Transcription of my speech at the International Conference on Identity Studies, Vienna. The talk was delivered on July 28, 2014.

You just heard my name being called – Ranjan Kumar Singh from Takshila Educational Society, India. Yes, it is true that I am Ranjan – Ranjan Kumar Singh; but is that all I am? Does my name projects my identity? Well, the other day I and Robert were amazed to see a name such as Shiva Khalili in our panel. We thought this to be a perfect amalgamation of faith. But some more surprise had been waiting for us for when we met Shiva, we found that she was a lady. In Indian context Shiva is a male’s name. So, name could be misleading. With two Egles –Aleknaite and Eglė Savickaitė – sitting right here, we know that even Egle is not Egle. Certainly, our identity goes beyond our name.

I am here to speak on ‘Self Identity and the Spirit of Karma Yoga’. We have been discussing ‘Identity’ for two days now, but what the heck is this Karma Yoga?

Karma Yoga is doctrine of action proposed by the Vedanta, a philosophical treatise, venerated by the Hindus as their scripture. Explaining its concept, Swami Vivekananda has said, ‘Karma Yoga is purifying the mind by means of work’. In simple words it can be termed as the mindset to do work ‘without any desire to enjoy its fruits thereof’. Although it may seem highly utopian, yet when John F Kennedy, in his inauguration address said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country’, he was sharing the same Vedantic spirit, though in a much narrower context. In more practical sense Karma Yoga is the disposition ‘to do the best, while being prepared for the worst’. Contrary to our belief, its connotation is secular than religious, because how so hard we may try, we cannot classify work in terms of religion. Although I am part of the panel on Identity and Spirituality, I would like to make it very clear that the Karma Yoga is not a spiritual concept, but a life style.

Life expresses itself in action as death does in inaction. The inevitability of action or work has been beautifully expressed in unequivocal terms in one of the opening verses of Isopnishad, a Vedantic text, ‘There is no alternative to work even if one desires to lead a life of hundred years’. Therefore, one must work throughout the life, so far as one breathes. Work is terminated only when the organism is dead, or to say, it stops responding to the outer world.

There is hardly any choice between ‘to do’ or ‘not to do’; the choice, if ever, lies between doing it willingly or doing it half-heartedly, doing it tirelessly or doing it resignedly, doing it with dexterity or doing it with ineptness. We aspire to the best; why not endeavour for the best? It is our performance that makes our personality. What we do, is a reflection of our own self.

Thus, realization of self is imperative to the disposal of one’s duty effectively. The answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ gives us a clue to the question ‘What do I do?’ or ‘What can I do?’ In other words, our efficiency remains curbed if we have no knowledge of our abilities. The knowledge about ability comes from the awareness of our identity.

So the pertinent question is: Who am I? Obviously I am an Asian; and so is Shiva Khalili. Are we the same? In kindergarten, I was taught: “He is Ram. Ram is a boy. All boys are not Ram” and also “She is Sita. Sita is a girl. All girls are not Sita.” How very correct this is. We all have multiple identities and unique identity, both at the same time. Victoria Perez, present here, has been telling us how her daughter thinks that she is a Mexican, a Russian, an Ukrainian and the Princess, all at the same time. That is how we are!

Because we have several identities, it is but natural that we find ourselves confused. I believe that we all know our apparent duty all too well. Do we try to play father at the office or boss at home? No, we don’t. Yesterday, I had to chair a session and today I am to present a paper. How can my role be the same over these two sessions? Indeed, we all know our roles and can distinguish between them. But when we fail, the problem erupts and so does the suffering. What if I continue to act like the chair person, whereas I have been called here to present a paper? What if I continue to act like a son, whereas my wife wants me to act more like a husband? It is for me to know and realize when I should act like the son of my father and when I should become the husband of my wife. If we are able to maintain this balance, we are sure to have harmony in life. In trying to become more of a husband, I do not have to disassociate myself from my father. In trying to be more of a mother, my wife does not have to detach herself from me. The Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus, advises us to recognize our foremost identity and perform the contextual duty.

We are husband or wife, brother or sister, father or mother, son or daughter, employer or employee, friend or foe, all at the same time. Thus, it is but natural that we find ourselves confused. Yet, isn’t it correct that all such relationships have been created by us? Isn’t it true that all such bonding have been named by us? Yesterday, we heard Hasnije Ilazi say that identities are created. My submission is that identities are not created, but are assumed. It could either be self assumed or presumed by the society. Father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, son, daughter, uncle, auntie, in-laws – all are but assumed identities based on the role we have to play and the responsibilities we have to keep. In some cases we have a choice, in others we don’t. I can choose my wife, but not my father. I can choose my in-laws, but not my daughter. It is amazing how many roles we play, all at the same time!

In a play, players are assigned a role that they have to enact. All of them have a different and unique role to play. They are told about it and so they know what they should do or what they should speak. Thus, they know their job perfectly well. There is no cause for confusion and so there is no mix-up. In real life it is different. Since we are not told of our part in as many words, we fail to understand our duty. Think of a scene in which an actor has been pushed on to the stage without his role being assigned. If he is wise, he will adapt himself to the scene and become a part of it. But if he is a dullard, he will spoil the whole show. This is true for life, too. We have all been made to enter the stage without being told what to do. It is up to us to realize our role and do our best so as to blend well with the overall scene.

Unlike the small stage, we are committed to multi-tasking on the world stage. Yes, I am the son of someone, but am I merely that? True, I am the husband of someone, but is that all of me? Certainly, I am the father of someone, but does my role end here?

Any actor would be baffled if he had to play so many roles at the same time. Not only do we have to play so many roles, but we also have to perform them so dexterously that there is absolutely no mess-up. The trick is in knowing what role we have to perform at any given point of time while not forgetting our true identity. I remember, in my childhood I went to see Ram Leela, a folk theatre based on the Ramayana. Unfortunately the actor performing the role of Hanuman, the monkey God, forgot his dialogue and had to be prompted. It so happened that the prompter turned to a different page and read out the dialogues of another character, Ravana. So we had Hanuman speaking the dialogues of Ravana! This created a riot of laughter. None of us wants to be a laughing stock. So, we must know our role and perform it to perfection.

On this world stage we all have been assigned various tasks. We know about some, while we have to realize the others. We have been told about some, while we have to find out about others. How can we perform well, if we do not know who we are? So, this question is important: Who am I? When I ask you, who am I? you will surely take me as an insane, but if I pose this very question to myself, then I would be called a philosopher.

When someone asks me, “What do you do?” my prompt reply is, “I am an author and a film maker.” About twenty years back, when I worked for a daily news paper, I used to introduce myself as a “journalist”. What kind of identity is this that keeps changing? We assume ourselves to be a journalist, an author or a film maker by virtue of our assigned job. Certainly these are not our absolute identities. An absolute identity would not change, whereas an assumed identity would. An absolute identity cannot be taken up or given back at will, whereas an assumed identity can be picked and chosen. The attitude of “pick and choose” often leads us to the tendency of “use and throw”. Most relationship conflicts arise out of this tendency. We “use and throw” our patrons, friends and even spouse at times.

A problem arises when we take our assumed identity to be our absolute identity. What if the person playing the part of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice continues with his act even after the play has come to an end? I remember a neighbor who was a manager in a bank. He was sacked for some reason. He could not adapt to the change and continued to behave as if he still was the manager. This led to many altercations and fights in the bank and ultimately the ill-fated man had to be sent to an asylum. Obviously he had taken his assumed identity as his absolute identity. Most of our identity crisis is caused by our ignorance. When we forget who we are, then we do not know what to do; and we end up doing something wrong. Thus, the realization of self is all the more important.

We cannot give our best if we do not have any idea of our own self. Because of a curse, Hanuman, had forgotten his identity. He sat there hapless and helpless till someone reminded him of his true identity. Once reminded of his real identity, he went on to take the big leap… a leap that could take him across the ocean!

Perhaps we are all waiting for someone to remind us of our true identity, someone to prompt us about our duty. Should we continue to wait till much has been lost? In fact we have become so lazy that we do not want to do anything on our own. We have to be reminded of our duties every now and then.

Think of an office where none of the staff has been assigned a job. What confusion would this create? The situation would be no different even if the staff had been assigned their jobs, but were totally ignorant of it. The world office is a similar place. Its entire staff has been assigned their tasks, but it is for them to realize it. If we keep ourselves ignorant, there will be anarchy and mayhem everywhere. Should we wait to be dictated and let the chaos occur, or should we try to find out our duties and set the world in order? This is for us to decide.

Most conflicts are the result of our assumed identities – I am a Hindu, he is a Muslim. I am an Indian, he is a Pakistani. I am a Catholic, he is a Protestant, and so on and on. Can I not give away my identity as a Christian and adopt Islam? Can I not leave India to settle in Australia? If none of these identities is permanent, then why do we quarrel over it?

A sect of Hindus believes that the God is formless; so do the Muslims. Still the two share hatred between them. Unfortunately, the temples and the mosques, the churches and the synagogues that are the creations of mankind, become the worst enemies of mankind.

We ‘created’ God to give us assurance in times of distress and conflict, but unfortunately the same god has become the cause of our conflicts and leads us to distress. How can someone who fails to realize his own identity recognize the identity of the Almighty? We should and must know that any of these assumed identities is not our absolute identity.

The irony is that we know this all too well and yet fail to realize it and continue to differentiate ourselves as Rama or Rahman, Israelis or Palestinians, Shiites or Sunnis, which merely conceal our absolute identity and divide us in line with our assumed ones.

We must not forget that to discover and maintain our identity requires work. Without it, we get muddled, diluted and eventually ‘washed out’. To quote Lord Buddha: Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.