Sublimate Ahankara Through Humility
The dictionary defines ego as the conception of one's individuality; self-consciousness; the Self. Vedic shastras call it ahankara and explain that when the Self, atma or soul identifies itself with the body, there manifests the T sense, or sense of individuality, the sense of ownership of objects as 'mine'. It also thinks of itself as the doer and identifies the self with one's actions, pleasures and sorrows. It says, "I am this body; I am Indian, I am tall, I am rich, I own property and I do so many things." Humility as well as vanity emanate from ego as do emotions such as anger, hate, love and compassion. Because it (falsely) identifies the self with the body and mind it is called false ego. This is the ego we embodied humans are familiar with. Ahankara or egoism is the cause of most human miseries. A flattered ego can dramatically impair one's judgment while an injured ego can provoke one to engage in acts of retaliation. The ego is therefore an obstacle to spi ritual progress. Other obstacles such as desire, attachment and sense enjoyment can be overcome, but the ego tenaciously clings on til the very end, till the Self is realised. There is yet another ego, the true ego. This ego identifies the self with the atma, and it says, "I am spirit - soul, I am eternal, immortal and in the mould of the paramatma or super soul or God." Sri Ramakrishna explains the two egos thus: "There are two types of ego, the ripe (true) ego which says 'Nothing is mine, whatever I see or feel or hear, nay, this very body, is not mine', and the unripe (false) ego which says 'This is my house, this is my wife, this is my child this is my body'." In order to realise God. ahankara has to be sublimated. One way of doing this is to cultivate true humility. St Augustine said: "Should you ask me, what is the first thing in religion? I should reply, the first, second, and third thing therein-nay, all, is humility." Vedanta, too. lays great stress on humility. Sri Ramakrishna says: "To become great, one must be humble. The tree laden with fruit always bends low. Be free from vanity as the dead leaf carried by the high wind. If you cannot drive off this feeling of 'I', then let it remain as the 'servant I'. There is not much to fear from the ego which is centred in the thought: I am the servant of God; I am His devotee. The 'servant I', the 'I' of a devotee is a line drawn on the surface of the water: it does not last long." He however cautioned that one should not mistake humility for weakness. The other way to public mate the ego is by becoming strong. Swami Vivekananda was a great exponent of this method. True ego derives great power from its association with the atma. One should realise the great power and glory of the human soul and cultivate self-confidence and positive thinking. This will enable believing in one self in order to overpower one's false ego and to substitute it with true ego. He recommended prac tising both methods simul taneously-becoming aware of the frailties of the body and mind, and realising the power of the atma. A bhakta on the path of devotional service to God cultivates humility through servitude and self-surrender to God and depends solely upon His grace. A jnani, on the path of knowledge, identifies himself with the atma and its all-powerful, immortal nature, identical to that of Brahman. On attaining moksha a jnani retains no ego-false or true. He has no awareness of the self, for he merges with Brahman and becomes one with Him. А bhakta, on the other hand. retains his true ego and individuality and continues to serve God in His abode with loving devotion
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Parmarthi Raina r’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Parmarthi Raina and Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Sublimate Ahankara Through Humility
The dictionary defines ego as the conception of one's individuality; self-consciousness; the Self. Vedic shastras call it ahankara and explain that when the Self, atma or soul identifies itself with the body, there manifests the T sense, or sense of individuality, the sense of ownership of objects as 'mine'. It also thinks of itself as the doer and identifies the self with one's actions, pleasures and sorrows. It says, "I am this body; I am Indian, I am tall, I am rich, I own property and I do so many things." Humility as well as vanity emanate from ego as do emotions such as anger, hate, love and compassion. Because it (falsely) identifies the self with the body and mind it is called false ego. This is the ego we embodied humans are familiar with. Ahankara or egoism is the cause of most human miseries. A flattered ego can dramatically impair one's judgment while an injured ego can provoke one to engage in acts of retaliation. The ego is therefore an obstacle to spi ritual progress. Other obstacles such as desire, attachment and sense enjoyment can be overcome, but the ego tenaciously clings on til the very end, till the Self is realised. There is yet another ego, the true ego. This ego identifies the self with the atma, and it says, "I am spirit - soul, I am eternal, immortal and in the mould of the paramatma or super soul or God." Sri Ramakrishna explains the two egos thus: "There are two types of ego, the ripe (true) ego which says 'Nothing is mine, whatever I see or feel or hear, nay, this very body, is not mine', and the unripe (false) ego which says 'This is my house, this is my wife, this is my child this is my body'." In order to realise God. ahankara has to be sublimated. One way of doing this is to cultivate true humility. St Augustine said: "Should you ask me, what is the first thing in religion? I should reply, the first, second, and third thing therein-nay, all, is humility." Vedanta, too. lays great stress on humility. Sri Ramakrishna says: "To become great, one must be humble. The tree laden with fruit always bends low. Be free from vanity as the dead leaf carried by the high wind. If you cannot drive off this feeling of 'I', then let it remain as the 'servant I'. There is not much to fear from the ego which is centred in the thought: I am the servant of God; I am His devotee. The 'servant I', the 'I' of a devotee is a line drawn on the surface of the water: it does not last long." He however cautioned that one should not mistake humility for weakness. The other way to public mate the ego is by becoming strong. Swami Vivekananda was a great exponent of this method. True ego derives great power from its association with the atma. One should realise the great power and glory of the human soul and cultivate self-confidence and positive thinking. This will enable believing in one self in order to overpower one's false ego and to substitute it with true ego. He recommended prac tising both methods simul taneously-becoming aware of the frailties of the body and mind, and realising the power of the atma. A bhakta on the path of devotional service to God cultivates humility through servitude and self-surrender to God and depends solely upon His grace. A jnani, on the path of knowledge, identifies himself with the atma and its all-powerful, immortal nature, identical to that of Brahman. On attaining moksha a jnani retains no ego-false or true. He has no awareness of the self, for he merges with Brahman and becomes one with Him. А bhakta, on the other hand. retains his true ego and individuality and continues to serve God in His abode with loving devotion
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Parmarthi Raina r’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Parmarthi Raina and Speaking Tree ,Times of India