Ego, personality, and individuality || Acharya Prashant, with youth (2013)

Question: Sir, when it is said that ‘Individuality is nothing’, then how is it correct to say that ‘Individuality is being yourself with self-awareness’?

Acharya Prashant: Very pertinent question.

At the root of the question lies image-formation.

“When we say individuality is just nothing, then how is it appropriate to say that individuality is being yourself with self-awareness?”

Whatever we say, we create an image of it. So, even when it is said, ‘Be yourself’, you mean ‘be something’. Be what? Be yourself. And that yourself is something. It is impossible for the mind to conceptualize nothingness. And that is the problem you are facing — If individuality is being yourself then how can individuality be nothing? Because I am something. So, how can individuality be nothing?

Do you realize her question?

She is saying, how can you reconcile these two statements — One says, ‘Individuality is nothing’. And on the other hand, Sir, you also say that ‘Individuality is being yourself’.