How to Identify your Self? The Chariot Analogy

Written by: Rana Sohail Ahmad

“What if I ask, ‘Where is Sohail?” He asked me gently.

I was traveling from Las Vegas to Denver, which is the capital city of the state of Colorado in the U.S., and he was sitting on the window seat beside me on this flight. He was a yoga instructor returning from Las Vegas where he was invited by a Yoga club to deliver a lecture on the effectiveness of yoga. Our flight was very smooth and the weather was excellent.

We started our conversation by discussing the breathtaking sights of the Grand Canyon visible through the plane’s window. We continued talking about travel, yoga, health, our philosophies of life, and introspection. My seatmate was 65 years old, a seasoned and learned person with extraordinary exposure.

“Sohail is in front of you”, I replied to his question sincerely with a smile.

“This is Sohail’s body, but where is Sohail? You are looking at me through Sohail’s eyes, this is your ear and I am talking to your mind, and Sohail’s mouth is replying with the help of Sohail’s intellect. But, where is Sohail? There is Sohail’s voice, Sohail’s thoughts, and Sohail’s soul, but where is Sohail?”

I kept listening to him carefully.

“Where is your Self?” he continued. “I will try to explain about yourself with the help of an analogy of a Chariot. Please imagine a royal chariot with a beautiful structure, strong horses, a charioteer, and the king, then we associate a human being with this royal chariot. In this analogy, the structure of the Chariot is your body, the horses that drive the structure are like your senses, and the reigns that control the horses are like your Mind. The Charioteer who holds the reigns is your Intellect. Finally, the King of Chariot is You, your Self, and your Conscience.”

“If you consider the structure of the Chariot as a human body, it should be physically fit, its wheels should be strong and robust to withstand the long journeys. The seat for the Charioteer should be comfortable enough to give an opportunity for the Charioteer to make the right decisions concerning the direction and speed of the Chariot. Similarly, wellness of mind, Intellect, and Self depends on the Human Body’s physical health.”

“The structure of the Chariot cannot move without horses, likewise the human body is dependent on senses for each and every action. Taste, smell, touch, seeing, and hearing are the five horses, and sometimes there is a sixth horse which is intuition. Newness and Freshness are the food for the senses. These are wild horses, which should be under the control of the Charioteer through strong reigns. Imagine if any of these horses is not under control, the journey to reach any destination may not be possible. For example, if the horse of taste stops to eat anything according to its own discretion, without the consent of the Charioteer, it would cause a distraction delay in reaching the destination.”

The air hostess began serving food and beverages, leading to a brief interruption in our engaging conversation. During this pause, I was endeavoring to fully comprehend a fascinating analogy that eloquently explained the components of human beings.

He continued his talk to explain the analogy with similar composure.

“The structure of the Chariot moves with the help of horses and the connection between the Charioteer and Horses are reigns, which are utmost necessary for synchronization and adequate control of horses and structure. Reigns is like the Mind of a human being. The Chariot will function smoothly and efficiently if all the horses are well connected with reigns. Similarly, the senses should be well connected and controlled by the mind. You cannot reach your destination if any of the horses are not controlled by the reigns, i.e. your mind. Say, if the horse of Listening stops abruptly to listen to its favorite music without the consent of the Charioteer, a delay in arriving at the destination is inevitable.

“The Charioteer is your Intellect. Intellect is born wild, with an untamed ego that doesn’t want to follow any rules or restrictions. The intellect grows with the help of DNA derived from our parents and develops under the influence of society and the environment. Intellect grows up on the food of exposure, the more the exposure more the size of intellect. There are three types of ‘foods’ available for the Charioteer with which the pace of his growth is determined: Experience, Observation, and Revelation. The Charioteer is mostly not independent, it is being influenced by associates, taboos, stereotypes, faith, and cultural perceptions.”

“You know who is considered the best and trained charioteer?” he asked me. I gestured with my eyebrows to give him an indication to continue.

“The best charioteer is he who knows how to take good care of horses and control his horses at the same time. He knows when to use the whip to tame the horses, and he takes care of the chariot’s body, he has the right grip on reigns to use them whenever it is required, and he takes care of the diet of his horses through newness and arranges his own food i.e. exposure required for his own growth. Above all, he can communicate with his King to ask, “Sir, where do you want to go?”

He sounded more dramatic at this point of the talk.

“You are the king of the Chariot. This is actually You, your Self, your Soul, and your conscience. This king is mostly quiet and doesn’t talk too much. Only the Charioteer has the ability to communicate with his king. Usually, the Charioteer is busy dealing with his own horses, enjoying the journey, and spending time with his fellow charioteers. However, it is the charioteer’s obligation to spare time to sit quietly and turn to his King to ask where he desires to go. With which journey he will be most pleased? What destination will give him true happiness?”

“The Charioteer should be able to communicate by talking and listening with two-way communication on a regular basis, as he knows the capacity and capabilities of his Chariot, and he can suggest the best destination and suitable journey for his King. The Charioteer should know that an appropriate destination is the only way to provide satisfaction to his King. Either exceeding the destination or being deficient in identifying the proper destination will not be helpful in achieving his happiness. The King will be blissful if the Chariot is going in the right direction and be delighted if the Charioteer is aligned with Him. The King will be grieved in case of any problem with the Chariot structure, the horses, the reigns, or the Charioteer, as in fact as the Master of the Chariot everything belongs to him.”

The ongoing discussion was quite profound, so we decided to take a break for some water and coffee. I called the air hostess, and she kindly served us some coffee.

He continued explaining the analogy by putting the emphasis on the Master of the Chariot i.e. Self, which was the most important and most precious part of Chariot.

“The King cannot be cheerful if any part of the chariot or charioteer is in pain or not working properly. The King reacts if he is not contented with any of his parts of the chariot, and there are four stages of his reaction: restlessness, anxiety, depression, and rage.

“If your King, your Self reaches the required or designated destination, there will be two entities that will rejoice with joy in the accomplishment: one is your Self, and the second is the Great Creator of your Self i.e. God. Yes, He will be pleased because actually, it was He who gave you the task to your Self to reach the appropriate destination at the start of your life’s journey according to your capacity, capabilities, and the environment in which you started your travel. Is this not the case?”

The chilly air of the state of Colorado greeted us as we exited Denver Airport. We exchanged our contact details and I was planning to go to the car rental services on the premises of the Airport.

“What is the best method to meet and talk to our Self?” I asked my friend.

“There is no best or single method or any set formula to find and talk to your master” he smiled gently. “Sit someday alone in solitude in the evening at a quiet place, close your eyes, maybe you talk to him. Sometimes any catalyst also helps us to arrange our meeting with our Self, maybe your sincere beloved one. My favorite approach is to talk to nature; I mostly travel to quiet and calm natural places and most of the time I find my King during my visits to lakes, mountains, or sometimes in a park near my home. You have to try, try, and try again, one day you will be successful.”

“One important fact to consider for this quest, try to eliminate all your fears in your life, these fears are like curtains between Charioteer and the King. You have to eradicate all three major fears of human beings: Death, Sustenance, and Failure. Please try to live in the moment. Your past is dead, your future is in the air and your present is the only reality so live in the moment, your King will feel easy to interact with you often.”

He waved his hand, started walking away, and then turned his head.

“Please listen, Sohail, last point, if you want happiness in your chariot, learn to create a balance between destination and journey. Your king is the master of Chariot, he wants to reach to desired destination but his real happiness is generated when his charioteer, horses, and structure are enjoying the journey while pursuing the destination with a delicate balance.”

The writer is a multifaceted author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. With a background in Engineering and Business Administration, he’s the founder and CEO of three thriving companies. Beyond his professional success, Rana is deeply interested in psychology, history, and social sciences. He’s also an avid cyclist, yoga instructor, and health trainer. However, his most significant endeavor is the Quest of Happiness Foundation (QHF), which he founded to spread happiness and well-being.