Yugavani

Ego alone the cause of bondage Sir,whyareweboundlikethis?Whydon’twesee God? Mayaisnothingbuttheegotismoftheembodied soul.Thisegotismhascoveredeverythinglikeaveil.‘All troublescometoanendwhentheegodies.’Ifbythe graceofGodamanbutoncerealizesthatheisnotthe doer,thenheatoncebecomesaJivanmukta.Though livinginthebody,heisliberated.Hehasnothingelseto fear. Thismaya,thatistosay,theego,islikeacloud. Thesuncannotbeseenonaccountofathinpatchof cloud;whenthatdisappearsoneseesthesun.Ifbythe graceoftheguruone’segovanishes,thenoneseesGod.

Ego creates upadhis ThejivaisnothingbuttheembodimentofSatchidananda.Butsincemaya,orego,has createdvariousupadhis,hehasforgottenhisrealSelf. Eachupadhichangesman’snature.Ifhewearsafineblack-borderedcloth,youwillat oncefindhimhummingNidhuBabu’slove-songs.Thenplaying-cardsandawalking-stick follow.Ifevenasicklymanputsonhighboots,hebeginstowhistleandclimbsthestairslike anEnglishman,jumpingfromonesteptoanother.Ifamanbutholdsapeninhishand,he scribblesonanypaperhecangetholdof—suchisthepowerofthepen!

Erase the Ego AmancannotrealizeGodunlesshegetsridofallsuchegotisticideasas‘Iamsuchan importantman’or‘Iamsoandso’.Levelthemoundof‘I’tothegroundbydissolvingitwith tearsofdevotion.

Vijnani’s understanding of Ego ThemancomingdownfromsamadhiperceivesthatitisBrahmanthathasbecomethe ego,theuniverse,andalllivingbeings.Thisisknownasvijnana.

Ego in Kaliyuga IntheKaliyugathelifeofmaniscentredonfood.Hecannotgetridofthefeelingthathe isthebodyandtheego.Therefore,thepathofdevotionisprescribedforthiscycle. —Sri Ramakrishna