What is the Ego?

Let’s analyze the Ego.

This can be a very enlightening discussion.

We may think that the Ego is just some fixed “thing” and we have to transcend it to experience Samadhi.

This is far from the truth.

Mind is not simple.

The ego is a dynamic state (just like anything else in the universe).

Ego is what we are in NOW.

“ You are your thoughts.”
– Buddha

We create our Ego 24/7.

Proof of our Ego lies in what we think and what we do.

For example –

A and B are good friends.

They don’t drink, nor have they ever thought about drinking.

At some point, B is offered a drink, he accepts it, and then he starts drinking regularly.

Right from that moment, he is not the same B as he was before.

His identification has changed (to the world and to himself).

Now, he is a B who drinks.

“Drinker” got added to his Ego.

B + Drinker.

B offers drinks to A, and A refuses (for various reasons).

Now, A also does not remain the same.

He is still A, but has now “become” –

A + non-drinker.

Time passes, both taking their own paths and are well-set in them.

A remains a non-drinker and B a drinker.

At some point, A “feels” for his friend and tries to change B.

Now comes the most subtle part –

What is A now?

He is –

A+ non-drinker + one who believes in trying to change others.

What happens to B?

He listens to his friend, but chooses to continue drinking.

So, now he is –

B + drinker + one who does not listen to others’ advice, a firm drinker.

See, how we are in flux all the time.

So, now we have two Egos, modified A and modified B, interacting and clashing with each other.

Or, another scenario.

B understands his friend and tries to give up drinking.

So, what is he now?

B + drinker + a drinker who is trying to give up drinking on the advice of a friend.

Such intricate ways are of the Ego.

What happens then is immaterial.

But the point of discussion is that the Ego is dynamic and complex.

It reflects our ever-changing personality.

We keep modifying our Ego 24/7 – as well as influencing others’ Egos – only by our thoughts and our actions.

All is a play of the mind.

And that’s why –

Mind = Restlessness

What is the most crucial loss in this?

Loss of inner peace – for all.

What do we do?

How do we remove the Ego?

Mind cannot destroy itself.

Only by stepping out of the mind (Meditation) can one realize the subtle, complex ways of the mind.

Rise above them and experience the simplicity of eternal peace.

The eternal peace asks for sacrifice.

– ⁠- do not compare, judge, or try to change others, the world, its affairs, or life itself. (Observe), and you will start seeing a glimmer of eternal peace within.

We fell from simplicity to complexity.

Complexity cannot remove itself; only simplicity can.

Dirt cannot remove itself; it will only add more dirt; only soap can.

And that soap is the divinity within us.

The example of A and B is the simplest way to explain the workings of our Ego, which, however, is much more complex than that.

A and B, who were inseparable soul buddies at one time, got separated by a non-living, material object, like drinking.

Who divided them?

If your answer is “Drinking,” it is wrong.

It is their mind ( Ego ) that divided them.

Their different thinking patterns divided them.

Soul unites, the mind divides.

This way, our attachment to not just one but millions of such objects, people, and situations of Sansar keeps dividing us, every minute, every second, based on our individual likes and dislikes, thought by thought.

Who was wrong, A or B?

Both.

Both walked away from their soul ( spirituality ) and gave more importance to materiality ( drinking ).

Our Ego is the sum of all our material, Sansaric possessions, which all came from outside.

Every single thing that we can identify ourselves with – objects, people, situations, and even our non-tangible assets like knowledge- is not ours at all.

They all came from outside, and together they make our total Ego; Ego and Sansar are inseparable.

Over time, living a material life in Sansar, we develop deep vrttis (tendencies) and vasanas (desires) based on our likes and dislikes.

And this separates us from each other, and we develop “firmness”, “ hardness”, and “callousness” in our personality

These are material tones, and unknowingly, we sacrificed the softness and gentleness of our souls, the spiritual tones that we had.

The deeper we go in Sansar, the more callous we become, over many lives.

This ego-driven life has brought us almost to the brink of our own extinction and of the beautiful world around us.

And if we had achieved something with this, it would have been still worth it, but we haven’t. ( Evidence lies in the fact that we are still running ).

We are walking blindfolded, thinking that the light of the Ego is sufficient for us.

Nobody knows what we have lost.

We are too busy fighting the wars (big, like world wars, or small, like between friends, relatives, spouses, etc.).

We have developed so-called intelligence – how to fight, how to win, how to look brighter, better, stronger, more prosperous than others, etc.

Spirituality says that such intelligence is not intelligence at all; it is foolishness of our dualistic life.

Just like a drunkard in a bar declares himself the winner of the world, we remain busy pursuing worthless goals and bragging about them in Sansar.

( B taking pride in his drinking behavior and A in his superiority over drinkers – both are lost ).

We are intoxicated with Sansar.

In this process, we have sacrificed our innocence, friendship, love, and compassion for each other, which could help us live a cherishable life.

We pass by a dead animal on the roadside, never even recognizing their innocence and defenselessness, against the so-called smartness of humans,

We are always in a rush to grab something or someone.

We have no innocence left in us, even to recognize the innocence of animals.

In this ego-driven life of grabbing, we have nothing left to give.

We are unaware of the infinite wealth hidden within us, and now we are bagging door-to-door.

The key is to meditate and realize the flimsiness of the Sansar and our ego-driven life.

Then only will rise the ever-shining pure consciousness from within.