Chetan Prabhakar
False Ego is a self-image or false image which we have created for ourselves out of our conditioning,education, material possessions, success, grooming, ranks etc., and conditioning of this ego started from the time we were born. Recall yourself as a three to four years old baby. Had you same personality or thinking as you have now? Were you not more loving and compassionate without bothering as to what people would think?
We also drive false ego from the materialistic things we have or the position we carry in the society such as I am Doctor, Lawyer, Saint, Officer, Minister etc. and we hide our true selves behind this false and temporary image. We also drive false ego in getting respect form others such as I am a father or elder brother or a senior so I deserve respect and people should listen to me. This is also false ego.
We also develop false ego by trying to fit into the mould society has created, even if, it does not give us satisfaction or liberation in true sense. Despite suffering, we do not change ourselves. Sticking to our own views, concepts and perceptions, even if, they are not solving any purpose is also ego.
We need to transcend this false ego to have a blissful life and the first step is to reduce attachments including tangible and intangible.Verse 2.71 of the Bhagavad Gita stipulates, ‘a person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace.’
When we transcend ego, we go beyond our fears of what people will think, and that is important for spiritual awakening because we can only transcend ego once we become our true selves and we accept everything as it is including ourselves. We become person of no rank. We do not recognize ourselves with ranks, material possession, status or education and then, we go from impression to expression, competition to creation, confusion to confidence and delusion to clarity that is what, transcending ego means.
To transcend false ego, we need to reduce our attachments as our attachments are the major cause of our suffering and the tool to reduce attachment is ‘Giving’ and the best way to transcend false ego is to give away the things which we fear losing the most. Once the Buddha was sitting with his monks in the forest when a farmer passed by in a great hurry and was very much worried. He asked the Buddha and monks, if they have seen his cows passing by, as in the morning; all of his cows ran away and he does not know their whereabouts and is very worried as those cows were the only source of livelihood for him. The Buddha replied with great compassion, that he has not seen the cows and the farmer can see them in the other direction, and then, the Buddha turned to his monks and said, ‘you are very lucky, you do not have cows.’ Here, the Buddha refers to cows as attachments.
Giving is also important to awaken ourselves spiritually. As giving reduces false ego and transcending false ego always remains the last step to awakes us spiritually. And once false ego is transcended, a person becomes the Buddha.
Let us give. Let us give even when we don’t have enough. Giving increases validation of our good Karma. The universe knows only one law that is the law of give and take which is also the law of cause and effect. What we give, we get back in one form or the other. Giving is a practice which reduces our attachments. Whatever you can give; just give and give without expectation. Give anything and everything; give a compliment, a smile, something material but give. Giving itself is important, so, just give. It is said, takers may eat well but givers sleep well. So, give, give and give.
Give secretly. Give in a manner that nobody comes to know who has given. Give in a manner where the taker has no clue of receiving, because, if we give to show that we are giving then, that is running after an image which will increase our ego and not reduce it and transcending ego is a way for spiritual enlightenment and eternal bliss, because, when we are spiritual enlightened, we are always in bliss and that bliss is divine and that happiness and bliss is without any rhyme or reason. That is the state where we all need to reach before we die. We need to be in eternal bliss.
Practise:Give secretly, take a currency note of whatever denomination you can afford, roll it, put a slip in it saying, ‘this is your happy money’ and keep somewhere secretly where somebody can find it. Do not try to see who finds it. After keeping, immediately move from there. If you cannot afford giving money, you can keep some food or clothes.
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