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Aptavani-9
Questioner: This abhimaan is clearly visible when they
take a group picture.
Dadashri: Yes. The photographer can also see that a
person is affected with the abhimaan. But photographers will
take my pictures the moment they see me because they do not
see any abhimaan (ego) in me. A person with the abhimaan
will stiffen up this way or that way, whereas I remain natural.
Questioner: Is abhimaan not like the ego (ahamkar)?
Dadashri: No, ego is better. It can be removed.
However, abhimaan causes tremendous misery. What is the job
of nature? Nature’s job is to reduce abhimaan. As soon as
abhimaan increases in a person, he will be brought down with
a beating. There is no problem with ego (ahamkar).
What is the difference between abhimaan and ego? ‘I am
Chandulal’, is ego (ahamkar). To claim to be where one is not,
is ego and to show off, ‘this is my bungalow, this is my car etc.’
is abhimaan. If that is the case, then why don’t you show
people your grey hair? ‘Look I have grey hair’ but nowadays
people dye their hair black instead. Ego has arisen out of
ignorance and abhimaan has arisen with understanding. When
a person takes garva (pride here), ‘Look at this, look at my
estate,’ we should recognize that abhimaan is rising.
If someone here were to sing a song and it pleases
everyone and so he sings two or three more songs; that is
abhimaan.
Do you understand now what abhimaan is? It is to
believe the weight of the non-Self (pudgal) to be ‘your own’
weight. You have gold, jewelry, expensive watches, house, car
etc., these are all non-Self weights and to believe those weights
to be your own weight is abhimaan. A person may believe the
weight of his bungalow to be his weight. People consider it an
ego when someone brags about his home, they will call him
ahamkari, but it is not ego; it is abhimaan. The material