Ego

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Ego is Identity. Ego is personality.

"I am so and so" defines us. ego takes many forms. Thats why one cant know it, grasp it. Its a shadow. The less said about ego the better.

Our Job, our work, defines us. When you ask a person who has studied MBBS, who are you ?, he/she will answer, "I am a doctor". That person might be a doctor, but apart from treating sick people, that person also has other personalities like (parent, spouse, child, sibling) etc.

Depending on who is asking the question 'who are you', one answers in relation to the questioner.

The fundamental identity of oneself is masked. Nobody says that they are human beings.

Sri Ramana has given the tool of self-enquiry to people who are interested to pursue spiritual path. He says 'ask yourself, who am I?'

I would like to modify that sentence / explain that technique. Ask yourself 'who are you?'. If one asks 'who am I?' answer will not be forthcoming easily. What is the relation of the questioner with the answerer. It is self-same person. Or is it ?

The substratum of all personalities is Self, also known as atma.

If one enquires 'who are you?' , then what one is doing is trying to identify the role that one is playing. The role one plays is also same as ego. Knowing ego is like knowing one's role.

Without knowing / experiencing the basic I-ness, we keep changing roles, Whereas the screen of I-ness is ever experienced through awareness.

Nature of 'I' is peace and happiness. In pursuit of the same qualities one does so many things, actions going far from center.

Today I have given resignation to my job, and with it one of the identities that I have (that of an employee of so and so company) is gone.

"I am a pilot" is an example of an identity. Is that person really pilot, or 'he pilots a plane' ?. When did verb became noun. That is the circus of language.

Hari OM

In Guruseva