Tag Archives: Ego

The Mahabharata within you! – Part 1

13 Sunday Apr 2014

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Two families. Five brothers against a Hundred. A story spanning four generations. Aerial attacks, Ufos, Aliens, Atomic bombs and many many more. That is just a part of the Mahabharata for you. If you have not had the chance the read it, here is the Mahabharata in 36 tweets for you.

The author of the epic used the real incident and weaved  symbolic images to reflect our own inner conflicts. Using these images if we dive deep into our inner self, we will be able to appreciate the mystery of our own mind and life. Recently, I had a chance to read many versions of it with their story changed. Even though there were good efforts with good intentions, I felt that a lot of people haven’t explored the inner essence and symbolism of the characters, events, their interactions, etc. It is imperative to know the inner symbolism of the characters and its representation to grasp the immensity of Mahabharata. I have been wanting to write on it but had to do some research on it to get it right. So here is a write up of what the characters meant and why is it important to know this. To deal with all the characters at once would be over whelming. We will take a group of characters and few events in a series of posts. Lets deal with the Kauravas first.

Cast of the Mahabharata series

Cast of the Mahabharata series

Dhritarashtra – The blind king of Hastinapura represents the our mind. More than that – our blind mind. Without the intellect’s discriminating power. Hence the blindness. His wife Gandhari represents the intellect power. The intellect can see. However, when the intellect gets smitten with emotion it gets blinded too. This is indicated by Gandhari blinding herself after being married to Dhritarashtra. The result is devastation and destruction. The blind mind has got many desires and tendencies in it and is the abode of emotions and feelings.

Five are senses of knowledge or perception the eyes, nose, ears, tongue and skin (Gnanendriyas). The other five are the senses of action-mouth, hands, feet, genital organ and anus (Karmendriyas). There are 10 directions north, south, west, east, north east, south east, south west and northwest and up and down. When the mind and intellect run blindly in all 10 directions and functions through 10 sense organs , give rise to hundred desires, thoughts, ambitions, expectations and dreams. These are the children of the mind and symbolized as the 100 sons in Mahabharata.

Duryodhana – the first son. The main thought of the mind is always ‘I, me, Mine’. This is called the ego. So he represents the first and fore most thought of the mind – the EGO. The mind cant control the ego very easily. That is why Dhritarashtra couldn’t control Duryodahana and always swayed by his son’s wishes. ‘Duh‘ means difficult and ‘yodhana‘ means to fight. Ego is something that was difficult to fight against. It is the Ego feeling or  “I” thought that craves and falls into addiction. All mental and physical problems stems from the “I” feeling.  The “I”  feeling instead of helping the body, ruthlessly rips off health of the body.  “I” want to experience  spicy taste no matter my stomach hurts and develop ulcers.  “I” want to experience to “refresh” with coffee no matter if it dehydrates my body  and make my body cells suffer in thirst. “I” want to experience dull-mindedness with alcohol  no matter if it hurts my liver and all other body organs. I want to do something even though my doctor has asked me not to because I already booked it! (targeted remark). 🙂

The moment the Ego gets the mind to dance to its whims and tunes, the body is completely forgotten. That is why Dhritarashtra was caught completely in the whims of Duryadhana and gave in to most of his wants. As a king, he didnt listen to his subjects which represent the body. The blind mind always tries to give importance to its ego – Dhritarashtra wants his son to be crowned as the prince of the kingdom. Like this you can find so many instances of how the mind empowers the ego and the ego runs rampage in our mind. This is so beautifully portrayed in the mahabharata with various events. The next time you read the mahabhrata, see if you can relate to the same happening with in you.

Dhritarashtra had a son named Yuyutsu with a vaishya(worker) clan woman. Yuyutsu was always on the path of dharma even though he was with the Kauravas. He does defect to the Pandavas just before the war. Kind of an equal to Vibhishana of Ramayana. He represents the desire to give psychological battle to the bad things the mind comes up with but is not as powerful as the ego and desires. This shows the mind is capable of producing good thoughts but these are not strong enough. In my next post, I will bring out the Pandavas and many other events within the mahabharata and its significance.

[COURTESY : Discourses on Bhagavad Gita by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Eswaran and Symbolism of Mahabharata article]

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Secrets of Marriage – By Tenali Raman and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Art Of Living, Inspirational Quotes, Knowledge

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Sharing some beautiful knowledge that I read this morning. Enjoy!

What is it that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘marriage’? Two people, whose hearts and minds are united, who care for each other and who share a sacred bond nourished by love, companionship and faith, isn’t it?

However, have you seen sometimes that your marriage might not meet your or your spouse’s expectations? When such challenging situations constantly arise, you may require some skill to nurture your relationship. How to develop that skill? Meditation might help.

These are some practical tips which, when kept in mind, can make this journey smoother and more comfortable for both your spouse and you.

Tenali Raman, known for his wisdom and wit, sets an example for the secrets of a happy married life.

Secret 1- Pamper your man’s ego

One of the courtiers from the king’s durbar (court) was jealous of Tenali’s wisdom. One day, he approached Tenali’s wife.

Courtier – Your husband’s brain is the size of a peanut!

Tenali’s wife – So what, it’s the world’s largest peanut.

This secret is for women. Never step on the ego of your man.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – The whole world may say to him that he has no brains, but you, his wife, should never say that. You should always say, ‘You are the most intelligent person on the planet. Just the fact that you don’t use your brain does not mean you don’t have it!’ You should always pump his ego. Just praise and shower him with compliments sometimes. Even when he has made some mistake, tell him that he has the ability to do better. Just that little praise will make him feel better.

The most important thing to a man is that at least his wife thinks that he is the best. Now, pampering his ego may require you to capture all the goodness in him and amplify it. And this skill develops with meditation.

Secret 2 – Respect your wife’s emotions

Tenali Raman gives 20 gold coins to his wife.

Wife (happily) – Now I’ll do my monthly shopping!

Seeing this, Tenali’s friend was taken by surprise.

Friend – You gave so much money to your wife, how do you manage all your expenses?

Tenali – Well, managing expenses is easier than managing emotions.

Emotions are very powerful and you can easily get caught up in them. As a man, it is important to deal with the woman’s emotions skilfully. Sometimes, you may have to nurture them well.

Meditation brings in you that skill to be sensitive and sensible at the same time while dealing with your wife’s emotions. It gives you the ability to bring that pleasantness in the atmosphere which is important for a healthy relationship.

Secret 3 – Don’t demand a proof for love

Tenali’s wife – Tenali, will you always love me?

Tenali’s – Hmm, let me think about it.

After a few seconds (smiling)

Tenali – I will love you for as long as the sun keeps shining during the day.

Do you see this? Just like the existence of the sun during the day, certain things are very obvious and do not need any proof. Love is one of those things. We look for a proof for love from our partner all the time.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar- Never ask for proof of your partner’s love for you! Do not ask each other, ’Do you really love me?’ Even if you find something lacking, just say, ’Why do you love me so much?’ Take it for granted that they love you. Even if the spring has died out, it will start again.

Meditation nurtures the qualities of contentment, giving and love in us, so naturally.

Secret 4 – As a couple, have a higher goal for the society

One evening, impressed with Tenali’s wisdom, a saint gives Tenali two fruits of happiness. Tenali decides to keep one for himself and his wife and generously decides to give the other to a worthy couple. He calls three of his closest friends and their wives to tea.

Tenali to the first couple – What do you want in life?

Man – I just want to see my wife happy all the time.

Wife – I just want to see my husband happy all the time.

Tenali to the second couple – What is it that you want in life?

Man – I want to build a nice, big house for the comfort of my wife.

Wife – I want to travel the whole world with my husband!

Tenali to the third couple – What is it that you want to do in life?

Man – I want to create a more holistic education system in our society.

Wife – I want to add to the vision of my husband.

Tenali happily gives the fruit of happiness to the third couple.

When the husband and wife are simply focused on each other all the time, they quickly enter into fights. After the initial phase of marriage, where everything is magical, faults start surfacing all too soon. Lines moving towards each other only move apart after the point of intersection.

Again, when the husband and wife are not focused on each other and their goals in life are different, they stop seeing eye-to-eye with each other and communication and trust break down. Further, when the goals are only to satisfy personal desires, there is not much fulfillment or merit that is gained.

It is only when both are moving together, with their focus on a higher goal for the society, for the world, that values are upheld in the relationship and beauty, love and faith are nourished. Parallel lines move together until infinity. We need to have both personal goals and goals for the society. Only then would we have a sense of fulfillment and higher purpose. This paradigm shift in our thinking, from “What about me?” to “What can I do for others?” happens naturally when we meditate. The skill, courage and commitment to move together, come what may, is nourished and strengthened by meditation. The deeper the foundation, the taller the building will be. Meditation brings this depth to our relationship so that our life and aspirations can reach out to the sky!

Inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s wisdom talks

By Divya Sachdev

Based on inputs by Bharathy Harish, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Expert

How to deal with people who have a BIG Ego?

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Knowledge

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I was reading a few knowledge sheets of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar when I came across this one about ego. Thought it is better to share this to others. Enjoy!

Ego

Anton Ego from Ratatouille

Q: How to deal with people with a very big ego, especially when their behavior is affecting life and others in a bad way?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let them have a big ego, why are you bothered?
You nurse an even bigger ego than them, there ends the story.
In fact you will find you have a bigger ego, I tell you. Let others have an ego, so what? Why do you sign on a contract of destroying everybody’s ego, or making everybody’s ego smaller? If someone has a big ego, nature will teach them. One day or the other, they will become miserable. Leave it to them. Let them enjoy the music.

Why do you become so miserable looking at the ego of others? I don’t understand that. You do what is required of you, as much as you can do, and move on. That is it.
In life we should just move on. If someone is nasty to you, you can get up and shout at them, or scream at them, ‘Why did you do this thing to me yesterday; the day before and ten years ago?’ But I tell you, you are certainly spoiling this moment as well by talking about a mistake that happened yesterday or a month ago. You are spoiling the beauty of this moment.
I would want you to make a decision right now, ‘I don’t care what happened in the past, right now I am not going to spoil this moment’, finished.

The world is like an ocean, these sort of things happen. They happen and they go away as well. Friend become enemies and enemies become friends for no apparent reason.
How many of you have had the experience, that even though you have done only good to certain people, for no reason they have become your enemies? (Many raise their hands) You wonder, ‘Oh my God, I did only good to this person, why is he blaming me? Why has this person become an enemy?’

Also, there are people to whom you have not done any favor and yet they have helped you a lot. How many of you have this experience? (Many raise their hands)
See, whether someone becomes your friend or your enemy, it all works on the strange laws of karma. That is why, put them all in one basket and relax. This, I have adopted as my policy. You do so much good to one person and still if that person is angry with you, or they blame you, what do you do? So, don’t go on chewing on that and spoil the present moment with the past. Isn’t that a good idea? This moment let us celebrate.
In the past I used to listen to people, all their stories and their blaming one another. Suddenly I realized, ‘No, I’m not going to listen to anybody’s complaint any more. I don’t want to spoil this moment’s energy.’

Deal with your things, that is your karma. This is what the ancient people used to say.
They would never sit like counselors and listen to all your stories. They’d say, ‘Come on, wake up this moment; now (snapping his fingers)’, and that would bring a huge change in the mind, in the energy, and in the time. But you don’t start doing that right away, then you will be called the most insensitive and rude person. Got it?

Do it slowly. You have to listen to people, which I have also done for so many years. But a point should come, especially with people, when you have to say, ‘Okay, now no more.’ Sometimes it happens, old people at home go on and on. They enjoy complaining. How many of you have experienced this? (Many raise their hands)
See! They enjoy complaining, and when someone listens, they complain even more. At those moments you should just put on music and say, ‘Hey come on, let’s dance. Stop complaining.’

From OUTER to INNER

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in General, Knowledge

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There was a kingdom which had a king and he was aided by a wise prime minister. The king ruled the kingdom with the help of a government which took care of all the administration. Most of the time the country was governed by the administrative body. Whenever something unusual needs to be decided, the king is advised by the prime minister and then makes a decision. But unfortunately, the king is always confused by the amount of information brought to him by the administration. His another problem was his attachement to and his identification to the kingdom. As a result, the king often does not properly listen to the wise prime minister and kingdom ends up in trouble due to the king’s bad decision. The kingdom had a GOD which kept on witnessing these events but did nothing!

The above story is not so different from what happens in everyone’s life every day. Do you find the inner meaning in this story? The kingdom is our BODY while EGO is the king. Our INTELLECT is the wise prime minister. The intellect is wise because it has access to memory and it knows which events in the past have been good or bad for the body. The governing administrative entity is our own MIND. The mind takes care of all the activities this body does. But when something unusual needs to be done, the Ego steps in and consults with the intellect on how to act. Though the ego gets the right answer, it is flooded with inputs from the mind through the five senses.

The ego can work in two ways from here – either agree with the intellect or surrender to the emotions stirred by the mind. Lets take a small deviation and see what are the inputs from the mind to the intellect. When we breath we take in Prana or Life force  and this prana when in contact with the state of mind, emotions or Rasas(in Sanskrit) are experienced in the mind. Emotions like Anger, Sadness, Joy, Wonder, etc. At this point the ego has to decide whether to accept this Rasa that is being experienced by the body.  If the ego, after consulting with the body, does not support the Rasa, then it will be changed by the act of will power. If the ego supports the Rasa, then the intellect can not do anything and is forced by the ego to accept the Rasa. At this time the ego thinks that it is enjoying the Rasa and then we exclaim “I am feeling great“! So far example, when you are eating an ice cream, the tongue send the signal to the mind that it likes it. So an emotion is triggered in the mind. The ego consults its intellect whether to accept it or not. Though the intellect keeps telling “The last time you had ice cream you had a cold. Do not eat it!”, the ego is flooded with a joyful feeling from the mind. Then the ego decides to overcome the intellect and starts to enjoy the ice cream thinking – “I really love eating ice cream!”.

The GOD who kept watching this entire event but did nothing is the SELF. It just witnesses.

This is the general flow of energy from the outside world into our inner world and how we think we are enjoying the world! Fascinating isn’t it? I will discuss about how to control this whole flow of energy and emotions from the outer to the inner by just using our own Breath in a next post. Keep watching!