Surrendering The Ego

Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 9:57

"The attitude of egolessness is the secret of unveiling the nobler and the dynamic in us." (Swami Chinmayananda)

There is only one thing that the infinitely compassionate Lord demands from us - the surrender of our ego. To do the rest i.e giving us the strength, knowledge, fearlessness, dynamism, peace, dexterity, success etc is His responsibility.

The meek, the lowly and the humble are extremely dear to Him. For their sake He doesn't even hesitate to become their servant!

It is said that of all things of this world, Lord Krishna chose only a bamboo reed to keep near to His lips. Why? because only that reed had emptied itself ! And the result? The music that flowed out of that flute brought the whole world under it's spell capturing the hearts of even the birds and animals!

But when we ignore that Lord and assert the ego in all the activities of our life, then we are depriving ourselves of our birth right, the unlimited resources of the Infinite Self. As Gurudev beautifully puts .
it, "When the ego enters, the Lord vanishes and when the Lord enters, the ego vanishes." .

Once a world famous painter came out with a unique painting: Jesus holding a lantern on one hand and knocking at a door. Someone objected, "Sir, you forgot to fix a handle for the door!" The painter clarified, "It is no mistake. It is a unique door which can be opened only from inside!"

The choice is ours- whether to ignore and reject Him or to allow Him to work through us!

Thousands of people used to come to listen to the great American musician, Roland Hayes. His wonderful music transported them to realms of ecstasy. When asked about the secret of his success, Roland replied, "Whenever I give a recital, before proceeding to the stage, I go to a silent comer, and with eyes closed I offer a brief prayer "0 Lord! Let Roland perish, Let Thy name be glorified for ever and evermore! Let my name perish, but let these songs bring many closer to Thee, 0 Lord!"

This has been the testimony of all the great ones in all fields, whether in arts, music, sports or literature. All the literary works of great saints in India have come forth as a divine outburst during the sacred moments of total attunement with the Almighty.

Egolessness is but natural for a sincere seeker of Truth. When we observe ourselves and the world around with an open mindedness, we can easily conclude that nothing belongs to us - the body, the mind, the intellect, their functioning, their abilities etc. Even the ideas and inspirations seem to come from an unknown source. None can take credit for these. Moreover what we know is so insignificant compared to what is unknown.

In admiration, someone asked Isaac Newton, the distinguished scientist, "You must be indeed feeling proud and satisfied when you look back and contemplate upon the achievements of your life! How many mysteries of nature have you unravelled and made known to the world!" Newton smiled and replied" Far from feeling proud, I feel like a small child picking up a few pebbles from the sea shore. while the vast ocean of truths lies unexplored before my eager eyes!"

Let us realize our insignificance and surrender unto Him in all humility. That is the only way to allow His perfection to get reflected upon us.

About the author

This article is written by an anonymous author for the 'Vedanta Vani' magazine of 'Chinmaya Mission'