The Mind is the Ego!

 

The mind is the magician. The world we are in awe of and forever busy with is the product of the mind. It disappears when the mind subsides in sleep and appears when awake.

It is the mind that creates the world of multifarious objects and separates the individual from the rest creating an "identity". The mind is therefore the ego.

The mind also creates the body. The infinite then somehow gets trapped in the body, develops desires, thinks it has to conserve the body, becomes busy maintaining it, and fears death. It does not stop to think that it existed before birth and will exist after it. Such is the power of maya.

The mind is like a sky where thoughts appear. Engaging in the thoughts is an automatic action. The thoughts come from an unknown region and the person feels compelled to act according to them.

There is talk of pure mind and impure mind. When the mind is with thoughts it is impure. When it is devoid of thoughts it becomes pure. The knowledgeable person therefore treats the thoughts as the intruders that rob him or her of ones real identity.

The mind can become devoid of thoughts during meditation. It can also be trained to be an witness to the thoughts. These practices weaken the hold of the active mind on the person. The ego is to be tamed in this manner.

Life is temporary. It is like a spark that appears and disappears in no time. The concept of time drags it on. It is said that Lord Vishnu was resting in his abode. There was a sound. Someone informed him that Ravana was born. Immediately afterwards there was another sound. He learnt that Ravana was dead. Time is therefore relative and an illusion.

We are in the realm of maya. The working of maya is beyond comprehension. Its work is to create and maintain an illusion and keep the unfortunate subjects forever engaged in it. It has the power to delude the greatest of men.

The world and its troubles appear very real. The best of saints are troubled by it. They run away into forests and caves. The world travels with them. Can they leave the mind behind?

Therefore it is recommended that;

• Keep in mind that the world is an illusion
• Things are happening by themselves
• You are not the doer. But you are under the influence of maya and therefore deluded to think that you are engaged in work
• Do your work devoid of the desire of any result realizing that you are not the doer
• Do not take any credit for what the body does
• Keep your mind on the goal and dive within

People love the mind and body they receive within the illusion. They love the cage and the chains (desires and aversions) that bind them. The world thus enjoys torturing them. The person who can remain extremely detached remains outside the torturing capacity of the world.

The drunk monkey stung by a scorpion has dipped his hand into a jar full of colored balls. He has grabbed the balls in his hand. The hand has thus expanded and is thus caught in the neck of the bottle. The monkey is prancing around. All he has to do is let go. But he is deluded.

That is our position in this world. We need to stand back and reflect.