The Vedantic Rishis discovered the Self and tried to understand the world through Self. For us, the ego is the self. For the Rishi, the inner Divine, the Brahman is the Self. Tapas or yoga shifts Man from the egoistic self or desire soul of the surface mind to the inner Self, the witness Purusha. The Rishi can know the world through his Self because the entire world is in the Self. The yogi reaches the Self by concentrating on his mind and detaching the Spirit from the mind. The pure mind leads to the pure Spirit. Men who develop character, develop it in life through values. One is to come from above into life and the other is to rise from life to Spirit above.
A novel with an architect as a hero was published in 1947 in Britain, written by a Russian immigrant who became an American citizen. It became a success and ran through twenty impressions and still remains a worldwide best seller. Howard Roark is an architect who is devoted to architecture. It is his entire life. He sees a building as a whole gaining an integrity of its own. The society hounds him out of existence. The society does not exist for Roark. He passes through hell, works in a quarry as a day labourer but awaits for Life to Respond. The long awaited Response comes late in life, but when it comes, it comes in all its splendour and richness.
How the fraternity of architects treats him, how the unthinking social mass disowns him, how much he suffers are all in character - what every pioneer or sage has undergone without exception. What is exceptional is Roark does not react, does not even respond to defend himself. He hardly notices what is being done to him. It was not as if reaction arose in him and he suppressed it. No reaction issues from inside. Even Yudhishthira says that though he does not express his anger, anger does issue from inside. Roark does not react, does not seek any reward for his work and is utterly truthful. All of these are spiritual qualities. The Rishis are known for their curses. How many Rishis can rise to the level of Roark's equality is a question. He who does not react is one who rises above the Mind, as reaction is a characteristic of Mind. Individuality is precious. Non-reacting equality is its hallmark.