The
national as well as international events of public importance keep on providing
us ample chance to have glimpses of ‘Ego’ tussle among renowned
public figures on some issues or even non-issues which is followed by
accusation and counter accusation from parties in position and opposition. We
also know, due to this simple looking three letter word EGO, many wars were
fought, many countries disintegrated, many negotiations failed, many friends
fell apart, many homes turned into houses of disharmony, numerous divorces took
place, many companies closed, many talents spoiled, many sleepless nights spent
and what not. Unfortunately, with every passing day, these ego-related
casualties are increasing despite ever increasing growth in the number of
school-college-university pass outs. According to Albert Einstein the ego is
inversely proportional to knowledge (real knowledge). More the knowledge,
lesser the ego; lesser the knowledge, more the ego.
It
is worth noting here that having a sense of self-respect is good for every
human being, but not ego, particularly an inflated or fragile ego. The famous
author Adrian Cooper writes, "The ego is responsible for many
negative human traits, including but certainly not limited to being critical
and judgemental of others, being rigid and inflexible, being manipulative, need
to feel superior, feeling anxious and fearful, mood swings, taking everything
too personally, taking everything too seriously, constant need for approval and
praise, feeling hurried and driven to do things, competing rather than
cooperating, feeling resentful and guilty, unable to live in the present
moment, addictions to alcohol, tobacco and other mind altering substances,
overly concerned with personal appearance, overly concerned with success,
feeling insecure, constant worry over trivialities, clinging to the past,
feelings of despair and hopelessness, feeling life is meaningless, and the need
for power over others. All of these are seriously negative human traits and
ones that can easily make a person’s life a misery.” The list is endless, yet
we continue to be the slave of this most unique virtue (?) of mankind.
Before
moving forward to deliberate further on this exciting subject, let us enjoy the
following quotes of three well-known personalities. Friedrich Nietzsche says
that whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog called Ego. According to Tenzin
Gyatso, the foundation of Buddha's teachings lies in compassion and the reason
for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of Ego, the number
one enemy of compassion. And Nathaniel Bronner Jr. asserts that Ego has a
voracious appetite, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets.
It
is very interesting as well as intriguing that despite knowing fully well that
Ego creates too many problems for mankind, we fail to let it go or at least
manage it well. It is primarily because we are obsessed with the famous, 'I'
Thought which Sri Ramana Maharshi described when inquired about the nature
of our mind, as: "The mind is nothing other than the 'I' thought. The
mind and the ego are one and the same. 'I' (that is the 'I'-thought) am doing
this, 'I' am thinking this; 'I' am feeling happy, etc. Thus, the 'I' thought is
the all-important thought, since each idea or thought arises only as someone's
thought and it is not known to exist independently of the ego. From where does
this 'I' arise? Seek for it within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of
wisdom. When the mind unceasingly investigates its own nature, it transpires
that there is no such thing as a mind. Get rid of the 'I' thought. When 'I'
ceases to exist, there is no grief and there is peace". So, he
suggested that yoga and self-enquiry are two methods of controlling the mind,
which he compared to an agitated bull. Yoga attempts to drive the bull
with a stick, while self-enquiry coaxes it with green grass."
Yes,
stress has been the natural outcome of this ego driven thinking, be it your
work place or your home. Various medical research did prove the fact that
many brain and heart diseases are ego related. Human history testifies this
fact that no good can ever be achieved by carrying it in your head. Then, why
not keep the ego away and experience the beautiful change in your life? Just
think over it and enjoy what Dwayne Johnson says in these lines: Check your ego
at the door; The ego can be the great success inhibitor, it can kill
opportunities and it can kill success.
As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, I request you to post your comments to share your valuable opinion. (hellomilansinha@gmail.com)
# Published in "Morning India" daily
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