Getting Rid Of Ego

Kudos to you my big brother. A nice read. Yes it is difficult to shed it. It is an inalienable part of the humans. Even among monks it is ingrained as to who is at close proximity to feet of the Almighty.

 

Dear Hari Sir,

Thank you for your humorous presentation that there are no takers of ego. I am glad this post of yours was nominated by Vijiakka. I call it, "Ever Growing Organism". When we have our own cycle of mental and physical development, ego is the only one that can develop as long as we live.

Last week we had a book club meeting to discuss a book titled, "Broken Open" and the topic of ego came for discussion. When I talked about ego, I said, "unlike ignorance which is hiding in darkness and is removed by the light of knowledge, ego is not easy to remove as it hides behind the knowledge in plain sight. It is visible to everyone but us. I gave an example that someone could be an expert in Bible discussions and many people may refer to him to ask questions about the Bible. But more and more people approach him, the ego gets stronger everyday. Only unconditional love can remove ego. When self-worth is one side of the coin, ego is the other side of it. Our mind spins between self-worth and ego. One of the participants had difficulty accepting that ego is hard to remove and it is growing always. I feel unless we understand that it is hard to remove, it will stay forever.

Here is an article I wrote in 2015:

Ego

 

With such low probability, why at all one should struggle for liberation . Just keep enjoying Life as it is and perish when Almighty is ready to receive the person with red carpet unrolled or not!

 

Very interesting read Hari ji! You really have a wonderful imagination & humor ..from the way you have mentioned 'no takers', haha.. also shows that you don't leave anything to chance but analyze threadbare before penning something. If we identify that there is a thief, both will be cautious not to be caught or entangled.

 

Dear Hari Sir,

In the western civilization, everyone believes ego is an essential part of growth of the individual as it is other side of self-esteem. They are not looking at it as dangerous and harmful and they don't make any attempt to remove it. Eastern civilization believes in annihilating ego as an essential step and can be done through love and humility. Ahamkara is much talked about subject in the eastern civilization. The part that is difficult to understand is unlike darkness of ignorance (which gets eliminated by the light of knowledge), ego stays in the house of the intellect like the water mixed in milk. Ahamkara can be in multiple levels. If one is beautiful one can feel a lot of pride about it. If one is extraordinary talented, one can feel a lot of pride as well. Predominently, the feeling that one is a mind or body creates that strong will to have ego automatically. Even a person who is well-versed in scriptures can feel ego.

Even Adi Sankara who is the author of Viveka Choodamani (a crown Jewel of Wisdom) experienced it after constantly debating with others winning every time. Finally, Lord Shiva had to remove his ego. When he asked a Chandalan to move to give way to Adi Sankara, Lord Shiva disguised as a chandalan asked, "Do you want me to remove my body or my Self?" This was a final frontier for Adi Sankara to get liberated.

Another story about Narada we are all familiar with. He felt he is the best devotee of Narayana. Once Narayana told him that a farmer living in a village is the best devotee. Triggered by this statement Narada asked how a villager could be a better devotee when he is doing namasmarana 24/7. Then Narayana asked him to observe the farmer and the farmer prayed to Narayana three times once before taking breakfast, another before lunch and third before dinner. Narada complained that the villager is thinking about Narayana only 3 times a day when Narada is constantly remembering Narayana. Then, Narayana asked him to carry a pot filled with water and go around the world with a condition that not a drop of water should spill anywhere. Narada was so careful not to spill the water and returned successfully. After returning he proudly told Narayana that he had executed the order of Narayana perfectly. Then Narayana asked, "how many times you said my name when you went around the world?" Narada replied, "My focus was on not spilling the water and in the process and hence didn't recite your name". Then, Narayana told him with the responsibilities that the villager has, it is appreciable that he thought of my name at least 3 times a day. The lesson is even celestial beings suffered from ego.

I will share my personal experience of ego. I am a decent singer of Bhajans in our spiritual center. Once I became the President of this spiritual center. It is customary for us to assemble during Guru Poornima and sing bhajans. Being the President of the center, I was aspiring to sing my favorite Guru bhajan on that day. For some strange reason, the turn never came to me and final aarathi was done. I was pretty disappointed and came back home. I thought God was displeased with me for some reason. The next day, a devotee called and asked me whether I would be able to come to attend removal of old garlands (nirmalyam) and when I went she asked me to sing the very same bhajan I was planning to sing the previous evening. I was in tears as God taught me an important lesson that I should sing bhajans with devotion to God and not for the audience. Stranger are the ways God helps us overcome our ego.

Your thoughtful thread made us all contemplate a lot. The fact that @kaluputti responded here shows how well your thread is received by the ILites. You are a deep thinker and we need more such thinkers for this forum.