Food for thought - 05.04.2022
“Renounce
I, Me and Mine
To understand the ways of the divine”
You might think it is a statement for the sanyasis or saints or rishis and munis, but it is for the common man as well.
Why should it be considered by a common man?
Here is my thought process:
Let me first tell you about “ME”
Me is the combination of the
physical body which is visible to everybody
Inner Self is invisible made up of mind intellect and ego(manam, bhudhi and ahamkara)
The atman(the soul)
The first two are material and the atman is non material how they exist together no one knows but they do, the point is for you to experience the presence of the atman which is very pure and not touched by the maya around it, you should set aside the material and recognize the non-material atman.
To do that you need to first renounce what you think is “ME”
The understanding of this, comes when you understand the role of these materials
The physical body cannot work independently
The Inner Self is always covered with illusion (Maya). It prides itself in all-knowing, all understanding; all-controlling
The atman is eternal the only reason for the materials to exist
So “ME” can be renounced only when the disengagement of the materials takes place.
We often claim that we have renounced our ego but the bhudhi and the manam are still in contact with the ego, when you renounce ego, the ego is not removed but remains dormant because the bhudhi and manam does not allow it to leave, so when somebody uses harsh words, the manam cries that it is hurt, the bhudhi processes the harsh words and files a counter to which the ego responds and again it is awakened. So this cycle continues.
What should be done?
Knowledge and acknowledgment - removing ego is just the first step not the final step so keep trying and move forward one step at a time
Keeping the manam and bhudhi in check always(being alert) -understand that it is not the control centre as thought to be
Physical Self or the body is just a slave to desires and illusions so think twice before you decide to do anything
Now let us look at the “I” the ego
The “I” ego gives me the sense of, all above everything kind of feeling. This has a purpose for fulfilling our aspirations, fulfilling desires, fulfilling promises etc; but to have inner satisfaction and to move closer to GOD this “I” ego is a concrete wall you cannot see, hear or feel what is on the other side. The reason why, many do not believe in the divine or fail to understand why they cannot see or hear GOD is, because of this concrete wall called ego. Unless this is broken or renounced the reach to the divine becomes impossible.
“I” ego puts you on a carousel and gives you the ride on the horse called karma.
As an example:
“I” ego makes you do things(karma) → as a result you experience (result of karma) →desire is fulfilled (ride on a carousel) →another karma and another the ride goes round and round , and you are tied up in the chain of karma when renouncing becomes impossible
So what should be done?
Say NO to desires
Lead a simple life
Don’t get trapped in materialistic wants to please your senses (delicious food; wonderful clothing; extravagant jewelry; expensive cars, houses etc )
The last one is the “MINE”
This word is all tied up to the materials of the physical self and the inner self. When the above two are dealt with, “MINE” loses its relevance.
So how do you understand that it is not yours?
Life trains you at different levels to move away from your wants and needs. For eg. needs and wants is the top priority when you are a newborn and then it gradually reduces as you grow first you share or reduce your need with siblings, then with your wife/husband, then it reduces even further with your children and grandchildren. so life always pushes you to say NO to it is MINE what many of us again start moving towards MINE as we age and fall into the trap of karma. So life lesson is nothing is yours
The thought that you come with nothing and go with nothing is the hard truth that nothing is yours
Everything around you either withers in your life time or after you have left
When you sleep you have lost yourself, so the body that you think is yours is not yours
Your memory your dreams, your relationships nothing is yours, they are all either borrowed , or shared or given not yours.
Ways to renounce the MINE factor:
In samsaram learn to be by yourself but by or with everybody all the time
Don’t attach too much importance to anything around you
The knowledge that MINE doesn’t last forever - it is a perishable thing. Today what is yours is somebody’s tomorrow
So understand that Atman alone is real, nothing else is, this realization breaks all barriers and the pure Atman is always directed towards the divine, hence the darshan of the divine is obtained when the I, ME and MINE are overcome, renounced and distanced.
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