Self pity and pride are the two faces of Ego!

People suffer more from ‘self-pity’ than the external conditions. No doubt, the external circumstances are not rosy. It affects everyone. It is the feeling, ‘why me? Causes lot of heart burn. Self-pity rise from ‘body consciousness, the deep attachment to one’s form. This is otherwise termed as Ego or selfishness. If pride is one side of ego, self-pity is other side. Mostly ‘inferiority complex’ arouses self-pity! Also, the feeling of ‘my’ and ‘mine’ escalates the negative tendency! Almost all people are affected by body consciousness and none is free. I and mine are the two invisible guards who accompany the individual till his death. It is very difficult to shed the identity of the body with oneself. Hence mankind is not able to enjoy the extensive freedom offered by relinquishing the Ego.

Our position is akin to ‘parrot in a cage’. Everyone is aware this confinement within a cage is cruel. If we think deeply, we are all imprisoned within the cage of the body! Hence Sathya Saibaba has termed our condition as ‘miserable little prison individuality! Do we relish this imprisonment? Everybody wants freedom from this mundane existence. This could be achieved by relinquishing the body attachment and body identity! When someone accosts you, “Who are you, you reply, I am George or James. This is a label and not the real you. For identification purpose, each baby is given a name during naming ceremony! It is for identification of a particular body! If a father has several children, he needs to name each one! But Ramana Maharishi of South India states that you are the indweller and not the body! Are we referring the house in which we stay as our self? It is foolishness. How a house can be you? You are the resident of the house. In a similar manner, the Self is the indweller of all bodies. It is not separate in each body! It is an illusion created by the mind. There are many pots kept outside a home for storing water! When the Sun is seen in the sky, its reflection is seen in each of the pots. Though the Sun is only one, the reflections are seen in many pots. In a similar manner, the one Self is reflected in each body. Though bodies seem different, the self within is one entity in all the bodies!

The scriptures talk about the all-pervasive self with a similar example. The sky or ether is pervading everywhere. The ether inside an empty vessel is one with the ether outside. If the vessel or mud pot is broken, the ether inside becomes one with the ether outside! The pots create illusory separateness of the sky! For instant, you are entering a hall with many mirrors adorning the walls. As you enter, you will see many of your reflections. You are one but due to the number of mirrors, reflections are many! Which is real? You or your reflections? No doubt, the one reflected is real and the reflections are mere illusions! When we move around during sunshine, our shadow falls on ditches, slush and slurry! Do you worry about the shadow? No! You are not affected by the shadows falling on different places. In a similar manner, the pure white screen of the cinema hall is never affected even the scenes of world war is shown there! Those who are watching the gory scenes will be emotionally upset but the screen remains as pure as it was before the show! Hence, it is quite possible for the Self to remain as an unaffected mute witness of all those that happens around the world! The media dutifully report those calamities in front pages with on the spot photos interviews, opinions and discussions! Those who read the newspapers watch them on TV or internet will be affected but not the Self within each!

How there is disconnect between the viewer and the self? Self is the base for creation. Self is in a way, the prime mover! But the scriptures clearly say that the Self has no movement at all and it is formless and static! Some thing that comes out of the self is the reason behind creation! That something is nothing but the mind principle! By a mere will, all manifestations happen and the mind is thus the main cause and conduit for the universe!

Secondly, bereft of the mind principle, no creation is possible! For anything to manifest, three things are essential! The seed, the earth and water and the process of sprouting! Unless we plant a seed beneath the surface of earth and water it, there won’t be any germination! The will to become many is the seed which when handled by the mind become universe! Of course, all that comes out of the mind is ‘imagination’. The hoodwinking capacity of the mind makes the imagination real.

Now, we will have one more example! In a magic show, there is a magician who performs the magic tricks. Out of an empty hat, he brings out varieties of things which are not connected in any manner! He takes out a hare, then a bouquet, then comes currency notes (not the one banned by PM) and even a burning thing! How the small hat contains so many seemingly different things? Ask the rationalists who defy god and vouch that there is no such thing as god? They will accept magicians’ clever show and clap for the performance! They are not aware that the magician has fooled the audience but gained money by way of ticket sale! In a way we are fooled and deprived of our money too! But we never consider it as a loss but a grand entertainment! But in creation, none loses anything. But everyone is enjoying the creation and we are offered multifarious ways to enjoy the sensory inputs. If at all we need to find fault, it is the mind which is the cause for this manifold universe!

Again the mind need a body to rely and the body need a mind to interact with the world. This is the secret of the illusory universe! Man, from ancient days wants to escape from the sufferings of the world which could be achieved only by annihilating the illusory mind! The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Remove the thoughts one by one and there won’t be any entity called mind and you will become free once for all. Meditation serves the purpose of going beyond the illusory dual mind!