ego, that false self, cocooning and enveloping the actual self, is the self that is worth all of this self-expression.