Egoism is a tough enemy


Sairam,

Once Arjuna happened to be at Ramasethu (bridge constructed by Rama near Rameswaram). He saw Anjaneya there and told him that he would have built a bridge of arrows without subduing the sea and getting monkeys to pile up rocks. Anjaneya challenged him to built one with arrows across the sea. Later, when Anjaneya walked gently over the arrow-bridge, the arrows broke under his weight. Suddenly Krishna presented himself and suggested that it should be done in his presence. Krishna bore the weight of the bridge on his back when Anjaneya walked on it to save Arjuna from humiliation. Thus, Arjuna's pride was humbled. Pride thrives upon opportunity and raises its head in every stage and state. Egoism is a tough enemy and it requires constant vigilance to conquer it. You recognise the vastness of yourself once you remove this ego boundary.

In the prayer, Thamaso maa jyothirgamaya ("Lead me from darkness to light"), Egoism is thamas (darkness) and sharanaagathi (surrender) is jyothi (light). The easiest way to illumine the inner consciousness and outer behaviour is with the light of God. The lamp of the God's name will drive out the darkness from both inside and outside and reach you remarkable heights of happiness which is not possible by sticking to the senses. The best method of cleansing the mind is to recite the name of Lord Krishna with Love. One has to know one-self in order to contact the springs of Bliss. The Lord cares for ekaagratha and chittha-suddhi (concentration and purity of mind). Develop the devotion of gopees, of Radha, of Uddhava and of Hanuman who became the supreme devotees of the Lord with no egoism left in them. 

The Jiva who is floating alone in the ocean of Samsara gets the boon of human birth after great struggle. When the eye of wisdom is blinded by the gathering clouds of materialism and disharmony, he stands perplexed and prays for help. The Guru comes to him with the boat of Lord's name (bhakthi) and beckons jiva to get into the boat to cross over to the shore safely. The wise man readily do so but the fool has a thousand doubts and a million misgivings. He questions the bonafides of the Guru and validity of Bhakthi. Thus, he is once again swallowed up in the huge ocean of Samsara and thereby loses the greatest opportunity given to him by God for saving himself. The Guru must have the awakening touch and must be able to save; the sishya must have eagerness to awake and must be ready to be saved. The relationship between Guru and Sishya should not be like snake with a frog in the mouth i.e., the frog too weak to escape and the snake too full to swallow. 

Leave the desire to achieve liberation to your Guru because he knows you more than you yourself ever can. 

One cannot grasp the depth of the thirst towards Lord if he is full of evil tendencies and impulses. One should come out of the ignorance and develop keeness to know about his source, substance, goal and fate and reach the other bank by overcoming all dangers with Athma-sakthi as their safe support. Purusha (who lives in the pura i.e., body) has to become Purushothama by following the path of yoga or jnana won by action and devotion to God.

--SATHY SAI

Omsai Srisai Jaijaisai