Chandrika | Monday, March 19, 2012
Article from Daily News and Analysis
In a well-known stanza, Krishna says, “Like worn-out clothes replaced by new garments, when the body grows old, the Self obtains a fresh raiment.” (Gita: 2.22). To understand this Self, however, we must first distinguish it from that imposter called the Ego.
The Ego passes judgments. The Self accepts with serenity. When Jesus left his body, it’s said, he went straight to hell, and freed every sinner. The Devil set up a cry. God comforted him. “Don’t weep. I’ll send you those who sit in self-righteous condemnation of others. Hell will soon be full again.”
The Ego believes in acquisition, the Self in renunciation. A disciple presented two rare pearls to his guru, as he sat by the seashore. The guru held one so carelessly that it slipped and fell into the currents. The horrified disciple plunged after but in vain. Finally, he asked, “Show me the spot where it fell.” Throwing the remaining pearl after the first, the guru said, “Right there.”
The Ego is clothed in vanity; the Self, housed in dignity. King Alexander’s arrogance was well known. One day, he found the philosopher Diogenes at a graveside, examining a heap of bones. Suspicious, Alexander questioned him. Diogenes replied, “I’m looking for something I can’t find.” “What?” “The difference between your father’s bones and his slave’s.”
The Ego brags of position, the Self is without label. A great king came upon a fakir in the forest. He said, “Ask for a favour.” The fakir replied, “I ask no boons of slaves.” Wrathful, the king ordered, “Explain yourself or die!” Still calm, the fakir said, “My slave is your master.” “Who’s that?” “Fear.”
The Ego ingratiates with false sweetness; the Self surrenders entirely. A Christian, desperate to convert a Buddhist, read out the Bible. The Buddhist listened and said, “Surely, Divinity speaks here.” Believing that his mission had succeeded, the Christian rushed back to inform his master, who responded, “Why brag, even in the name of God? After all, what will one more convert do except inflate your Christian ego?”
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa summed it up. “In front of God’s mansion lies the stump of ego. One cannot enter the mansion without jumping over the stump.”
Article from Daily News and analysis
