Ego and Eros

You are a volume in the divine book.
A mirror to the power that created the universe.
Whatever you want, ask it of yourself.
Whatever you’re looking for can only
be found inside of you.

- Rumi



What is ego? The term is bandied about in numerous contexts with a variety of nuances. It is a concept, a recognition which defies a single definitive formulation. Nor can we say for certain whether it is a good or evil thing. It is however a product of mind, a cognitive reference point in the schematic system in which we are imbedded. It is most definitely not one’s authentic self.

In the Yoga Sutras Patanjali offers a succinct definition of asmita, or self-identification: “Asmita (ego) arises from the confusion between the ever-present awareness with cognitive artifacts.” The Self is formless presence while the ego identifies with name and form. The roots of this identification, as Freud noted, begin in the body. As we develop psychologically, the ego becomes more abstract. However we all generally use the spatiotemporal boundaries of the organism to ground our definition of self – hence our fear of death.

It is important to understand that the spiritual understanding of ego is very different than the understanding of psychoanalysis. For one thing, modern Western psychology is founded upon an anti-spiritual bias. Freud considered religion to be “A system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal of reality,” an evaluation shared by other pioneers in the field such as Albert Ellis and B.F. Skinner. Freud went on to diminish mystical experiences as “regression to primary narcissism.”

From the spiritual standpoint of the contemplative traditions, as well as Jungian Psychology, the rational ego is actually a defense against the reality of the Self. In the words of Deepak Chopra, "The self is the isolated ego clinging to its small reality and the Self is the unbounded spirit that can afford to not cling at all." Meditation practice can help us to let go of clinging and to recognize that our basic awareness in and of itself is “the unbounded spirit.” It is not an abstract concept, or even a belief, it is our most basic sense of being.

When we are truly present, truly “here and now,” we let go of the machinations of ego: defensiveness, judgment, comparison, analysis, resentment, etc. We open to Love. We open to ecstatic Joy. We open to deep intuitive Knowing. These qualities are always present if we pause to pay attention. In order to “know the Self” we have to make the effort to divert our attention from the objects of awareness to appreciate the field of awareness itself. No small matter, since our psyches have been conditioned for millennia to focus exclusively on the world of the senses and the processes of intellect.

On the other hand it is deceptively simple. Swamiji once said, “I can give you a practice in five minutes which might take you ten years to realize.” It is a matter of retraining our minds, returning to our Source and resting in Being. By bringing mindful awareness into every moment of our lives we can start to undo the cognitive and emotional knots of ego and open to the presence of Self, of Love and abiding Joy.

Evolving Awareness

The awareness in every individual is all knowledge and all powerful. When you develop this awareness, it manifests within you in the form of energy and knowledge. Animals eat, sleep and move, but they are not aware of it. The act of witnessing oneself is completely absent in them. If they became aware that they were doing something, it would mean that they had developed this awareness. - Swami Satyananda Saraswati


The universe is self-aware through us. – Physicist, Amit Goswami


The evolution of awareness is the central issue of yoga. Relaxation is an important first step but the opening and expansion of awareness is the goal. But what is awareness? It is the very essence of who we are and at the same time it is elusive and unavailable for direct observation. We generally know awareness through the objects of awareness, but yoga asks “who is it that is aware?”

We are generally aware of ourselves and the world through the senses and their objects. When we turn awareness inward we are aware of thoughts and imagination. Sensory awareness is a limited form of awareness however and it is conditioned by our minds. Psychological tests show that we edit, interpret and virtually create the “reality” of our world below the level of ordinary consciousness. We become embedded in our mental pictures of the world.

Our ability to change and to evolve psychologically and spiritually is dependent on our level of consciousness – on the degree of awareness we bring to any situation. It is through the power of insight awareness that we can separate ourselves from our mental conditioning and view things and ourselves from a fresh perspective. Otherwise we are likely to remain in old patterns of habitual thought, emotions and behavior.

Deeper awareness is available to all of us all of the time. It is a matter of detaching from our narratives about the past and expectations of the future. If we are busy judging, comparing, analyzing, predicting or planning we are not truly aware of what is present, of what is truly real and alive. All of these activities of the mind can be valuable but they become habitual, chronic and incessant. We never lift our heads up from our maps of reality to check the actual terrain! And of course we can become hopelessly lost.

Unconditional awareness and unconditional love are essentially the same. When we open awareness we stop judging, categorizing and striving to make others fit in with our wants and needs. When we become truly self-aware, we stop judging and berating ourselves and we realize our inherent perfection. That perfection pertains to the miraculous pristine quality of awareness itself. This present moment of awareness is all there is – everything else is mental fabrication, illusion. “Eternity is here in this moment.” states Robert Adams. “On the most minute level, what we call our hearts, our Being, our awareness, all subside within the same breath, the same existence. As we appear to journey through Eternity, through what we call 'life', this Reality remains. And this Reality is Eternal.”

Don’t think about it but drop thinking for just a minute. Abide in stillness, in awareness, in love.

Yoga Injuries and the True Purpose of Yoga

Some people underestimate yogasanas and some overestimate them, so let's assess their value in the course of our spiritual evolution. To many people yoga means asanas only, while yogis and spiritual leaders profess that the physical discipline of asana is not at all necessary for self-realization. Both of these views are extreme, for asanas are neither absolutely essential nor are they altogether unnecessary.

- Swami Satyananda Saraswati


On the news recently was a segment on the dangers of yoga practice and the growing numbers of injuries. It was based on a recent article in the New York Times called “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=1). With increase of popularity of yoga there has been a corresponding increase in injuries attributed to yoga practice. However, the percentage of injuries per practitioner is far less than in many other popular forms of sports and exercise. As Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D. writes, “Indeed, the number of yoga injuries treated in emergency rooms or doctors' offices rose to 5,500 in 2007, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The same year, the number of yoga practitioners reached an estimated 15.8 million. That pegs the number of injuries at 0.035 percent, or about 3.5 out of every 10,000 practitioners.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-norlyk-smith-phd/yoga-health_b_1191479.html

Overall it seems your odds of being able to safely practice yoga are pretty good. There is another problem issue lurking under the surface here though: “yoga” is not a term denoting physical exercise. Yoga is a spiritual discipline that takes many forms which fall into four main categories; devotional, intellectual, active and meditational. The physical practices of hatha yoga, referred to as “asanas” of “yogasanas,” are actually a subset of the meditative branch of yoga. Somehow they have become identified in the popular mind as being the entirety of yoga! If you go to the gym to practice yoga in order to become physically fit, good for you and be careful. You should understand though that strictly speaking you are not actually practicing yoga at all. You are practicing “yuppie calisthenics.”

Meditation is much more central to true yoga practice and to practice asanas properly means to adopt a meditative attitude. The poses must be practiced slowly with awareness. They are meant to do more than just improve health; they help open up the energy system of the body to allow for the acceleration of the development of higher consciousness. The asanas should be integrated with pranayama – breathing practices and with relaxation/meditation practices. This is the integral approach.

The practice of asanas should be approached systematically as well. Just as a first grader doesn’t jump into algebra, a beginning student shouldn’t start with major asanas. Begin with the series know as pawanmuktasana as outlined in Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha by Swami Satyanand Saraswati. They can be found here as well: http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/yoga/asanas/pawanmuktasana1.asp This series is complete in itself and you may never need to go further. Unfortunately many yoga teachers skip these altogether.

Yoga is ancient tradition which is here as a means of awakening our spiritual potential. It is antithetical to our competitive, material and superficial cultural mindset. Yoga is about developing transcendent awareness, a means of merging with the infinite. Injuries result when we reduce it to a form of physical exercise, when we are taught improperly and when we are not paying attention to the body’s messages. It is the opposite of fashion – it is more important to feel good than to look good.

Trusting the Universe

Art by Alex Grey (http://www.alexgrey.com/)

Do you think you can take over the
universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
- Lao Tzu

There is a tremendous hubris that we have when we are afraid of reality, when we hide behind the ego’s façade and when we think we need to be in control. In truth we cannot even control ourselves until we have surrendered to the deeper wisdom of the evolutionary unfolding of the universe – what Lao Tzu referred to as the Tao. “The universe is sacred.” he writes in the Tao Te Ching. “You cannot improve it. If you try to change it, you will ruin it. If you try to hold it, you will lose it.”

The physical universe is a temporary and changing expression of transcendent wisdom and love. Every being within it is nurtured by this energy. Our very existence is a gift of love. But somehow we get this crazy idea that we have to defend ourselves from it. The most powerful thing that we can do for ourselves and others is surrender to it. Surrender is not passive however; we have to be committed to that surrender in every moment of our lives.

Ordinarily we surrender to our outward view of circumstances, to the illusory projection of our minds conditioned as they are by false beliefs and phantasmagorical interpretations. Spiritual surrender means surrendering inwardly, letting go of anger, resentment and the need to be control. It is not apathy; it is awakening to the inherent joy within us independent of whatever is going on in our lives. It is from this place of peaceful inner acceptance that we can move forward guided by a deeper wisdom and intelligence.

Everything that occurs does so as the working out of an interconnected unfolding of the universe. We cannot grasp its infinite complexity with our small minds. However, we can tune in intuitively and devotionally. When we do we enter the miraculous. We rise above the ego’s narrow perspective and join the universal mind.