126
Aptavani-1
possible to experience liberation even with the body.
The over crowding and congestion today is not because
of people but their egos. You can live amidst crowds of egos
through Gnan. Nature follows its own laws and so does the
Self, but it is the ego between the two (Self and non-self) that
is the cause of all suffering; it does what should not be done.
It is the ego that perpetuates the worldly life and it is also the
ego that causes you to take birth in the four worlds of different
life forms. It is this ego that has separated us from the Self.
Even the most attractive person can look repulsive because
of the ego. When does one become attractive? One appears
attractive when one becomes the embodiment of love
(prematma). An attractive person with ego will appear hideous,
because the ego is hideous.
Questioner : Are there different kinds of egos?
Dadashri : To refer to a relative thing as ‘I am’ is ego.
Pride with three components, arrogance, envy, respect and
disrespect – are all different words used at different times to
explain the varying degrees of the ego. That is why the Gnanis
have given them different names.
Many people consider themselves humble and modest
but the intoxication of calling themselves such is acutely more
deluding than those with overt pride and conceit. Vanity is
inevitable in those who consider themselves humble and modest.
The ego can never be completely destroyed without the
knowledge of the Self. And yet people are in pursuit of trying
to acquire a state of humility but what about the ensuing increased
level of their intoxication? What about the deplorable subtle ego
that is born of such a state?
The inner instrument of psyche (antahkaran) remains as it
is, even after one acquires Self-realization. The only thing that