Ignorance of the Self gives rise to Ego
In common parlance, when we see someone boasting that, “I am great,” or “I am the smartest man in the world”, we consider it as his ego.
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, the Enlightened being, explains,
“To boast is called pride, which is an extension of ego. Whereas to impose ‘I’ where ‘I’ does not belong, is actually ego (ahamkar). ‘I am John (please insert your name here)’ is called ego. Thereafter, ‘I am a lawyer, I am a father, I am clever, etc. are also ego. There is no harm in saying, “I am John” in your worldly interactions, but the belief of, ‘I am John’ that is ingrained within you is the ego. Ego is when you do not know who you are and you identify yourself with that which you are not.
To Know really ‘who am I’ is called Spiritual Awakening!
This can happen only with the grace of Gnani, the Enlightened One!!!
Gnani not only makes us aware of our real Self, but also makes us taste the experience of the Self. And furthermore, He helps us grow to the ultimate stage, where we leave behind our ego completely and totally dissolve into the real Self (the Absolute Soul); we become one with it!!
Thus, Ego becomes Zero when one Awakens Spiritually!
The Ego (the belief of I am John) is such that even after thousands of lifetimes, it will not go away. Ego is not the only thing, but where there is the Great One (Viraat Swaroop), He takes away our egoism (the belief that I did this) as well. He can remove our ego as easily as letting the air out of an inflated tyre.
Only He, whose ego is completely gone, can take away the other person’s ego. And such a being is called the Great One (the Viraat Purush). He is the Enlightened One. He is the true giant amongst us.
The One who Takes Away the Ego is a Viraat Purush!!!
In reality, who can be called a true Viraat? Someone who can devour our ego. He who annihilates our ego to pieces is called a Viraat! A person who takes away others’ ego is considered to be Viraat Purush (a Great being).
Only when the ego departs, can it be said, that you have come face to face with a Great one. To do darshan of a Viraat Purush (the Great One) means to have recognized the Gnani, the Enlightened One!!!
How do you Deal with an Overbearing Ego?
The Vitraag Lords have said,
“There is nothing at all that needs to be done for moksha (not only liberation from all ego, but the ultimate liberation which is the end result or the final goal of our spiritual awakening). Just seek the One who has become free Himself; the One who has crossed the ocean of the worldly life Himself, and who has the power to help countless others attain the same.”
What Steps can be taken to keep your Ego under control during this Process of Awakening Spiritually
The Vitraag Lords have said,
“Seek such a Gnani Purush (the Enlightened One) and follow his footsteps without any fear. If you want to attain moksha (or destroy your ego completely), then you will never be able to do so without the presence of a living Gnani, without having surrendered totally to Him, without following His Agnas (spiritual directives).”
Therefore, Param Pujya Dadashri advises: “Without taking refuge, the ego does not leave. The medicine to remove the ego is to take refuge. However, whose refuge must you take? Of the One whose ego has left. It will not work if you take refuge just anywhere. Go to someone, whose ego is completely gone. And if you want to increase your egoism, join a group of villains, your egoism will grow immensely. A person is known by the company he keeps.”
It takes a Viraat for people to Bow down in Reverence
When Arjun saw Lord Krishna’s viraat swaroop, Arjuna bowed down to Him in total surrender and took refuge in the shelter of the Gnani – Lord Krishna!
To the great merit of we people of today’s age, we have amidst us such Living Gnani, the Akram Gnani, who continues to light the path and liberate countless of Souls from their overbearing ego, even today!
To Him we bow in eternal reverence,
Who kindled in us Pure Light;
Every Soul is a temple now, where the bells chime,
Jai Satchitanand!!!
So come, let’s go to Him and liberate ourselves from the ego. For details, one may visit, https://www.dadabhagwan.org/
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.