Sri Ramakrishna often referred to this ego as the ripe ego in contrast with the ego of the bound soul, which he described as the unripe or green ego

December 27, 2009

Sri Ramakrishna often referred to this ego as the " ripe ego " in contrast with

the ego of the bound soul, which he described as the " unripe " or " green " ego

The " Ego " of the Master

(p.234) In the nirvikalpa samadhi Sri Ramakrishna had realized that Brahman

alone is real and the world illusory. By keeping his mind six months on the

plane of the nondual Brahman, he had attained the state of the 'vijnani', the

knower of Truth in a special and very rich sense, who sees Brahman not only in

himself and in the transcendental Absolute, but in everything of the world. In

this state of 'vijnana', sometimes, bereft of body-consciousness, he would

regard himself as one with Brahman; sometimes, conscious of the dual world, he

would regard himself as God's devotee, servant, or child. In order to enable the

Master to work for the welfare of humanity, the Divine Mother had kept in him a

trace of ego, which he described--according to his mood--as the " ego of

knowledge, " the " ego of devotion, " and the " ego of a child, " or the " ego of a

servant. " In any case, this ego of the Master, consumed by the fire of the

knowledge of Brahman, was an appearance only, like a burned string. He often

referred to this ego as the " ripe ego " in contrast with the ego of the bound

soul, which he described as the " unripe " or " green " ego. The ego of the bound

soul identifies itself with the body, relatives, possessions, and the world; but

the " ripe ego, " illumined by divine knowledge, knows the body, relatives,

possessions, and the world to be unreal and establishes a relationship of love

with God alone.

Sri Ramakrishna, The Face of Silence

Swami Nikhilananda and Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Edited and with an Introduction by Swami Adiswarananda

Foreword by Dhan Gopal Mukerji II

Chapter 4, Sri Ramakrishna, p.234

SkyLight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont

ISBN 1-59473-115-2

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