Understanding Ego

Ego means "Identity". Identifying ourselves with everything else other than our higher self is an illusion and also the cause of suffering. The spiritual process is about making our ego identify with the higher self and thus coming to realize all is one and one is all.

"Ego is a feeling of having an Identity"

Most people when they say Ego, are either referring to "Being Proud" which is a negative side and "Filled with Pride" which is the positive side of the Ego.

Depending on our innate quality of the mind and with what we identify ourselves with, one of the feelings will get generated within ourselves.

Example - If we identify too much with our Children then...

(A) if we have a pure mind, we'll feel pride in their achievements, this will bring happiness and a sense of achievement in us because we don't see ourselves as separate from them.

(B) if we have an impure mind, we'll "feel proud" of their achievements not because they have done something worthwhile, it is because we have provided for them and because of "I" they have achieved something. We'll still feel happy though.

(C) if we have a dull mind, we'll "feel jealous" of their achievements. This is a complex concoction of feelings because one part of our ego identity feels separate and one part of our ego is identified with the child.

Similarly, the human mind will find identities that provide security and start identifying with them.

Humans are capable of identifying themselves with anything and everything. We identify with ideas, beliefs, objects, money, profession, children, spouse, gender, religion, ideology, god, evilness....the list is endless.

That's why the whole spiritual practice is to start identifying oneself with Goodness at every level and keep moving up the ladder of greater and greater goodness.

This is a process of uplifting oneself from being a human creature to becoming a Human being and finally, a point comes when a human being becomes Divine Human and then, Divine.

The process is the same when we choose (knowingly/unknowingly) to become Evil and reach the highest of evilness. Just that instead of goodness we start embracing all the unhealthy mental qualities and keep strengthening them until one point comes we become evil.

Most normal people are not even aware that they are getting grinded between these two opposite forces every single day.

Every single day we make choices between the two. If one becomes aware and chooses goodness even though it is difficult and more often than not, painful, we are inching towards our natural evolution of becoming divine.

What is Ego-Driven Spirituality? What we refer to as ego in this context is the identification with the outcome of being spiritual or having certain knowledge or wisdom, we could call it identifying with intelligence or mind, which creates a feeling of pride or being proud of one's own ability.

The first step towards Unchecked Egoism

When someone praises us, do we feel Humble OR Superior?

When one feels Superior, remember we have created an ego. Any activity under its influence is shown in our body language and speech when interacting with others; we may not notice it, but unfortunately, others do.

Most people will try to avoid and engage less with people who feel Superior. Many will even try to compete with us to break our superiority. Moreover, one will attract in life only more of those types of people who have a Superiority complex.

Under its influence, we'll feel a sense of false euphoria, mistaken for Self-Confidence. It is addictive, and unconsciously we would want to seek this false euphoria more often. It can also make us feel pity towards others because under its influence we feel invincible.

This feeling is so enjoyable one would find infinite ways and reasons to feel superior again and again to enjoy this false euphoria. This feeling can turn one into Narcissist. And when this addiction becomes extreme, people will label us as having a Superiority complex. We'll feel alone from the inside and have people around for cosmetic reasons.

When we stop getting the dosage from feeling superior, we could start feeling low, depressed, and unloved. Also, unhealthy tendencies such as manipulation, jealousy, and others would surface depending on our strength of attachment towards this false euphoria.

The more we get addicted, the more damage it does to our self-worth; it could lead to inferiority and, in extreme cases, an inferiority complex.

Being aware of our and others' superior tendencies and genuinely feeling humble is the only way out. It is vital to remember feeling humble is the solution, and pretending humbleness is digging one's own grave only much faster.

Although we'll have many people who want to see us suffer our superiority tendencies by falsely praising us. Consciously avoiding any people, situations, or environment to feel superior is one suitable method, which does not mean locking oneself up and not participating in society, becoming aware of this will help us in navigating pools of quicksands on the path.

Listening to wise men, soul-searching more often, developing a sense of gratitude, focusing our energies on self-development and becoming aware of other people's skills and talent, and appreciating life and nature helps to deal with the feeling of superiority.

A wise man once said, "don't look up and don't look down on anyone is the way to live without feeling inferior or superior, and this is the secret of living a successful life."

How do we transcend Ego? Transformation of our mind with the help of our heart is a way to transcend the ego. The path to devotion is a way to identify with our higher self. The path of right actions as well as knowledge and meditation is also a way to purify our minds by strengthening the qualities of our hearts and connecting with our higher self.

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