They made me who I am!

Meaning of Life

EGO

Today let us talk about one of the hottest topics of all times- EGO- We might be hearing that word way too often than we would want to ''Miss. Pretty has a puffed up ego'' ''He is so egoistic'' '' The relationship is crumbling cos of ego clash''. So now- let us get them right- Let us understand what is Ego.There are two types of Ego- True Ego and False Ego ( Psychologists talk about Id, Ego and Super ego- that is superficial;in fact they are sub divisions of False ego- I am talking about the two important variants which practically makes the difference) If you have read Vaishnav Philosophy u might have read about souls constitutional position as a servant of Lord.For those who have not heard- let me try to explain in a nutshell- Vaishnav philosophy projects very divine and confidential theory explaining the original position of every soul. It logically explains how we are not the body we presently reside in- our real position is in the transcendental world- world of eternal knowledge and bliss. We are the servants of Supreme Lord-now don't jump into conclusions comparing servant master relation in the world we presently live. In the transcendental abode servant is striving to please master and the master is even more engaged to please and protect the servant. In material world- especially in earth- the principle reigning is mutual utilization and exploitation- but that is not the case in transcendental world- a Vaishnav feels happiest to be the servant of the servant of the servant of Lord. And Lord is not like some Robot manufacturer- who build Robots to serve -without them personally having any individuality. Lord allotted each soul the freedom to think and decide.Krsna is not an authoritative autocrat ordering around. He is the most benevolent, forgiving and loving father. We see Lord Krsna giving the entire discourse of Bhagavad Gita- and towards the end at 63 verse of 18th chapter Lord says- '' Yathecchasi Thatha kuru'' After carefully thinking DO AS U WISH TO DO. Lord is Omnipotent- Arjuna had just seen Lord in His Universal Form- Lord could just dictate what to do and Arjuna would have done it- But no- Lord gave the freedom to choose- this independence, this individual space is the cause of Ego. We know we have certain area of freedom where we can exercise the power of free will Lord granted Us. True ego is to surrender to Lord as His servant and act according to His instructions, to please Him and His devotees. This is healthy ego- understanding ones constitutional position and acting accordingly to respect it. ( This is like we say in medical field- there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol- one makes u healthy , other makes u sick! ) Now the problematic one- false ego- note that it is not called bad ego- but rather false ego. It is another fact that thriving in false ego is bad. False ego stems when there is veil over our true ego- due to some souls' desire to Lord over the material nature. These souls ( every living soul in all bodies- plants, animals and humans in material world are included in the list) want to enjoy separately from Lord. They revolt, why should they be obeying and serving- they want to be served as well. Lord is very merciful- He doesn't suppress their desire- Lord do not take back the free will He gave- so He leaves us to material world to let us enjoy accordingly to our wish. If u wished to fly for example, u get a body of bird, if u wished to have sexual pleasures u may be given body of elephant( cos in elephant community usually one male lords over a group of females) if u wished to eat a lot- u r given a body suitable to satisfy that desire most. From these bodies we pass over thousands and thousands of bodies to finally reach human body . ( Remember that none of the steps are irreversible- if one does some abominable sinful activity as a human he will get lower birth next life) Ya- so we come to this material world with the false ego- to be Lords and not servants. But our innate nature to serve remains - we see even cats and dogs caring for their young ones etc- still we , being clouded by the material modes of nature keep trying to be masters.

Lord Krsna explains to his dear friend Arjuna-''I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion.This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field. (BG 13.2-3)The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses and the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions — all these are considered, in summary, to be the field of activities and its interactions.(BG 13.6-7)The five great elements are a gross representation of the false ego, which in turn represents the primal stage of false ego technically called the materialistic conception, or intelligence in ignorance. This, further, represents the unmanifested stage of the three modes of material nature. (from purport by Srila Prabhupada).And Lord Krsna also declares that absence of ego is a symptom of knowledge.

So we clearly see that false ego is the intelligence in ignorance. Now are you disillusioned by the usage of phrase ''intelligence in ignorance"? Don't be- the 3 modes of nature are - Goodness, Passion and ignorance. We act on any of this platform while we are in the material world. When we do something out of true compassion, understanding the situation in its entirety, our position and deciding in proper consciousness- that is mode of goodness. When we do something to gain, to build, to possess, for opulence and power- that is said to be in mode of passion .Mode of ignorance is one in which we act without thinking, or without understanding the real situation or our position, not considering the consequences of action and with harmful intentions - then it is said to be in mode of ignorance. So intelligence in ignorance is explained on this ground- a person might be very intelligent- like those who planned the 9/11 attacks- it was brilliant brains- but can we say they are really intelligent? No- their intelligence is in mode of ignorance- whatever reason they did it for- since it was harming others, since it was so destructive- it is ignorant intelligence. So false ego is also like this - intelligence in ignorance. We are not realizing our true original position. We are identifying with the body and acting. Suppose we are in fancy dress competition wearing a Surgeons costume- it is fine as long as we realize its just the costume- but if we get carried away by it and try to do operations identifying oneself as surgeon- then it will wreck havoc for us and others around us- this is an example of false ego. We are not Indian or American or Male or female- these are like our costumes- when we start identifying with these costumes- we are said to be in false ego. Now let us examine how false ego is affecting us in gross manner- there is poverty in world since those in opulence are hoarding money. The rich people are making more and more money to store for their children and coming generations- they identify the particular body as "I"- and everything related as "my". There are wars between countries- cos men are wrongly patriotic, they want to possess more land, more power, more resources. Pakistan and India, America and Iraq- why, why are they in feud?India says Kashmir is mine and Pakistan says Kashmirs belongs to them- what fun! DOes land belong to anone? It is Gods possesion- we will live here and die. We dont possess anything. Can we stop wind from Pakistan from entering India, Birds from Pakistan from entering India? Humans are also Lords creation just like birds or animals- but having higher intelligence. So what is intelligent about fighing over possession of something which donot belong to either party? Can anyone take anything they win from these wars, when they leave body? So these are all the vices of false ego- It is this false ego that makes people fight, people jealous, revengeful, bitter- cos people simply want to establish they are great and worthy to be adored and served. They see themselves as independent entities worthy of being served. Lord not being a dictator allows us to continue this- to act according to our whims- till we surrender to Him. Lord has given promise that once we give up everything else and surrender to Him there is nothing we have to worry about- He will take care of us and it is said that once we return to Godhead we will be forever placed- we will never fall down again- Thats understandable- Once bitten twice shy.

So the whole point of human life is to escape - to rescue ourselves from the false ego and be seated in our constitutional position. All the problems in this world can be solved by simply understanding the principle that we are not masters.What seems to belong to us now- is temporary- we are keeper- not owner. We cannot have control over many things in life- if we understand this plain , simple and obvious fact- half the battle is won. It is not that our parents want us to spend time uselessly on pointless pursuits- they did not buy computer for us to play computer game without any regulation or to browse internet without monitoring- but still most kids do- Lord did not make us wrongly egoistic - but we perverted and used a gift of our identity.We are being the stubborn, ignorant children of a very loving, wise Father. By understanding these points- we can win over false ego to good extend and thats why spread of Krsna consciousness can aid in world peace and harmony. If world takes up Krsna consciousness, people would be trying to serve each other, please each other- happy at another's gain, happy at another's fortune- always giving and never demanding!Let us all unanimously Chant "Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" and be forever Blissfully happy!

Dream Come True !!!

Do you believe in fairy tales?
I do!
Do you believe in dreams coming true?
I do!
And Do you believe in guardian angels?
I do!

Well you must be wondering if I am some crazy eccentric professor; to ask so many questions and then give answers on my own- I am not. I am a young lady being really happy for the way Lord is providing ! I met my guardian angel in person. OK, for those who don't know- let me explain- and those who know, please bear with me as I narrate.

Approximately 1000 days back, I was wandering inside the anonymous maze of virtual space- Taking break from the schedules that had become boring. I was an aspiring devotee ( still am) yearning for some association of like minded souls. Now don't think I was very silent, very reserved, totally religious or fanatic person- I was very talkative, very active and really friendly person. But in the depth of my heart I knew life's aim is not to spent it in materialistic pursuits, trying to bring the world under ones feet. I was spending most of my time reading about Lord,also about various religions and philosophies. And I met my angel in the most unexpected place- among a group of amateur singers. I was skeptical at first, apprehensive about strangers online, but someone in my heart said- ''go on- accept the hand of friendship''. Thats one decision I will never repent in my life. We became friends, close friends and then best friends. My angel was (is) a good devotee- with limitless patience and love, I was taught the basics of devotional service. At that point of life- I had been carried away by the philosophy of monism. So I first saw my angels views as childish and immature; I thought '' OK! as time unfolds I will show what true knowledge is''. But my Lord had not planned to keep me in ignorance for long - so Lord did not blind my eyes to truth; instead He granted me a receptive ear to receive the knowledge. Since I was in awe, reverence and love for my angel- I kept on listening patiently and asking doubts whenever I had any. I asked numerous doubts- more than an average person can tolerate. But since my guide was not mere human, but really an angel- I got answers- repeatedly- time and again; with no tinge of irritation or mockery.

Slowly it began to dawn to me- I was the foolish, immature one- all the 13- 14 years I spend in reading about philosophy was waste....I could have utilized it best by reading about my Lord....but well! what was past, was past and I was happy to hear about real knowledge at least now. My angel is a research scholar- PhD student- and you will know what compromise was made in life to accept and fit me in there. I was given on an average 2-3 hours a day- I could share all my personal problems, academic problems, social problems and spiritual queries. Sometimes my angel called me and read Srimad Bhagawatam or Bhagavad Gita; I was reminded about every Ekadasis and other special days. And so on life moved... days passed one after another; scenarios of life kept changing. people came and people left, exams came and results published... life kept on moving. I felt safe in my angels protection, I knew whatever went wrong I have my angel to hold on- and this was firm- cos I believed that my angel was sent by Lord since I am very childish and in need of protection. Our relation evolved gradually- from apprehension to acceptance, friendship,awe, respect, trust, love and faith. Through many many difficult phases in life- I did not feel threatened since my angel kept giving me courage through words from scriptures and wisdom therein.

All this kept happening- without having personally seen my angel even once.

And after many eventful days-after a long waiting period- I finally met my angel in person. It was so natural, so much in place. I did not feel like I have never met before- rather I felt like I have been living with my angel every day. There was no element of apprehension, uneasiness or artificiality- just like a reunion of old friends. So much joy and happiness, love and laughter and everything else good. The week passed at lightening speed. My angel took my hand and gave me strength, looked into my eyes and melted all fear, patted me and assured everything to be fine. We went out with my sister,to temple, to beach, to shops and many more places. Most of them did not make much difference to me since the presence of my angel was so overpowering that every other factors passed into oblivion.My angel went back, leaving behind a lot of colourful memories to cherish.

I am a happier person and I want to thank my Lord for the blessing. I am really unworthy recipient of this mercy and love but still my Lord disregard it. I have no qualification to even acquaint with my angel, but I am let to be. I understand the purpose of sending angel into my life- I am such a foolish person that I might have not accepted the nectar of devotional service through some other source. I had been proud of my understanding of monism and merging with Supreme effulgence. I was so stubborn to let any other explanation bother my mind. But my Lord did not let me live and die in the depth of folly- He mercifully extended His Lotus Hands to rescue me from my ignorance,through my angel. I cannot repay the kindness, all I can do is faithfully obey and practice all that has been taught to me.

''Dear Lord- I pray that my life be spent in Your service and Your devotees'. Whatever material miseries I have to face- let me go through them holding Unto You. I am a forgetful soul, totally foolish and egoistic, but please don't let me forget You- Only You can help me remember You always. Let no time in my life be spent without Your Lotus feet in my inner eyes. May my eyes see nothing but You, Your Paraphernalia and Your Pure Devotees, May I learn to see You in every atom of creation every moment of my life. For the kindness You bestow upon me- I can never return anything, but my Lord- let me remain Your servant all my life and beyond it. Please employ me in Your mission, empower me to spread the glory of Holy name, grant me taste in Holy name. No misery is greater than my forgetfulness about You and hence Lord- please don't let me forget You. Grant me the Love for You and make my life meaningful!''

Yes- I am a truly lucky girl. And I believe in fairy tales; in dreams coming true ;and in guardian angels.