Guest guest Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 i dont know if i am too pessimistic but slowly I am getting the feeling that ego is hidden behind many actions. sometimes when I analyse the motives behind the actions, they always turn to be egoistic in one way or another...actually... our very existence is egoistic, how can one exist without using the ego? what is ego? i always remember the words of yogananda, he said that we are actually all parts of The Soul, we are all God. but when we were given maya we developed the illusion that we are seperate from it and have an individuality. lacking of realization of the fact that we are all rays of the same sun leads to egoism I guess. and again its no use to understand it intellectually. ego must be a great obstacle to sadhna? freedom from ego comes perhaps only through moksha. Is there a relation between mind and ego? what about humility as good manners? and what about true humility as a result of self realization? .........any thoughts? , "Sidha_Ho" <sidaho@h...> wrote: > ego > - > silentsoul_55 > > Wednesday, April 17, 2002 4:04 AM > Re: Dreams > > > tks evil_djinia, > > when you wrote "some trees are better than human beings", you > revealed a great truth. In fact animals and other so-called lower > forms of life are better than most of human beings. They remain in > their limits and act as per their nature. I have never seen a dog > cheating another dog...or a tree refusing shade to the woodcutter. > > what according to you is the cause of so many faults in us Humans > > Hari Aum > > > , "Sidha_Ho" <sidaho@h...> wrote: > > Many of us were almost saints if not in fact actual saints that > people still pray to. However, through simple stupid and careless > actions we can slip and fall into samskaric deeds which multiply > without end until we have a return upswing of grace from either > satsang with great company of wise souls or outright grace of > God/Gods, and/or return of good karmas which allow klesha or avidya > to thin enough to see light of sun-like being through clouds of > ignorance again. Life to enlightenment is like playing scales up and > down a guitar neck which makes a harmony of disparate notes. One > hopefully ends on a high one. There is no gurantee that you will be > enlightened if you never make effort. Indeed, if you sleep this life > away it will have been for nothing. If you never woke up and at > least tried to be enlightened you might as well have been a dog. > Some trees are better than some human beings. > > - > > sugarandbrine > > > > Monday, April 15, 2002 5:19 PM > > Re: Dreams > > > > > > Namaste beloved members, > > > > I have a question with this topic. Silentsoulji, you state that > what > > you are stating about dreams applies only to the sadhaka, and not > to > > others. This point has stuck in my mind. > > > > Is it not possible, that a person has been born into their > current > > body and is not leading a spiritual life, but in previous births > has? > > I know that in my as yet short lifetime, I have met many people > that > > I feel this applies to. Most (if not all) have complained of > terrible > > nightmares at one point or another. This discourages any further > > delving into their own person, simply because it is very > frightening. > > > > Reincarnation is such an interesting topic, and has fascinated me > for > > a long time. Perhaps I could bring the topic itself up for > discussion. > > > > With love, > > Erica > > > > > > Sponsor > > > > > > > > > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > Terms of > Service. > > > > > > > > > > > Sponsor > > > > > > > - > > > > Terms of Service. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 18, 2002 Report Share Posted April 18, 2002 Ego is indeed a beautiful topic. ! It is true that behind all our actions the ego i.e our selfish motive is hidden. No matter how selfless we think an action is, there definitely lies an ulterior selfish motive behind them. I'm givine below a part Ramana Maharshi's answer to a devotee: "As for prayers for others it looks so unselfish on the surface of it. But analyse the feeling and you will detect selfishness there also. You desire other's happiness so that you may be happy. Or you want the credit for having interceded on other's behalf. " If we give away some money in charity, are we really being selfless? have we really donated money b'cos some needy will benefit from it, or have we donated it, b'cos we'll feel happy? Still others are ostentatious about then donations, and do so only for credibility. But in those cases where we donate anonymously, we do so only for self-satisfaction. We have the desire in ourselves to be a good person. One way of proving to ourselves that we are good, is by donating. Thus, the act of donating is actually a selfish one, wherein we try to satisfy ourselves with the thought that we are good people. What is ego? The ego is nothing but the 'I' thought. It is the first thought that arises when we wake up from sleep. Only after the 'I' thought can all other thoughts arise. For if there was no 'I', there would be no world. In deep sleep, there is no 'I'. Do we cognise the world in deep sleep?.... NO. We cognise the world only in the waking and dream states, where there is an 'I' thought. Thus the ego is NOT any physical entity but just a thought, out of which springs the entire world. Ramana Maharshi said the following about ego: "M : The Self is only one. If limited it is the ego. If unlimited it is infinite and is Reality. The bubbles are different from one another and numerous, but the ocean is only one. Similarly the egos are many, whereas the Self is one and only one. When told that you are not the ego, realise the Reality, why do you still identify yourself with the ego ? Note : the feeling of limitedness is due to separate individuality. The bubbles in the ocean are insentient, material bubbles, whereas the jivas are imaginary, mere conceptions of limitedness. That is why Bhagavan always reminds us that ' if you search for the ego, it will disappear ', it being an illusory conception." Since the ego is not any actual entity, but just a conception, it strives to find a solid substratum to exist on. It therefore instills a feeling of awareness into the this finiteness, giving it an identity. It establishes a strong foothold, by instigating 'selfishness', out of which arises, anger, lust greed, pride, jealousy etc. All the emotions that we exhibit are based on the satisfaction of this ego. If this ego is satisfied, there by strenghtening its fetters into this finiteness, we exhibit emotions of joy, pleasure, happiness etc. If the ego is not satisfied, we exhibit displeasure, sorrow, anger, frustratin etc. Thus behind all our actions is the ego, which works its way out for sustenance. The moment we realise that it's nothing, it ceases to exist. That is Realisation / Liberation / Moksha. Hari Aum !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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