1. Self-awareness and Self-building

“Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay, then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid; then he fashioned him and breathed into him of his spirit; and appointed for you hearing and sights and hearts; small thanks give ye”

A human being is the possessor of various facts and parameters within his existence. From one aspect he is the possessor of physical body and a name, while from another aspect he is possessor of animal instincts as well as. Eventually overall, he is a human being possessing superior human virtues which are not found in other animals.

Therefore, human being is a single reality, a reality that possesses various dimensions and facts within his single existence. When it is said: My weight and my face, it is indicative of his body and name; when it is said: My food and my health, it is also related to his body; when it is said: movement, anger, and sexual passion, it indicates his animal self; and lastly when it is said; my wisdom, my thinking and my thoughts, it indicates to his superior human virtues.

Therefore, a human being possesses different kinds of selves namely; self related to his physical body, self related to his animal instincts, and the human-self, but the most valuable and precious self is his -human-self. What had made human beings, “Vicegerent of God” upon earth and has distinguished them over other creatures is nothing but the single heavenly “Spirit” blown into his existence by God-Almighty, called Human Soul. The wise God has explained the creation of human beings in the Holy Qur’an as follows:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ.

“Verily we created man from a product of wet earth; then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging; then fashioned we the drop a clot, then fashioned we the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh,. and then produced it as another creation. So blessed the God, the Best of Creators.”

It is about the creation of human being that God-Almighty has said:

تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ.

“So blessed the God -the Best of Creators.”

It was because of this Heavenly Spirit that human being reaches to an exalted position that God-Almighty orders the angels as follows:

فإذا سويته ونفخت من روحي فقعوا له ساجدين.

“So when I have made him and have breathed unto him of My Spirit, do ye fall down prostrating yourself unto him.”

If, human beings were bestowed distinction over other creatures and God-Almighty said about them as follows:

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا.

“Verily, we have honored the children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom we created with a marked preferment.”

Therefore, if a human being should strive for self-building he must build his human-self and not his animal or physical-self. The aims of prophets had been to strengthen the human beings in their endeavors for perfecting their human selves. The Prophets said to the human-beings: Don't forget that your self is your human-self; in case you sacrificed your human-self for the sake of whims and passions of your animal-self; you will inflict upon yourself a terrible loss. God-Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an:

قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ  أَلَا ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ.

“Say: the losers will be those who loose themselves and their house folk on the Day of Resurrection. Ah, that will be the manifest loss.”

Those who never think about anything except their animal existence have indeed lost their human personality and are not striving for their recovery either. The Commander of the Faithful Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) has said:

قال على عليه السلام: عجبت لمن ينشد ضالته وقد اضل نفسه فلا يطلبها.

“It is indeed strange to see someone so desperately looking for lost personal things, while making absolutely no efforts to find his lost (human) self.”

There cannot be more severe and painful loss than some one's losing his human personality and real self; for such a person nothing is left except animalism.