THE TEN HEADS OF RAVANA

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In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Lord Rama incarnates to vanquish the Rakshasas, demons who disrupt the peaceful meditations of forest sages. Rama’s ultimate adversary is Ravana, the powerful king of Lanka, who has abducted Rama’s beloved wife, Sita.

Ravana’s formidable nature is amplified by his ability to regenerate severed heads, presenting Rama with a seemingly endless challenge.

Beyond a tale of the virtues and divine heroism of Rama, the Ramayana symbolizes each individual’s spiritual journey. Rama represents the soul striving to subdue its egoic nature and negative tendencies, seeking purity. Ravana’s regenerating heads symbolize the persistent nature of these inner obstacles, constantly resurfacing.

Despite the arduous struggle, Rama is ultimately victorious.

The epic suggests that spiritual liberation is attainable through unwavering will, which is the key to invoking divine grace. This grace, earned through persistent effort, ultimately guides the soul to absolute freedom.

Ego, Spiritual Practice

THE MEANING OF SURRENDER (“SHARANAM” IN SANSKRIT)

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Surrender is an essential element of the spiritual journey. We have to surrender the ego so we can realize and expand into our greater Self. However, what surrender means to us changes as we progress in our spiritual journey.

We have all seen Buddhists make a full prostration on the ground, and perhaps even a series of prostrations. In addition to giving up our ego -driven life, surrender is also a process of consciously taking refuge from our mental confusion and the suffering that we hold in our hearts and minds.

To be born into the new Self we need to let go of the old self.

There are so many old patterns of thinking and feeling that must let go. At the same time, we need to develop new ways of seeing and interacting with the world around us. It is an inner process that takes years.

This inner process finally takes us to the state in which we realize that the personal self that we thought ourselves to be was nothing more than an illusion, and that what we surrendered was only a false self. This point of total surrender is a state in which we allow ourselves to be a pure vessel into which the Divine pours its very essence, and we come to live a life infused with fullness, service and joy.

Ego, Our True Nature

I ME MINE

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If we truly want to progress spiritually we have to learn to leave the ego behind. It’s constantly screaming “I Me Mine” and thereby creates a cloud over our greater potential awareness.

It tells us we are separate from others and have no responsibility for their suffering. It tells us that this is a dog eat dog world and exalts competition. It tells us that we have enemies when there is a perceived threat. It creates conflict between self and others. It tells us that we are just a body with a limited life span. It tells us that what we see is all that there is.

The ego even asserts itself when we venture into spiritual territory, asking God to do things for us. However, it is not our destiny to just be beggars for things and events.

A mixture of surrender and trust is the proper approach. When we are able to adopt these attitudes, we needn’t worry about things as we will be taken care of.

To be truly free we need to rid ourselves of the many cultural falsehoods that help us function in this world, but bleed us of happiness and block us from discovery of who we truly are.

Ego

THE JOLT

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There is an inherent conflict between our ego and who we are at our deepest soul level. Our ego wants security and gratification of our senses. Our soul wants us to face our life’s challenges head on, to realize our inner power and grow in wisdom.

Many of us are like a driver who is easily distracted and cannot seem to stay in his lane. Our attention to the task at hand is weak and we veer off the path. Then BOOM! Something happens that we cannot ignore.

It may be a death in the family or the loss of a job. It could be many things, but one thing for sure is that it is something that demands our attention.

This is the soul’s way of getting us back on track.

This unfolding of events could happen several times in the course of our life until we become settled in our life’s path and spiritual practice. Even then we will have to face challenges that life throws at us, but at least we have the fortitude to face whatever happens with grace and even joy.

Ego, Karma and action, Meaningful Purpose

LEARNING TRANSCENDENCE

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We all have had moments when we transcend our limited reality, but may not fully recognize it as such. These are the moments when the chatter of our mind comes to a complete stop because we are so enthralled by what we are experiencing.

This transcendence is not a process of going anywhere, but instead of falling back into the Self. This results in a feeling of bliss, which is characteristic of our true nature.

At some point, however, the ego mind reasserts itself. Perhaps it thinks about how the experience can be repeated, or what to say to another: “I saw the most magnificent sunset!”

The goal is to go beyond thought. Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutras 1.2: “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.”

Hidden behind the busy mind and ego is our Divine Self. Because our attention is almost always directed outwardly we overlook and even forget who we truly are.

The business of the mind is thinking about how to enhance our external experiences. However, instead of focusing on experiences that come and go, we need to learn to focus on what is there all the time–our true Self.

Ego, Our True Nature
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