Spiritual Portal

ya....seems u had better make better words to ones responses !   :o   ::)   

Perhaps i did not understand your question. You have asked: "Is that ego?" What do you think the pin pricks from envy, hate and negativity are if not ego? You said you felt your husband miles away and you "i feel them when i am in a crowd of people". Is it something else you r feeling than ego from others? . "seems u better make better words to your responses!" u say. i am rather confused! Your words seem rather clear that you are saying that you experienced these things around and from others. Were you really talking about your own ego here  ??? i said above "u may have your own way of describing it. This is mine."

i think we r both talking about the subject of 'ego' in general. Rite? If you r opening a grammer class send me back ass to school! We can all improve our communication skills! :'( i will b sure to attend it. It should b most interesting!   ;)  ;D Hope this is a good start at making better words to ones responses!

In divine understanding

Jitendra  

Now that i have quoted you and it appears that you were refering to your experience with ego in others:  Let us look at my response. It is below this paragraph. Were you not speaking of the ego you encounter in others? Below i respond that ego manifests as the qualities that u mention below and that yes the description is your own (unique) and yes it is all ego since you asked "is that ego"?  i would appreciate an answer as to where i could have used a better choice of words and how? Communication can b difficult but we/i can always improve at it without letting misunderstandings hang in the air like a dark cloud.

Thank You Yoshi

Steve  ???  :-\

jitendra wrote:

one could interept that response as u saying that my description came from my ego. many of your responses seem to have hinted that same thing.

jai guru

bn
 

w0w  :o   seems we are out of sync.

jai guru
yoshi  

These phones r so small that it is easy to press remove
instead of modify. We are out of sync? i would say we
have learned much from each other and have experienced
much and so where do we go from here? Kindness and
understanding take people to wonderful places!
Most of what reality is for us is determined by how
we interpret what is said and what is experienced.

Jitendra

understatement of the year award .... goes to yoshi !!  8)

LOL...yes, definately an understatement, squirrel.

squirrel...ironing out misinterpretations / misunderstandings is a good thing. 

too bad countries could not do the same...wars could be prevented.   ???

from what i have seen...this is 'bland' compared to some other spiritual sites.....

jai guru
yoshi  

Some people live in their heads and not in their hearts. This is ego too! To what degree do we live in the kingdom of our hearts? And... to what degree are we fragmented living a life separate from physical reality in a place created by our own mind and ego? For some people life is a battle and a struggle to be rite. This is a result of power struggles with their own ego and the ego of others. Sometimes it is OK to let these kind of people win. They need to. They are so used to loosing and we all need to feel good about ourselves from time to time.

Call it ego if you woud like but without a sense of self esteem life becomes a constant struggle with others. We can claim any amount of spirituality that we would like. However what is obvious to others may not be obvious to ourselves. It is not important to always be right. It is much more important to be kind and show love to others.

Jitendra

       Let Go of the Ego and its Destructive Tendencies

We're going to be describing the ego in terms of a metaphor which will allow us to both visualize the effects of using the ego in the world, as well as understand the necessity for surrendering the ego.

The ego is simply a tool, an automatic duality-creating machine which allows us to experience every possible aspect of life.

Now the problem is not so much that the ego itself exists, but the fact that people are identified with it.

The ego has a useful purpose: to allow us to believe that illusions are a reality and thus experience both the real and the illusionary. The ego is simply a tool.

It's similar to someone using a hammer. When a nail needs to be nailed into a wall, a hammer is certainly a very useful tool. So, people find that it benefits them to use the hammer and thus they pick it up and use it to their advantage. Cool. No problem.

It's very clear that while you're using the hammer, the hammer is not YOU, but simply a tool that you are using with which to engage in the process of creation.

The "problem" is that most people think that they literally ARE the hammer and that there is nothing else they can be, so they continue hammering in every activity in life: while talking to others, having sex with a partner, dealing with foreign politics, resolving disagreements, even in talking to themselves!

...and then people wonder why the world is in the shape that it's in.

If people would simply set down their hammer when the tool was not required, the world would be a much more peaceful and loving place.

As the saying goes, "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

There will come a time when people discover, "Hey wait a second, perhaps this hammer isn't so useful in this situation afterall. Let's set it down for a moment, quit swinging this thing, and see if we can deal with this situation without using the hammer. Perhaps people won't get hurt in the end. hmmm..."

Much to their surprise, it turns out that problems can be solved without the hammer, without bringing the ego into the mix.

With experience and understanding, people can learn to deal with one another without having a dangerous hammer swinging all over the place while communicating.

All it takes to come back to a place of peace and harmony is the conscious choice to set down the hammer and bring in another energy, the energy of Love.

One of the coolest parts about Love is that once the hammer is set down, all the Love in the world arises automatically. It is effortless, joyous, blissful, and automatic.

My invitation to you is to set down your hammer. Surrender attachments to your ego. You truly don't need it to operate in a healthy manner. It served its purpose, you've experienced using it, and you don't need it to create a world full of Love. If anything, the hammer is actually detrimental to Love.

When you feel the urge to pick up the hammer, that is, you notice the ego arise within you, set it down and release it.

(There are times when using the hammer is appropriate, but it is beneficial to determine when such a time is. For example, the mind can be an excellent tool for solving math problems.)

Usually it will seem almost as if the hammer has a mind of its own, as if it literally JUMPS back into your hand and possesses your arm to make itself swing wildly. This is actually not so far from the truth of how your ego operates.

The ego will try to possess you, to take you over, and then claim that it IS you.

It takes a conscious decision to surrender the ego and the pleasure it gets from "juicing" the negative aspects of life, especially when the ego tries possess you and claim that it IS you. This decision to surrender the ego is made over and over again, moment by moment. It is accomplished by shifting your sense of identity from the personal "me" to the infinite awareness that simply observes.

Gradually the ego will start to lose its grip on you as you simply watch the ego do its thing non-judgmentally, without actually believing that the ego is you.

However, there will be times when the ego gets especially strong and feels overwhelmingly powerful. This is normal and to be expected. The path of spiritual evolution is not a straight path. There are many twists and turns and zigs and zags along the spiritual seeker's journey towards unconditional love and enlightenment. There will be highs and there will be lows. Knowing this fact in advance will save you lots of guilt when the lows strike and the ego will make you think, "Yikes, maybe I'm actually not as evolved as I thought I was."

When this happens, simply watch the ego churn inside of you. Watch the beliefs and emotions get all worked up inside. Watch the hammer attempting to take control of your arm and swing itself wildly. Just watch it without thinking that you are the hammer, without thinking that you are the thoughts, beliefs, emotions, opinions, judgments, or mood swings. Allow the energy to express itself and subsequently be released. Allow this to happen without resistance, without trying to stop it, stifle it, or even say it's somehow bad or wrong. Just allow the energy to flow through you and out.

You are the awareness that is observing the hammer. You are the awareness that is observing the ego.

So watch it. Study it. Notice how it works. Then you can surrender it. You can let it go. You can set the hammer down and realize that it's truly not necessary to use the hammer in order to live a life filled with Love, Peace, and Joy.

In fact, it is the ego itself, and the identification with it, that is damaging and destructive to life. When the hammer is set down, when the ego is surrendered, life becomes a constant creation of boundless Love, infinite Joy, and exquisite Ecstasy.

All it takes is setting down the hammer. 

Ariel Bravy is a spiritual teacher guiding people along the pathway to enlightenment to open themselves up to unconditional love by raising their level of consciousness.

       Expert Author Ariel Bravy

Some people live in their heads and not in their hearts. This is ego too!To what degree do we live in the kingdome of our hearts? And... to what degree are we frafmented living a life separate from physical reality in a place created by our own mind and ego?

UMMM...DERR....this is what i have been saying so all along.  head=EGO.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistant one.

Albert Einstien

President Donald Trump once said: “Show me someone without an ego, and I’ll show you a loser.”


What it means to 'gain the world and lose your soul' as Jesus said25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done

Those who act in ego do not go beyond karma. It is only by Guru's Grace that one is rid of ego
    
Sri Guru Granth Sahib quotes
  
 When the body is filled with ego and selfishness, the cycle of birth and death does not end (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 126).

President Donald Trump once said: “Show me someone without an ego, and I’ll show you a loser.”

There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Legitimizing ego and rewarding it is a false aspiration of western society. Hazrat Inayat Khan talks of
 the annihilation of the false ego above and how it benefits us spiritually speaking. Yet we now have a foolish president who not only encourages ego but flaunts it.

Can't disagree with you there. What really caught my eye is as you've said, legitimizing and rewarding the ego is the way of western society. It has been this way for decades... just look at any billboard in the city- we've been pummeled with crap since birth. If hazrat inayat khan and other spiritual teachers- human incarnations have found a way, so can we. I know this is in part why you meditate.

Another thing to consider is what the Ego means to the individual. Without trying to sound to defensive could he have meant Competitive? Was this taken out of context? And to that extent, I wonder how many of us in the West understand the Ego? Growing up, I never saw Ego as a bad thing and we've had some interesting discussions here on how to differentiate personality and ego- something not so easily understood... Are they different? Do people mistakenly associate parts of the personality with the Ego? Just sayin'  ::)  :)

http://yogananda.com.au/gita/gita0606.html#:~:text=by%20Paramahansa%20Yogananda%20The%20Soul%20and%20the%20Ego,friend%3B%20and%20the%20self%20is%20its%20own%20enemy.


Most of what reality is for us is determined by how we interpret what is said and what is experienced. There is is often a vast difference between one persons interpretation of what they experienced and another persons. This can be explained by ego. However some people will also claim that the explanation of ego itself is a just a use of a different word to designate what really means someone just doesn’t care... which may or may not be the case.

Unless you can identify the ego in yourself and others…. You can be hopelessly in the dark even though being a kind person doing good deeds. It takes the wisdom of a Master/Guru to help us identify ego in ourselves and others. The person not familiar with long hours of meditation and introspection may attempt or lead you to believe they have no ego or that ego is just a form of denial to things self evident to them. But in fact we see everything through the filter lens of ego. When we meet someone who has a different attitude and view then us but is nevertheless kind and helpful we can be dealing with ego in the form of goodness as well.

Jitendra

https://youtu.be/tTx7XG2WTlA

Amma’s view of ego.

Amen to that, thanks for sharing Amma.

A lot of my thoughts have been on ego tonight too- in terms of things and people. Sometimes it feels like everybody's using somebody- people want what they don't have. When they get it they put it in their closet and move on to the next thing, chasing illusory happiness- and they do the same with people.

Amma is right to say we can find joy by cultivating discipline within- rather than relying on things outside our selves to provide happiness. And to add, a way is made apparent to us when we truly begin to work on our selves. I struggle with this, but when am following a particular path(which is also evolving) one geared towards self-reliance, I am able to see the next steps- feel a sense of purpose and instead of feeling lost I am happy and confident.

Even if Ego peeks its way back in- and where I'm at in life it surely will, it is not my enemy. I understand the joy of existing outside my self but also within my self.

Her call echoes the call of every Guru- because it is One Guru.

Self peace for earth peace.

Everyone has there own specific difficulties Eric. When we meet others with similar challenges we often run into similar situations that challenge a relationship. What I do see happening in many cases is not that people are not kind. But rather they can expect others to understand them because they have been kind. In more specific terms; the underlying assumption is that because I have been kind I should be treated some special way, even in the event that the person displays inconsistencies in their behavior. This is a manifestation of ego for deeds done. There is the notion of; ‘After all I’ve done for you, I get this kind of treatment?’ We can be appreciative of what others do without reinforcing their challenging behaviors.

‘Desires and expectations nourish the ego.’  At times we have to let desires go so no expectations will ruin relationships. I think what happens between people is often like a rumor of sorts. Because what we originally said isn’t what comes back to us. When it is filtered through another persons head it is quite different than what we said or intended. Then we kinda think; Really is that what you heard or thought? But then we are called on what someone thought we had said. If we respond we may be told we are judging another person. So sometimes it is better just to let it go. But others may not let it go and say we are running from the issue. Actually we may just need time to stand back, look at ourselves and others and get a perspective on the situation before responding appropriately.

We may find that although people can be very kind in their actions, they also may also have quite an identification with their deeds and not be able to see that the deeds would be better off  as offerings to God and not people. If we have expectations of people or God we may find our desires are not fulfilled. As Amma has said in the video presentation here; the Gurus work is to eliminate our ego, and not to satisfy our desires and expectations.

We may start to get insights and observations from meditation and spiritual practice. However we are called to weigh and balance those views, through our encounter with those who come in our lives and have different views of their own. This gives us an awareness of how ego functions in others and in ourselves. How it holds us back from expanding beyond the limitations of our own conscious awareness - that we have unwittingly circumscribed our consciousness within.

Guess I never forget old friends and what they said.

When I look back at creations Steve Hydonus has done in the past I sense ego. I do not care to see it in myself and others.

I’m at the point now where it is difficult to spend a lot of time listening, for instance, to some musicians because I sense their ego and it is obtrusive in the vibrations of their talk and vibration. Many times it does not bother us but when we sense other peoples identification with who they think they are and their thoughts are apparent it becomes noticeable.

The more I meditate and attempt to make changes in myself and meditate, the more I sense the vibrations, thoughts and feelings of others around me.

For me, it would be nice not to be ruled by the Ego. At times I am free from such a tricky companion. Other times I have what has been called Spiritual Amnesia because I forgot the bigger picture and suddenly my life was preoccupied by thoughts of self. How this person made me feel. Why I don't like this, why I need that. Suddenly, my days were spent trying to satisfy all the little i's wants and needs... Pursuing health not to serve as an instrument of God, but to satisfy the wants and needs of the little i... And doing so I started getting sick- until one day the sickness freed me from my delusion and reminded me the importance of serving others.

There are many traits we find undesirable, and it's all the easier to see in another person than in ourselves... But with true understanding and compassion- we are not so easily perturbed at the sight of Ego in another person. If we have the ability to help them, then we should try. Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove... We might suggest things that would allow the soul to reign supreme in the host body over the Ego... Perhaps by our simply being there we are assisting in liberation.

It's not always easy, we are not Masters... And God refers to us here as Children- even the more advanced of us who lead others towards salvation, this density is not the end all. Sometimes we have to step away, being children, we aren't always quipped to serve. So say you recognize these undesirable qualities springing up around you. It's the intolerance that most disgust us. Once we the ability to understand something, we are not so disgusted. There was something in ourselves still needing clarification, healing...

This is a dance... It's really hard to articulate... On one hand you have Self Peace for Earth Peace- on the other hand the spiritual path is the annihilation of the false self. It takes nurturing the Self in order to be selfless... So now it's understanding self and Self.
Hmm...

I used a western word for what is best to be described by an eastern term so there is little confusion. That word is ‘avidya’. Although one of the qualities of ‘ego’ is comparable and that is self-importance. Most of the people that have large ‘egos’ or egoitis are people that do not want our help and feel quite justified in their own avidya. While some of your points are well taken Eric I also find it quite refreshing to have other people come in my life after those who have pride and egoitis leave. Many times the so called ‘understanding’ you speak of is the eventual acceptance that some people make little to no effort at self reflection and in that sense it is just as well to let obstinacy leave our lives….so there is room for better relationships.

Ah~ Joh Juh jOh you see!  :D Oui Oui? Si! Yo veo!

If you've noticed, I did not say we should bind ourselves to toxic and harmful relationships.

"Sometimes we have to step away"

Sometimes clarity doesn't come until separation occurs.

And sometimes that better relationship, ends up being with our selves!

God is the ultimate relationship. Recognizing God in All. ~~~~~~~AUM~~~~~~~

Thought I’d include what Daya Mata had to say about ego…

Setting aside the Ego’s “Agenda”

Also by meditation you become less bound by your desires. It loosens the knots that tie you to a personal agenda of likes and dislikes.  This is what I want. I crave this. The right course is whatever will give it to me. You become more neutral, more objective. It is not indifference or apathy. It is an expansion and clearing of the consciousness, vibrant with the peace and happiness that flow from the presence of God in your soul. Then when a question arises; is this the right thing to do? You can stand back and then impartially ask yourself; is this something I want or just something I want for me? When you have felt that peace of meditation, then say to God; “Lord guide me.” Keep on saying it deeply sincerely throughout the day. Think of God: “guide me bless me”. That keeps your mind receptive and open to inspiration: the silent guidance of God.

“Man’s greatest problem is his ego. His consciousness of individuality. Surrender your ego to God. Destroy the ego before it destroys you.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

https://youtu.be/5y4pmUqDyvY

Thanks Steve for posting this story by PY. I was just sharing it with someone else. Interesting you'd choose to post the same story.

I have to go for now, and hope to reply more later.

So, in the video he mentions that before being sent to work in the back of the ashram he was already working in the front of house. Could it be that the boys were already familiar with Yogananda, which is why they flocked to him in the back? No doubt he offers us much wisdom. I'm just wondering aloud. For example, if I have a respected colleague who works specific duties- then my boss decides to put him somewhere else, I would still go to him versus the new guy. See what I mean???

In this video it is suggested that the ego is inferior and the cause of all misery. I don't have such a dismal view, I don't think it's something we destroy. Instead I see it more like a child who can align with the will of the father. No doubt the wisdom he bestows defining and recognizing Soul attributes are something many will feel true. Similarly, the ego can definitely "get the best of us." Yet what does that really mean? What is suffering after all if not to learn? I don't want to destroy the child(ego) I want to nurture it. A gentle attitude towards ones misfortunate may quell extremism which is a problem we face in todays political climate and something we have faced through out the ages. Is spiritual justice a trick of the ego? What is justice? What is spiritual? If we just assume the ego is the root of all evil I don't see us advancing, since it is very rare to be without ego. The ego is apparently something almost every human on this planet has to deal with. I think this is where the idea of destroying the ego and creating an allyship can be recognized as the same thing where definitions aren't so easily understood. Just like defining God or defining evil seem to be something left for philosophical inquiry... Words come close, but never completely capture the essence. There are some sounds that mean "like something" that has no existence in the english tongue.

Lastly, a separate inquiry, did not Yogananda curse his sister as a child? I believe I read that in the beginning of AoY.

Paramahansa Yogananda was not a Master or self realized as a child. His enlightenment came later in life when he was with Swami Yukteswar.


In Sufi terms the crushing of the ego is called Nafs Kushi. And how do we crush it? We crush it by sometimes taking ourselves to task. When the self says, 'O no, I must not be treated like this,' then we say, 'What does it matter?' When the self says, 'He ought to have done this, she ought to have said that,' we say, 'What does it matter, either this way or that way? Every person is what he is; you cannot change him, but you can change yourself.' That is the crushing ... It is only in this way that we can crush our ego. —

~Hazrat Inayat Khan


If the ‘new guy’ understood that you might go to the ‘respected colleague’ then it would be ok. But in the case of Yogananda’s story the ‘new guy’ complained. In the same way I could tell stories about others who have been here at the portal and they complained but not react or be affected by those who were part of the story. Their lessons in life may not be mine.

Yes, I suppose. Fortunately they both had a Master there to counsel them, even if he set the whole experience up to begin with.

It would appear even HIK says one must CRUSH or DESTROY or ANNHILIATE the Ego. Such choice words, I just wonder- is it reflective of the culture? the age period? masculine solar energy? Or is there really no other choice?

At least these beautiful Masters recognize the battle within- and recognize everything as God. 

I don't think it necessary to destroy the ego. More like, "fine-tuning" an instrument. We can go through life in a way that we recognize proper pitch and even the hands that tune an instrument. It takes time, years and even lifetimes to recognize. It's how we get to the illusory notion, "no ego" since we all have one but we can have one that reflects more than not the Father.

Just like Christ, Yogananda is a reflection of the Father... At least- Anandamayi Ma would call him so. And to me... She is Divine Mother.

And she is the one who recognizes change and changelessness existing simultaneously.

From SRI MA one can but rarely get a definite decision on any problem. That is why I wondered of what use it was to write down her utterances? I asked SRI MA about it.

 

SRI MA: At least you have understood that there is a state, ’where’ problems are no longer settled in any particular way. In the course of your life you have after careful consideration come to a decision on many questions, have you not? But now you will have to realize that no solution is ever conclusive; in other words, you will have to go beyond the level where there is certainty and uncertainty. The resolution of a problem arrived at by the mind must of necessity be from a particular point of view; consequently there will he room for contradiction, since your solution represents but one aspect. What then have you actually solved? You will find a complete and final solution of each particular question from its own particular angle of emergence; and you will also find that there is a place where all problems (actual and possible) have but one universal solution, in which there is no longer any room left for contradiction. The question of solution or non-solution will then cease to arise: whether one says ‘yes’ or ‘no’, - everything is THAT.

I find Ma’s assessment about solutions solved by the intellect as very helpful. Because the mind gives a view  that is arrived at from the viewers point of view, which emerges from their ego concerns. Whether one says to this ‘yes’ or ‘no’, everything is THAT. So perhaps 🤔 while the view of others and the solutions arrived at comes from a particular angle of emergence…. The question of solution or non solution is yet unattainable and may necessitate the element of time to recognize THAT. I’m of the opinion that all these contradictions will manifest until THAT has come into being.  In the meantime we still experience the ego in ourselves and others. We at times can only wait as the power of the ego of others around us determines temporary circumstances, which at times we must acknowledge until we find ourselves beginning to be under the guidance of the dark presence of their ego. At which time we may  have to take a new and different approach that integrates the momentum of dharma and the souls direction.