Ques on MahaBhrarta. Peep in/ DT Nt pg 25 - Page 26

Originally posted by: shruthiravi

Viswasruti beautiful. I feel I have taken 3 steps and somewhere in 4th stage as I am continuing exploration but its difficult because as u said ego comes. It creates emotional upheaval. But believe me I am trying to elevate myself.

Can you elaborate please?

do you mind telling us a bit more please? I would love to know.

What are the challenges?

how does it creates emotional upheaval?

do you think ego exist for a reason?

can you imagine a world with no ego?

Shruti you can also pm me, and these questions are for anyone who wanna answer.

"Hypocrisy, pride, self-conceit, wrath, arrogance and ignorance belong, O Partha, to him who is born to the heritage of the demons.” ~ The Gita, XVI. 4

(Pride= inflated form of ego)

Let man uplift the self (ego) by the self; let the self not be self-degraded (cast down). Indeed, the self is its own friend; and the self is its own enemy. For him whose self (ego) has been conquered by the Self (soul), the Self is the friend of the self; but verily, the Self behaves inimically, as an enemy, toward the self that is not subdued. — The Bhagavad Gita VI:

How important is our ego?

If there is no ego, we lost our sense of self. We forget who we are.

See, when arjun who was maybe full of ego ( cause he wanted to kill karna) and suddenly did not want to kill Karna using treachery, Krishna did showed him the universe, and talked about ego death which Viswasrti beautifully explained above.

Ego is "I" and it's that very boundary between humans and nature, the concept of what's wrong or right stems from the ego. The ego is the “I.” It is how you see yourself. It is the part of your mind that identifies with traits, beliefs, and habits. Your ego is an unconscious part of your mind.

So, if we experience an ego death, its just like, we won't know what's right or wrong, what's dharma and adarma( now killing an unarmed karma and treachery according to the law of that time and the social construct was wrong but yet, when Krishna explains that, if we steered from our ego, then it wouldn't really matter.

So, I don't know if you guys are getting the analysis, but it seems to me, that ego is and will be a part of life.

MB in my interpretation says that we need to realize what is our ego and what it does. We need to let go of it when we have to, and that's the balance of life. But it does not suggest giving up our ego completely, what it preaches according to me, is ego work.

Do you guys think that a person without ego will go on and do "bad things " according to social constructs? If these social constraints didnt exist in that person dictionary, so how can we say he was wrong? See where I am going with this.

You are not looking to “kill” the ego, or deny its existence. The ego is your protector and has been a part of your psyche since you were a small child to help you cope. You want to learn to accept your ego as something separate from yourself.

Ego is important, a person without ego might just go crazy, might free be free from suffering yes, but that's just a fancy world. Apply this in modern century. Can we altogether give up on our ego? Or we can just temporarily do it?

Without a guard you can decide how you feel, what you think, and how you choose to respond rather than having your ego decide that for you.

Unless we plan on being monk in the woods, but like in normal 21th century, how do we integrate this ego death experience into our normal daily life?

Looking forward to reading your answers

@Y12345 see the main issue u face is ur trying to uplift yourself. But your environment is not conducive. The members of your family are trapped in mundane things which matter less to you. You are unable to make them understand you are working towards a purpose, a higher purpose, you have a calling to do something for the world, ur trying to figure that out.

But then they dont understand, ur pulled back and then the " I " in you kicks in and then you are torn between your calling and the present life and it creates upheavals. next step is able to accept your environment as it is. Not try to change people as you know they are not aware of your journey. Accept this environement and move towards ur goal delivering the responsiblities of family life. So now I am dealing with this challenge and hoping to overcome it.

Originally posted by: shruthiravi

@Y12345 see the main issue u face is ur trying to uplift yourself. But your environment is not conducive. The members of your family are trapped in mundane things which matter less to you. You are unable to make them understand you are working towards a purpose, a higher purpose, you have a calling to do something for the world, ur trying to figure that out.

But then they dont understand, ur pulled back and then the " I " in you kicks in and then you are torn between your calling and the present life and it creates upheavals. next step is able to accept your environment as it is. Not try to change people as you know they are not aware of your journey. Accept this environement and move towards ur goal delivering the responsiblities of family life. So now I am dealing with this challenge and hoping to overcome it.

OMG this is so relatable. I used to struggle to bond with people who were not spiritually enlighten as me, and this hits hard.

@y12345 so u have overcome it. I am still struggling.

Originally posted by: shruthiravi

@y12345 so u have overcome it. I am still struggling.

I will just say, that the key is to learn how to alternate and balance between those two worlds. The secret is the balance.

Mind going into more details how you are still struggling?

Yes my main problem is food waste. Whenever I see food being wasted it affects me a lot as i think about kids going without food. But then even if I shout nobody listens. It happens again and again affecting me at a deeper level. Howmuch ever I try I cant stay disconnected to food waste which happens day in day out in my family.

Originally posted by: shruthiravi

Yes my main problem is food waste. Whenever I see food being wasted it affects me a lot as i think about kids going without food. But then even if I shout nobody listens. It happens again and again affecting me at a deeper level. Howmuch ever I try I cant stay disconnected to food waste which happens day in day out in my family.

How many moments of labour pains does earth bear to give birth to those food grains? Every grain is a life-giving source to mankind.

Wasting food is a social evil and a criminal act Shruti, but unfortunately, it is a fashion to leave food on a plate as if it is a show of their wealth for a few and for a few it is sheer recklessness.

Recently, people started asking to pack the leftovers whenever they eat in a restaurant, either to feed their pets or to use it the next day. In a way, it is a good sign.

I agree, we the ladies of the house have to bear the brunt and will always try to explain to our lovely family members on such issues.❤️

Each and everyone should be conscious of the wastage of food that can fill the stomach of hungry persons. The mindset of the citizens has to change with the awareness that millions of children and elders suffer from chronic hunger leading to malnutrition and various diseases. It may be made mandatory that all marriages and other parties set apart at least 20% food items for feeding the hungriest in the country to make India hunger-free by 2021, as a moral and social responsibility. The social activists and the housewives have a great role to play in educating the members on the value of food to the poorest who have the right to live as we all!

Relentless trails will fetch good results Shruti.🤗

V and Shruti: I agree, it breaks my heart too, and V rightly said, so many kids are starving out there. Food waste is a major issue in my household too, but see, that pain forces you to go do something. So it's not useless, it's a catalyst. I know you can donate the food, offer it to underprivilege people, and feed animals.

I remember I used to be so mad, I am still mad with the amount of milk, fruits, and offering that people waste at temples.

So, I just do my bit; ensure that I do not waste food, and encourage others to do the same.

Shruti, being disconnected doesn't mean indifference though.

Also @V and Shruti and others of course, is wanting to kill our ego, a manifestation of our ego?

So, in other words, is wanting to kill our ego, egositic?

Thoughts?