EGOLESS LIVING

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EGOLESS LIVING

 

Egoless living! Is such a thing possible at all? Will the ego ever

commit suicide? Will life bloom in all its fullness only when one's

life is egoless? These are some of the doubts and fears that arise.

For, such a life is outside the sphere of our experience. Action

without the actor, a mind without sloth and outward movement, are

unknown to us and therefore we fear the logical consequence of the

pursuit of self-enquiry, the "loss" of the mind in the Self. Ramana

assures that in this death of the mind or ego is the birth of true

life. Then one is born anew in a totally different dimension in

which the fountain of joy endlessly overflows. One is, as it were,

inundated by it. There is constant renewal, a totality of

perception, and perfection in action.

 

What does egoless really mean? What are the birth and the death of

the ego? The rising of the "I"-thought in waking is ego's birth. All

thoughts are its forms. Seemingly infinite is its variety. What

constitutes its death? Is it the silence of the mind, made quiescent

by breath-control or mental practices which lull the mind? Is it a

trance or a swoon? It cannot be these, for these are but temporary

spells. When they end, the ego is strident again and is in full cry.

The situation will be no different from what it was prior to these

spells of mental inactivity. All attempts at "pruning" the ego are

destined to fail. But then is there no sure way to bring about its

death? Is there no escape from its suffocating grip?

 

One can surely nail the coffin of the ego if only one enquires

steadfastly and ceaselessly as to where from it originates. Firm

attention to the "I"-thought as it rises each time is all that is

needed in the Ramana Way. "Plant your lotus feet upon the head of

the ego as it emerges," (Arunachala Padigam (Eleven verses)- Verse

7) prays Ramana to Arunachala, for, the mind's outward movement has

to be checked before the ego mingles with its associates, other

ceaseless thoughts. If it is caught at the threshold, then, losing

its anchorage in conceptual thought, it would fall, crestfallen,

into its source – the Self. But that is not the end of the story of

the ego. Latent tendencies born of residual impressions of past

actions would soon externalize the mind. Repeated practice of self-

enquiry, however, would result in the mind staying ever merged at

its source.

 

What happens thereafter when the infinite expanse of a limitless

life opens up? This is the constant question of the ignorant about

knowledge. It must remain a riddle, an unsolved puzzle, so long as

the knowledge of that state is only vicarious and not one's own.

That it is the most desirable is evident even to those who have

tasted a little of this "maddening bread", who have savored its

sweetness, even if it be for a few fleeting seconds. But being

caught up still in the ego's snares, the fear that one would lose

all interest in life, that no action would be possible, lingers as

an undercurrent. Paul Brunton expresses the universal misgiving when

he questions Ramana about what happens when ego comes to an

end "like a snuffed candle". Ramana's reply to him is most

reassuring. It is only then that the door to limitless bliss opens.

Muruganar too exhorts: "Don't ask in fear and doubt, "What will

happen if I give up quite this self?" Whosoever lets go the bough he

clings to land on solid earth. You are bound to reach the Self."

 

It requires the utmost courage to take the plunge. For this, the

words of the great ones are a source of a great encouragement to

dive within. Why this deep-rooted fear? Implicit in this fear is the

innate idea that action is performed by reason only of

individuality, by reason of the ego's strength. We labor under the

idea that the mind is an independent and separate entity. Is it

really so? No, though ego might put on the garb of the Self and

masquerade as being all-powerful, it has no inherent strength of its

own. Ramana gives the analogy of images placed on temple towers.

Their strained look would make it appear that the tower is supported

on their shoulders. In reality it is the masonry structure that

supports the tower as also the images themselves. The individual

consciousness or the ego is only a reflection of the Self, which is

unlimited consciousness. Ramana explains that the ego or

individuality is like the moon and the Self is like the Sun

(Selections from Ramana Gita-the Science of the Heart- Verses 11 and

12). The reflected light of the moon is required only so long as the

sun does not rise. When the ego merges in its source, and stays so

merged, action is performed automatically just as all the activities

are carried on in this world when the Sun rises. The "undercurrent

which vivifies the mind " will flow without the limitations imposed

by ego's identifications. The mind as we know of it may be dead but

in another sense it will function totally for it has become pure.

Then action would not only be automatic but also would be perfect.

 

There is no need for such a one to be active. There is no compulsion

or desire, no ambition to be fulfilled, no goals to be

reached. "What action remains for those abiding as the Self?"

(Upadesa Saram- verse 15) For, when they are rooted in

consciousness, the much-cherished values of life pale into nothing

and become meaningless. After all, all effort is in search of

happiness and once they become the very embodiment of it, nothing

more needs to be done. Yet they act with an enthusiasm which is at

once exemplary and infectious. But such action is effortless for, in

them the sense of doership is totally obliterated. Being wholly

unaware of such action, we wonder over and over again if it is

possible at all.

 

Ramana gives several examples of such action. He asks, when we walk

from one place to another do we count the steps? Does a sleepwalker

know that he is walking? Would a child which is fed by the mother,

when asleep, know that it was fed? (Maharshi's Gospel-P. 8-9) Again

he refers to women walking with water pots on their heads, chatting

with their companions but keeping their attention still fixed on the

load on their heads.

 

What happens is that every action is complete and there is no carry-

forward of thought. Foe the egoless, incidents, as for a child, are

of interest only as long as they last. When they are over, they are

over. No residual impressions are left by the actions.

 

When asked by Paul Brunton whether an egoless person's actions would

always be right, Ramana says-"They ought to be. However, such a

person is not concerned with the right or wrong of action. His

actions are God's and are therefore right". (Unpublished record of

Paul Brunton and Munagala Venkataramaiah-P.121)

 

The egoless persons having no feeling of a separate individuality

just float in the divine current for fulfilling its purposes. What

marks them out is their total faith in the cosmic order. Ramana's

remarks to Paul Brunton that "he who has given life to the world

knows how to look after it" typifies this attitude. A prayer of

Ramana to Arunachala is also worth recalling for it reflects their

unfailing remembrance of the fact that it is the Creator's Law and

His Grace which shape everything- "Ordain that my burden should no

more be mine but yours, for what can be a burden for you, the all

sustainer". (Arunachala Padigam-verse 9).

 

For those whose mind has ceased further search, having reached the

heart of bliss, "life is a copious spring of ever fresh experience"!

Since there are no "others" for them they are the "humbler than the

humblest" and are overflowing with love. Enveloped as they are in

the infinite, in them one finds the confluence of peace and power.

Their very presence is a benediction to humanity. (Garland of Guru's

Sayings-verse 202).

 

NOTE: TAKEN FROM "DIVINITY HERE AND NOW", BY A. R. NATARAJAN, PAGES

9 TO 12