The Ego and Letting Go
Dear friends,
It is common to think of the ego as an enemy of some sort. It is true that our tendency for self-preoccupation is something that leads to unhappiness, and prevents us from feeling kinship with the world around us and the presence of Spirit in our lives.
On the other hand, a weak ego creates other problems: insecurity, negative self-talk, and fear, among them. So what are we to do? Build it up or take it down?
In fact, one needs to have a fairly healthy sense of self to have the strength to let it go. Letting it go can be scary. It's as if you were at a cliff's edge with a vine hanging down in front of you. You want to swing to the opposite cliff, where there is also a vine hanging down. They don't quite reach each other so you need to swing from one, let go, and sail to the other. [My attorney just insisted I add this disclaimer: Don't try this at home!]
If done right this all works, but there is a brief time while you are in mid-air holding nothing, arm outstretched intending to grab the vine on the other side in order to swing to safety. The letting go of the ego is scary like that. We wonder and worry, "What's left if I let go of what is me?" Parts of the process are quite unsettling. It is not called "the death of the ego" for no reason.
But it is our defensive instincts, our desire for material fulfillment, and our need for external security, that hold us back. Mind you, these are all necessary steps towards the courage needed to do the hand-to-hand combat required for victory. Ultimately they all need to be let go and renounced.
In the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic of which the Bhagavad Gita is but a tiny part, there is a character named Bhishma. He represents the ego and is immortal. For the hero/warriors to win, Bhishma must be defeated, but he cannot be beaten in battle and cannot die... unless he agrees to. Great man that he is, he finally agrees to die and promptly does so, thus paving the way for the end of the war and the victory of Spirit over matter. So it is in ourselves. Until we are ready to give up our little selves filled with hurts, desires, and pettiness, we get to keep all those things.
May we each become more and more willing to give up our little selves so as to grow into our true Selves, and finally—joyfully—to merge with Spirit.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the Gang at East West Bookshop