Every path or every yoga demands the entire annihilation of
egoism.
– Swami Sivananda
Love and consciousness are one and
the same thing. So that as you get into a higher state of consciousness you
come closer to being in love. That doesn't mean interpersonal love. It means
being - love.
- Ram Dass
We
are so deeply conditioned by this thing we call ego that it is hard to imagine
ourselves beyond it. We live our lives
imbedded in a false reality. When our
true self, i.e. love, comes knocking we run for cover. We are attached to our assumed limitations
and one of our greatest defenses is the concept of unworthiness. More than simply being attached to our bodies,
these organic sheaths that we express in and through, we become attached to the
narrative of our unique shame, abandonment, loss and suffering. Another great defense against opening to love
is resentment.
Rest
assured that as long as we wield these twin defenses we are safe from love’s onslaughts. Ego, or the identification with a false sense
of self, arises out of a basic and equally false sense of separation from our authentic
being. At its most extreme it might be
expressed in the saying “Every man for himself.” Of course, this could also be “Every woman .
. .” Attachment and aversion are the primary mechanisms of ego. We attach to that which gives us comfort and
pleasure, we resist that which is painful.
However, in our convoluted strategies we often find comfort in our
special sense of pain and suffering. It
all becomes confused. From a spiritual
perspective, it is all suffering because it keeps us separate from the loving
awareness at the core of our beings.
As
adults we are each responsible for ourselves.
We need to make rational decisions, manage finances, and carefully consider
who we allow into our lives. There is a healthy
side to this ego thing! It is important
to have healthy boundaries on the spiritual path. Too often we surrender to something other
than our higher self whether it is a substance, career, games, abusive
relationships, ideology, porn, politics or consumerism. Don’t let your ego be annihilated by a false
god. Life is really just a passing
show. On a deeper, soul level we are
simply passing through. We do our best
but we can’t hold onto anything. As the
saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”
You can, of course, enjoy it for the moment.
Ego, this sense of
individualized self-being, is annihilated when we encounter our authentic,
transpersonal, Kosmocentric Self.
However there is nothing lost except a false belief. In truth, we still are unique expressions of that
One Mind and Intelligence. It is the
same intelligence which informs the universe and it expresses itself as the
evolving creature which is you. We are
creatures of evolving Love-Consciousness-Energy.
