Ego: The root of suffering
What we refer to as I is neither pure consciousness nor is it the insentient body alone. The I that we are aware of is the ‘Ahankaar’ , ‘aham vritti’ or the ego. The ego itself has no form or substance. It has no existence of its own. It is when the ‘Sat Chit’ consciousness comes in connection with body form that gives birth to the ego or the false sense of the self.
This false sense of the self feeds on forms and thoughts. Latching on to the gross in form of physical entities and the subtle in form of thoughts, the ego continues to expand and it’s dark cover increasingly obscures the light of consciousness.
The more deeply immersed is one in the material world, the stronger is the storm of thoughts one faces and greater is the bondage to the false sense of self. And remember ego and everything it associates with is unreal. Ego realizes this and thus by taking complete control of the mind and intellect, it ensures that the ever changing physical world appears as the only reality while the real consciousness is completely covered by the cloud of thoughts and senses.
The false sense of self will go to any length for its survival even if it means grasping onto suffering and a complete denial of the ephemeral nature of its existence. It will seek support in majority and justify its existence arguing this is how worldly life is supposed to be.
But ask yourself this question once, in the state of dreamless deep sleep when the ego along with the mind and intellect are in a state of suspended animation even though for a brief period, what is your experience of reality? Do you experience the world as vividly as you do in waking or dream state, or is there complete silence, with no thoughts, no experience. Just absolute stillness where you have no awareness of time either.
And even though devoid of any experiences, how rejuvenating is a brief spell of deep sleep compared to all the experiences you keep chasing on when awake.
You true nature is beautiful and always available. All you need to do is let go of the addiction to the false sense of the self.
