reply to post by Bluesma
The ego is SELF-interest, SELF-ambition, based on the illusion of the self being a limited identity of 1 body, 1 mind, 1 set of likes, 1 set of
dislikes, and several 'ambitions' to change the position of 'self' in order to move the life into a place where none of the dislikes are
experienced, and all of the likes are experienced.
When you reach a state of ego-lessness, it is when you experience the fact that the corporeal phenomena you call "I" "Me" and "Mine" is actually
in constant movement, at LEAST insofar as the immediate body and mind go, when you realize that nothing is static then you see that trying to hold on
to one piece of that constant flux as "I" or "mine" is simply foolish, there is no static I me and mine, all is change, even the "me" that began
writing this post is not the same "me" that will click the reply button, the quarks that make up the atoms that make up my body and mind will have
flashed in and out of existence a trillion times in the 10 minutes it takes me to write this. Then comes this question "What remains still then?"
and "How am i able to observe these things, it seems that whatever faculty that allows me to observe the constant flux and flow of mind and matter
MUST remain static otherwise how would it be possible to observe the fact of constant change?" And that is when you realize that attention,
consciousness, awareness, THAT is what remains the same, THAT is all that remains static (With sustained effort in concentrative meditation, that is)
and furthermore you surmise that therefore the faculty of sustained attention, or in earlier stages of meditation, that faculty of being able to bring
a wandering attention back to the same point over and over, is higher in nature than both body and mind, only when diluted with the identification
with body and mind does it become the individual, seperate identity, then it becomes inseperable from the psychosomatic phenomena (except by
meditation) and since mind and matter are in constant flux, then the attention becomes scattered and fragmented, and people find it hard to focus on
any one thing for a given amount of time. Often you find the children at school who are candidates for ADHD and such "mental disorders" have a
slightly larger idea of themselves as 'the class clown' or the 'cool guy' or whatever, and find it incredibly hard to concentrate, this is because
of their identification with a constantly changing phenomena, and therefore the attention which follows it is also contantly changing.
Now, once all these things are experienced in meditation, gradually the sense of identification with mind and matter is dissolved, and with it the
seperate ego is dissolved. At that stage only attention or consciousness remains, and the experience of Nirvana, Samadhi, or
God/Christ/Krishna-consciousness happens, where it is perceived that there is only a single consciousness and the multiplicity of individual
consciousnesses is an illusion created by identification with the impermanent electro-chemical phenomena (mind-matter) the "I" becomes fully merged,
united, dissolved in that unitary consciousness which is the source of all things. When you come down from that and back into life there is a change
in how things are perceived in the world of duality, that is, it is no longer perceived to be a world of duality, but a unitary world, and ambition is
ambition on behalf of all things, desire is desire on behalf of all things, there is still interest, still ambition, still even (and i know this is a
hotbutton word in spiritual circles) desire, but it is selfLESS-interest selfLESS-ambition selfLESS desire, you work entirely for the good of others,
everything you do is for the sake of others, and in a way it is still selfish, because you know that you ARE those whom you serve, and so you are
still working for the good of yourself, only that you have discovered your TRUE self (I am THAT I am, not this seperate I am, but that unitary I am. A
well known part of the bible) This self was called the atman by the ancient Transcendentalists of India, and it was discovered that this atman is
non-different from Brahman, or the ultimate source of all things: God. So you cannot "explain yourself" as being seperate from anything else. You
actually caan't explain who you are to someone when you reach that stage, it can only be experienced by them also by walking the same path of
meditation. But at that stage where there is no SELFISH-desire or ambition, you know your own identity o completely, so profusely, so irrevocably that
nothing can shake you. So in the sense of what the word ego actually means in its original meaning, then there is still ego, just not a SEPERATE
ego.
Now, some of you may have heard the explanation of why pain evolved, essentially it was to give us pointers on self preservation, touch fire, get
pain, know that fire is not good for you. This thing we humans have called "Love" is there for a similar reason, and there is a reason that its the
best feeling a human can have, because it is a pointer to let us know this IS good for you, therefore when you reach that stage of selfless ambition,
of ego-lessness, there comes an overflowing of Love, your very being becomes it, because this is the true state, the true home of the living entity:
in unity with all creation. This love is the milestone by which we can tell if we have reached enlightenment. If your entire being is not irradiated
with Love then you have not achieved true ego-lessness.
Something else I feel I must say is that this seperate identity called "ego" is not bad or evil, it is not a curse cast upon us by God to inflict
misery upon us, it is a necessary part of evolution. The ego can't NOT exist within the animal kingdom. The animal kingdom is something like a
martial arts tournament, during the fights everyone has to think only of themselves, a fight cant stop so one fighter can tend anothers wounds in a
spirit of 'selflessness' because the second he dropped his guard the other fighter would strike him down. No, during the tournament each fighter
must act carefully and in determination towards his own victory, all for the sake of finding the best fighter, who is most prepared for hardship, who
is the strongest and sturdiest. Only when the champion is announced, does he have the choice to continue fighting, perhaps losing, and definitely
feeling a lot of pain, or to retire from fighting and go back home to his family, or better yet, stay and fight for the sake of others. It is like
this in the animal kingdom, and mankind has emerged as the victor of that tournament, we are the champions of the animal kingdom, and we have won the
right to choose, choose whether to continue fighting, to continue acting like animals, full of selfish desires, lust, greed, hatred, jealousy,
defeating all those who oppose us, and inevitably get hurt and sometimes lose, or whether to lay down the sword and the fist, to realize that the
fight is over, stop thinking of ourselves, and return home, back to that unitary consciousness, back to Godhead, back to our family, mother Love,
father Consciousness, brother Justice and sister Peace.
Hari Krishna