What is Ego? Do Spiritual people have ego?
Question 1: Everyone in spiritual life talks about ego, and that it is the greatest impediment when it comes to attaining God. What, actually, is ego? How does it cause trouble to us?
Answer 1: "Ego... is the self-asserting principle...born of ignorance...It is the ego which has created the idea of separateness from God or the Atman, It is the ego which is the ROOT CAUSE of ALL human sufferings and births and deaths." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 2: How do we know whether we have ego? Or, whether we are acting out of egoistic tendencies? Are there are definite signs of the existence of ego?
Answer 2: "...ego identifies itself with the body, mind, prana, and the senses. Wherever there IS ego, there are mine-ness, SELFISHNESS, LIKES and DISLIKES, LUST, ANGER, greed, HYPOCRISY, PRIDE, JEALOUSY, delusion, arrogance, conceit, impertinence, vasanas (=tendencies), trishnas (=cravings)..." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 3: How do we get rid of this ego that causes so much trouble?
Answer 3: "...destrouction of thought, DESIRES, cravings, mineness, selfishness, JEALOUSY, PRIDE, LUST is really destruction of mind or egoism. Control of SENSES also is annihilation of the mind or egoism." ( (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 4: Do people who are in spiritual life or who practise religions have ego?
Answer 4: "This egoism assumes a subtle form. The gross egoism is NOT so dangerous as the subtle egoism." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 5: I have known people who claim that their religion is the truest and the rest are bogus, or they claim that their group, congregation, church, mosque or temple is genuine and the others, although they may belong to the same religion, do not belong to the true path of and to God. Are they actually working under the influence of ego?
Answer 5: "..Institutional egoism is a subtle form of egoism. The man identifies himself with the institution and gets ATTACHED to the institution or cult. He has no broadmindedness or catholicity." (pgs. 44-45, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 6: How to easily detect ego as it is so subtle and abstruse?
Answer 6: "The working of egoism is very mysterious. It is VERY difficult to detect its various ways of working. It NEEDS a SUBTLE and SHARP intellect to find out its operation. If you practise INTROSPECTION DAILY in silence, you WILL be able to find out its mysterious ways of working." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 7: In your answer to Question 2 you said if we identify ourselves with the body, mind, senses, etc., it is an indication that we have that lurking ego in us. If this is so, what about our feelings regarding foreigners, strangers and people who do not belong to our society, culture, etc. Is that feeling of seeing the difference between us and others in terms of nationality, attainment, class, status, etc., the work of ego too?
Answer 7: "The seed of this ego is the differentiating intellect or Bheda Buddhi... This ego likes his own birth, place, and district, people of his district, own mother tongue, his own relations, and friends, his own ways of eating, mode of dressing. He has his own predilection and preferences, He dislikes others' ways of eating, dressing, etc. (pgs. 44, 45 Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda).
Question 8: You see, I have spiritual friends---great spiritual friends, who are excellent advisers, guide and counsels. They have the little tendencies that you have described. Does it mean they too have the ego?
Answer 8: "It is the ego which has created the idea of separateness from God or the Atman... This ego wants to exercise POWER and INFLUENCE over others. He wants TITLES, prestige, STATUS, RESPECT, prosperity, house, wife, children. He wishes to domineer and rule over others. If anybody points out his defect his vanity feels offended. If anyone praises him he is elated. This ego says, 'I know everything. He does not know anything. What I say is quite correct. What he says is quite incorrect. He is inferior to me. I am superior to him.' He forces others to follow his ways and views." (pgs. 44, 45 Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 9: It, indeed, is subtle and dangerous. But how to destroy it?
Answer 9: "This ego lurks like a thief when you start introspection and self-analysis. It will ELUDE your grasp and understanding. You must be alert and vigilant. If you obtain the GRACE of the Lord through JAPA, kirtan, prayer and DEVOTION, you CAN EASILY kill this ego." (pg. 46, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 2: How do we know whether we have ego? Or, whether we are acting out of egoistic tendencies? Are there are definite signs of the existence of ego?
Question 3: How do we get rid of this ego that causes so much trouble?
Answer 3: "...destrouction of thought, DESIRES, cravings, mineness, selfishness, JEALOUSY, PRIDE, LUST is really destruction of mind or egoism. Control of SENSES also is annihilation of the mind or egoism." ( (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 4: Do people who are in spiritual life or who practise religions have ego?
Answer 4: "This egoism assumes a subtle form. The gross egoism is NOT so dangerous as the subtle egoism." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 5: I have known people who claim that their religion is the truest and the rest are bogus, or they claim that their group, congregation, church, mosque or temple is genuine and the others, although they may belong to the same religion, do not belong to the true path of and to God. Are they actually working under the influence of ego?
Answer 5: "..Institutional egoism is a subtle form of egoism. The man identifies himself with the institution and gets ATTACHED to the institution or cult. He has no broadmindedness or catholicity." (pgs. 44-45, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)Question 6: How to easily detect ego as it is so subtle and abstruse?
Answer 6: "The working of egoism is very mysterious. It is VERY difficult to detect its various ways of working. It NEEDS a SUBTLE and SHARP intellect to find out its operation. If you practise INTROSPECTION DAILY in silence, you WILL be able to find out its mysterious ways of working." (pg. 44, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
Question 7: In your answer to Question 2 you said if we identify ourselves with the body, mind, senses, etc., it is an indication that we have that lurking ego in us. If this is so, what about our feelings regarding foreigners, strangers and people who do not belong to our society, culture, etc. Is that feeling of seeing the difference between us and others in terms of nationality, attainment, class, status, etc., the work of ego too?
Question 8: You see, I have spiritual friends---great spiritual friends, who are excellent advisers, guide and counsels. They have the little tendencies that you have described. Does it mean they too have the ego?
Question 9: It, indeed, is subtle and dangerous. But how to destroy it?
Answer 9: "This ego lurks like a thief when you start introspection and self-analysis. It will ELUDE your grasp and understanding. You must be alert and vigilant. If you obtain the GRACE of the Lord through JAPA, kirtan, prayer and DEVOTION, you CAN EASILY kill this ego." (pg. 46, Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda)
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