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Dadashri: Now, this beauty is not going to remain the same. It does not take long for this beauty to become ugly. What will happen to the beauty if small pox blisters filled the face? Would the beauty remain with the pockmarks even if it used to be very beautiful? Is any of this under our control? So one should not have an ego about beauty. “There is no one better looking than me,' is abhimaan—pride with 'myness'. So when someone says, 'I am fair' it is not considered ego. It is abhimaan. People have no understanding of what ego is at all. A person with abhimaan are easily recognized.
is clearly visible when they take a group
Questioner: This abhimaan picture.
Dadashri: Yes. The photographer can also see that a person is affected with the abhimaan. But photographers will take my pictures the moment they see me because they do not see any ego in me. A person with the abhimaan will stiffen up this way or that way, whereas I remain natural.
Questioner: Is abhimaan not like the ego ahamkar?
Dadashri: No, ego is better. It can be removed. However, abhimaan causes tremendous misery. What is the job of nature? Nature's job is to reduce abhimaan. As soon as abhimaan increases in a person, he will be brought down with a beating. There is no problem with ego ahamkar.
What is the difference between abhimaan and ego? 'I am Chandulal', is ego ahamkar. To claim to be where one is not, is ego and to show off, 'this is my bungalow, this is my car etc.' is abhimaan. If that is the case, why don't you show people your white hair? 'Look I have white hair!' but instead, nowadays people dye their hair black. Ego has arisen out of ignorance and abhimaan has arisen with understanding. When a person takes garva (pride here), 'Look at this, look at my estate,' we should recognize that abhimaan is rising.
If someone here were to sing a song and it pleases everyone and so he sings two or three more songs, that is abhimaan.
Do you understand now what abhimaan is? It is to believe the weight of the non-Self pudgal to be your own' weight. You have gold, jewelery, expensive watches, house, car etc., these are all non-Self weights and to
