Do you know the difference in your ‘being’ when you are in ‘essence’ and when you are in ‘personality’?
Human beings consist of two distinct aspects: essence and personality. Essence is what is inherently one’s own; personality is what is acquired from external influences. Personality is formed through education, imitation, social conditioning, and habitual responses, whereas essence reflects a person’s innate nature.
In early childhood, personality has not yet developed. A child’s preferences and reactions express essence directly. As education and socialization begin, personality gradually forms and often comes to dominate. In many adults, personality develops at the expense of essence, which may remain immature or stagnate entirely. As a result, an intellectually accomplished individual may possess an essence no more developed than that of a young child.
Essence represents what is genuine in a person; personality represents what is artificial. Modern culture, including science, art, and politics, is largely the product of personality rather than essence. Unlike essence, personality can be altered, suppressed, or removed through external means. Certain practices can temporarily separate personality from essence, revealing how little of one’s inner life may be truly one’s own.
The development of essence requires conscious inner work. Growth cannot occur while personality remains dominant. For genuine development, personality must become passive and essence active. This process requires both sufficiently developed personality—providing knowledge and material for self-study—and a strong essence capable of growth.
Both highly cultured and uncultured individuals face obstacles to inner development. Success depends on a balanced development of essence and personality. When this balance is absent, inner growth is limited or impossible. In extreme cases, essence may deteriorate entirely, leaving a person inwardly empty despite outward vitality.
True individuality emerges only when essence matures. The work of self-development begins when one learns to distinguish clearly between what is essential and what is merely acquired.