Ego

हमारा मिजाज हमेशा दूसरों और परिस्थितियों पर निर्भर करता है। नतीजे आपकी उम्मीदों के मुताबिक नहीं रहे। इसलिए अब आपको मनोबल बढ़ाने वाले किसी प्रेरक वक्ता की ज़रूरत है। जैसे ही वह व्यक्ति चला जाता है, आपकी ऊर्जा भी थम जाती है। लेकिन जीने का एक और तरीका भी है। अपने भीतर गहराई में, मुझे एक ऐसा बिंदु मिलता है जिसे कोई बाहरी परिस्थिति छू नहीं सकती। जो कुछ भी होता है, वह सतह पर ही घटित होता है। वह स्थिर, उदासीन और तटस्थ बना रहता है। तब आप सचमुच स्वतंत्र होते हैं।

Questioner(Q): What is the process of clarity? Is it just listening with immersion and no resistance? What is Truth? How we decide it?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Listening without effort, plus if there is Truth in what you hear, there is change and transformation, and that Truth becomes the master. We…

How do you, asks the chief of police, patrol a city, where the butcher shops are guarded by vultures, where bulls get pregnant, cows are barren, and calves give milk three times a day, where mice are the boatmen, and tomcats row the boats, where frogs keep snakes as watchdogs,…

“I will beat him!”

“I will destroy her!”

“Did you just insult me? Did you?”

Four hours forty-eight minutes of deep intellectual perspiration!

“Did she? Did she not?”

Have some mercy upon yourself. Learn to ignore, please. Bypass the small issues. Learn to ignore the small for the big, would…

Just as the ego loves to take credit, it also loves to play the victim.

If something good has happened, “I did it!”

If something bad happened, “It happened to me.”

“Good things I do, bad things happen to me”—this is astounding.

Playing the victim is a favorite pastime of…

There was this king of the demons; his name was Hiranyakashyupa. The king worked really hard. He kept austerities, he forced even God to come down and bless him. So, it would have required a very special effort. But then, what did he want from God? Nothing but the extension…

You are so powerful actually that you are scared of yourself.

There are three ‘you’s in that statement. The first two refer to the small self or the ego. The third one refers to the best that you can be, the Great Self, the Truth—classically, the Ātman. And classically…

Several people dislike their few glimpses of joy. They hold themselves accountable, they hold themselves guilty for having tasted even a few drops of joy, because joy is not a socially sanctioned kind of happiness. Joy is deep, disruptive, rebellious. It takes you far away from everything into yourself. It…

स्त्री चूँकि गर्भ रखती है तो प्रकृति ने ही उसे शरीर के प्रति बड़ा संवेदनशील बना दिया है। वो बार-बार अपने शरीर को देखती रहती है क्योंकि उसको एक बहुत महीन काम करना है, डेलिकेट काम; उस काम में अगर ज़रा भी गड़बड़ हो गई, इंफेक्शन हो सकता है, कुछ…

जब सड़क पर निकलो न तो अपनी कमियाँ पता चलती हैं। जो व्यक्ति घर में ही बैठ गया वो बड़ा दम्भी, घमंडी, अहंकारी हो जाता है क्योंकि उसे अपनी कमियों का पता भी नहीं होता। अकसर गृहिणियों की अकड़ बिलकुल लाजवाब होती है। “मैं ही बेग़म हूँ, मैं ही रानी…

कभी किसी से बड़ी नफ़रत उठे तो मैं एक सूत्र बता देता हूँ – अपनी नफ़रत को और अपने अहंकार को थोड़ी देर के लिए किनारे रख कर उससे 1 घण्टे बात कर लेना, फिर नफ़रत कर नहीं पाओगे और ज़्यादा। इसलिए जिन्हें नफ़रत क़ायम रखनी होती है, पहला काम…

You are actually so powerful that you are scared of yourself. The ego doesn’t want to give up. That’s what the scare is all about, because betterment of the ego is nothing but the reduction of the ego. Who wants to reduce?

We all want to accumulate. We all want…

वो कहानी याद है न कि दस जने उतरे हैं पीये हुए, किससे? एक नाव से उतरे हैं, ठीक है? अब वो गिनना चाहते हैं कि कोई एक रास्ते में टपक तो नहीं गया था नदी में। तो वो सब गिनना शुरू करते हैं, तो गिन रहे हैं कि भैया…

There is this new bunch of spiritual hoodlums who come up and say, “Be yourself. Accept yourself as you are.” And who are you? Somebody fundamentally dangerous to yourself. We said the ego is its own bleeding wound, and you are being told, “Be yourself, remain the wound. Remain the…

Ask yourself this one question: The way I am living, is it reducing my inner darkness? This question, only this question, determines whether you are living rightly.

It doesn’t matter how well fed you are, how well clothed you are, how well monied you are, how reputed, how respectable you…

The ego is nothing but the meanings and significances you attach to the world. You attach all that to the world because of a flawed notion of yourself. You look at stuff, and that stuff starts having value or meaning principally because you think you lack that value or meaning…

The ego does not live for the Truth; it lives for its own survival. And to live for one’s survival makes any sense only in the presence of challenges to survival. If there are no challenges to survival, whose survival are you protecting and living for?

Therefore, if you are…

The ego will forget 999 defeats and remember that one game when it was able to win a game in spite of being 0-9 down. The memory of that one game keeps your false confidence alive.

Then you repeatedly keep slipping to 0-9 positions.

It is 0-3; you say, “Not…

A leader is seeking satisfaction by looking at the twenty thousand bodies gathered to listen to him. Where is he getting his satisfaction from? Twenty thousand bodies. This is sexual activity, but you will not call it as sex. You will say, “Oh, it is just a leader addressing an…

We cannot blame somebody for history. History is determined not merely by the fact that there are two genders; there’s so much else that’s involved, a lot of freak accidents. Do not discount the possibility that you can have—and we do have, as a matter of fact—very, very healthy women,…

When it comes to all the nonsense, see how you succeed, don’t you? You want to go and satisfy your lust, and see how you find out ways, don’t you? Like a rat, you find a way into the house; then you know where the hole is. And if the…

Yes, Holika… Not to miss out on her. A smart woman, no? A smart woman with extraordinary powers. And it’s her smartness that brought her to flames. That’s a very important message to be remembered. The more smart you are, the more clever you are, the more are the chances…

Things that are absolutely rubbish keep on occupying important places in our minds and, therefore, in our lives. Stuff that you would never value at all if you were not so heavily conditioned comes to become the center of your life. And when you are asked, “But why is this…

Ego is a pleasure seeker. The ego wants to talk of life and its celebrations and beauties and fragrances. The Aghori says, “The ego wants to forget death, and I keep reminding the ego of death.”

He reminds the ego of death in the most ruthless way possible. He would…

You go to a shop, and how do you buy clothes? Good to touch, good to wear, and should appear expensive, shouldn’t appear cheap. This is what you do when you want to select a piece of cloth. And what would you do when you would want to select a…

Questioner (Q): All reflections are coming from my limited mind. And when you shower pure nectar in every session, it seems my words would just pollute everything. I do acknowledge that I am related or connected to money, family, position, etc. and for me, Dṛṣṭā or Ātman is merely a…

Questioner (Q): Sir, it is pretty evident that I exist and you exist, but you have also stated that the ego does not exist. So, when someone calls you Acharya Prashant and you reply, isn’t that an identification which reflects an ego?

Acharya Prashant (AP): It is a thing that…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, आपने जैसे कहा था कि “जब कोई पैदा होता है, तो वो वृत्तियों और विकारों के साथ पैदा होता है।” तो छोटे बच्चे इतने खुश क्यों मालूम पड़ते हैं?

आचार्य प्रशांत: जिनके पास बच्चे हों, उनसे पूछो ज़रा!

ये सवाल कोई छड़ा (कुँवारा) ही पूछ सकता है,…

आचार्य प्रशांत: एक आदमी था बड़ा भुल्लकड़। कोई एक चीज़ उसके साथ रहती थी, वो थी उसकी विस्मृतिशीलता। भूलता गया, भूलता गया, और एक दिन पाता है कि वो अपनी हँसी भी भूल गया; भूल ही गया कि हँसना कैसे है।

तो गया एक विशेषज्ञ के पास, कि, “हँसना भूल…

प्रश्नकर्ता: इगो (अहंकार) में और सत्य में क्या अंतर है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: जितने अंतर हैं वह सब इगो में ही हैं। अंतर कुछ कर लो, समानताएँ और अंतर यह सब मानसिक परिकल्पनाएँ हैं। आत्मा में ना कोई भेद होता है, ना अभेद होता है। तुम अगर पूछोगे कि, "अहंकार और…

आचार्य प्रशांत: तो सवाल है कि एक फ़िल्म आई थी 'द मास्क' के नाम से। उसमें जो मुख्य चरित्र था उसे एक मास्क मिल जाता है, एक मुखौटा मिल जाता है। उस मुखौटे के मिलने से उसे दुनियाभर की तमाम लड़ाइयों में जीत मिलने लग जाती है, शोहरत…

आचार्य प्रशांत: ईगो (अहंकार) का सांकेतिक, शाब्दिक, आध्यात्मिक सब एक ही अर्थ होता है – ‘मैं’। ‘मैं’ की भावना को अहम्, ईगो कहते हैं।

प्रश्नकर्ता: तो क्या स्वयं को किसी भी पहचान से परिभाषित करना ही अहम् है?

आचार्य: अपनी हस्ती को अनुभव करना, यही ईगो है। ‘मैं हूँ', इसको…

प्रश्नकर्ता: नागार्जुन कहते हैं कि किसी की सत्ता नहीं है। कर्म, कर्ता, और फल, इसकी लोक व्यवहार की दृष्टि से ही सत्ता है, बाकी निरपेक्ष रूप से इनकी कोई सत्ता नहीं। तो फिर धर्म और अध्यात्म का मतलब क्या है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: जिसके लिए अहं की कोई सत्ता नहीं, उसके…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, हर चीज के अंत में मुझे अहंकार ही दिखता है, ऐसा क्यों?

आचार्य प्रशांत: अहंकार जो आत्मा बना बैठा है। अहंकार में कोई बुराई नहीं है, पैदा हुए हो उसके साथ। या बुराई है भी तो तुम्हारी व्यक्तिगत बुराई नहीं क्योंकि तुमने चुना नहीं था कि मुझे…

Sufi Story: In the city of Bastan where Bayazid made his home, there lived a very respected and venerable ascetic. He enjoyed Bayazid's circle, though he never became one of his disciples. One day he said to Bayazid, "O Master! For the last thirty years, I have been fasting from…

प्रश्नकर्ता: आचार्य जी, जैसे वृत्तियाँ अपना काम करती हैं कि क्रोध आ गया, डर आ गया। अब जैसे मैं यहाँ से बाहर निकला और मेरी लड़ाई हो जाए तो शरीर को तो डर लगता है उलझने में, लड़ाई करने में, और साथ-ही-साथ यह तादात्म्य बना रहता है कि यह 'मेरा'…

प्रश्नकर्ता: क्या अहंकार ही हमारी समस्याओं का कारण है?

आचार्य प्रशांत: अहंकार अगर समस्याओं का कारण है, तो उन समस्याओं का अनुभोक्ता कौन है? अहंकार के कारण समस्याएँ हैं, किसको?

तो ये कहना ठीक है कि अहंकार के कारण समस्याएँ होती हैं। पर ये कहना और ज़्यादा ठीक है कि…

प्रश्नकर्ता: अहंकार क्या है और अहंकार से छुटकारा कैसे मिलेगा?

आचार्य प्रशांत: जैसे कह रहे हो न, "मैं सवाल पूछ रहा हूँ मुझे उत्तर जानना है", तो ये जो लगातार 'मैं' की भावना है इसको अहंकार कहते हैं। अहंकार का अर्थ होता है आइ, मैं। दिन रात जिसकी बात…

Questioner (Q): We exist so that timeless can be discovered. Who is it that discovers timeless? If the ego-self, the 'I', is itself a product of time, how is it going to discover the timeless?

Acharya Prashant (AP): What is meant when we say that the ego-self is a product…

Questioner: Acharya Ji, I have come to understand that reality of for us is entirely dependent on the sensory apparatus that we use. Also you have taught in the ‘Karma Yoga’ session that ‘Aham’ will always demand something and we should give Aham such a big thing that it dissolves…

Question: How do I overcome ego?

Acharya Prashant: You do not overcome anything if you do not understand it. You do not overcome anything without understanding it. No problem can be solved if you do not understand the question. Am I right? If you do not understand the question, can…

Questioner: How will I dissolve?

Acharya Prashant: By watching the one who wants to dissolve. (Silence)

Who is the one who wants to dissolve? And why does he want to dissolve? And if he is really serious and honest why has he already not dissolved till now? Surely, there is…

Probing inside, I came Seeking the moon within me: Sifting the chaff from the grain. I went seeking The Like, Alike, Thou art Narayan. Thou art Narayan, then, Why this will-of-the-wisp?

~ Saint Lalleshwari

Question: Acharya Ji, Why do I have ego?

Acharya Prashant: Do not ask why does the…

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, Ramana Maharshi talks about ‘transcending and turning inwards'. Who is transcending and who is turning inwards?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The Ego, the I tendency. Whatever advice is given, is always given to the “I” tendency. Because at the center of everything lies this “I” tendency that…

Acharya Prashant: Deepanshu (Questioner) says, “If everyone drops their ego, there would be no civilization and everybody would be roaming naked in the Jungle.”

We have to understand what is ego and what civilization? What is it that is meant by civilization? Civilization refers to a particular order in living.…

Conversation between Roark and Hopton Stoddard at the end of which Roark agrees to raise the Stoddard Temple: “Roark rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes, helplessly. It was not possible. It simply was not possible. That could not be what the man wanted; not that man. It…

आचार्य प्रशांत: पंचवर्ग क्या है -- जैसे माया के ही पाँच रूपों, पाँच वर्गों की बात की जा रही हो। आत्मा के ऊपर उपाधि बन कर -- अज्ञान, अविद्या या माया सत्य को छुपाए रहती है, ढके, आच्छादित किये रहती है। उसी अज्ञान को पाँच अलग-अलग तरीकों से कहा गया…

Acharya Prashant (AP): Whenever something is addressed to the ego, whenever a word is delivered to the ego, it is delivered with the intention to take the ego to the Truth. Remember, it is the intention to take the ego to the Truth. Whatsoever is being told to the ego,…

Questioner 1 (Q1): Dropping the knowledge, is it dropping the method, or is it completely dropping the knowledge?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Dropping the feeling that I already know what is best for me. Would you call knowledge as knowledge, if you are not sure of it? Would you call yourself…