We are all born with an ego, in fact, it is our survival
tool and is the platform to board and begin our journey in search of the truth.
But for ego, which is the self-esteem and or self-importance, we may remain
ignorant, passive and many possibilities may remain unexplored with our immense
abilities.
We are all born dependents and gradually move towards
Independent- Intradependent-Interdependent. In simple terms as we do not live
in isolation but in a society , we have to first establish our identity and
then embark on life journey from I to
we, We to us and finally towards the whole(ultimate truth). I is a means to
achieve an end and not an end, while ego is just a shadow of that I, let it be
that small part.
The problem arises when we start overindulging in this “I”
rather than moving towards the whole as mentioned above, we end up moving from
I to Me to Mine and Myself. The self
assumes such huge proportions that we become indifferent to impact of our
actions on others. we become Possessive, greedy, righteous, self-centered and
start appropriating everything as our entitlement to lose the plot.
If we want to be a “GOOD Human being”, we need to first
invoke “I” to make it happen, use it for our growth to ultimately surrender and
witness life, the way it should be. In the process we rise in our own self
esteem through self-awareness and self-respect. If we overindulge here, “I”
gives rise to the ego, makes it bigger and we become utter selfish and egoists
instead of moving towards selflessness i.e. us.
In order to lead an effective and balanced life, we all
strive for growth in following areas and need to be aware that ego can be a
spoilsport thus consciously using the ”I”
rather than working for “I”, will help.
Physical growth: Of course we have to take care of
our body to be fit and maintain it properly , look beautiful, stay healthy live
long and it is a must but quite often we start admiring our own growth, start
indulging in the acquired beauty, muscle strength, the fitness and flex it in
front of others which in turn creates
problems for everybody and we get mired in our own self-centric behavior.
Mental growth: The continuous process which we all
follow for our mental growth is to collect data-analyze- convert to
information-acquire knowledge- apply- experience-validate- wisdom- ultimate
truth. Most often we end up as I know all, I have done it, I know it, I am
right before even experiencing it and the growth stumbles, whereas with each
experience we need to go back to “ I do not know” & restart.
Financial growth: of course we cannot become self-dependent
without acquiring skills and abilities to make money and support ourselves and
later the families as well, it is a must but still only a part of our overall growth,
to achieve the end and not an end in itself. The attachments of this material
world and the inherent desire to accumulate is infinite because of me. Here you
need to take a call and follow the path from I to We-Us-whole and surely dump
me-mine and myself.
Spiritual
growth: This is a clincher as it helps our “I” to slowly surrender to the
whole, as this aspect is about reaching out and connecting with our inner soul.
It is a continuous process to develop our inner feelings and powers to
harmonize with life around & slowly dissolve the “I” with our responsible
actions.
To avoid the
pitfall of ego and lead a balanced and effective life, better to build a
principled character based on the four natural principles of Respect,
Understanding, Love and Evolve. Focus on them in each of the daily activity, practice,
make it a habit to become a whole and not remain just “yet another I”.
Satish
Shitut
Jai Bharat
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