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Celebrating Jain Society of Houston Pratishtha Mahotsav 1995
THE 'ELEPHANT OF EGO' By Shanti Monnot & Ashok Shingavi
(beauty), strength (bal), attainment of materialistic pleasure (laabh), intelligence (buddhi), and knowledge, austerities (tapasyaa), status, and respect in the society (aishvarya).
The Ego is one of the four passions (Kashaay). Passions are main causes of Karma bondage which, is turn, cause the soul to remain in the endless cycle of birth and death. The degree of karmas depend upon the intensity of passions. Passions are anger (krodh), ego (maan), deceit (maaya) and greed (lobh). It is said that anger resides in the head , ego resides in the neck, deceit resides in the stomach and greed resides in every pore in the skin. These passions are also remembered as an acronym "AGED".
Pride with respect to any of the abilities above in this life results in karma, which disallows these abilities in our future lives. In other words, pride
of good qualities in this life means we are reborn without or a with lower form of those qualities, depending upon intensity of the passion.
There is double-loss by having pride. By having pride now, these qualities are further decreased or nullified in the next life.
Behaviors resulting from Ego
Four levels of intensity of Ego
Greed and attachment for status, power, honor, wealth, and fame (prestige) are the root causes for anger, ego and deceit. Furthermore, ego is the root for anger. The negative behaviors related to ego are pride (abhimaan), arrogance (ahankaar), contempt (upekshaa), insult (udhhat). obduracy (stubborn and hard-headed), shamelessness, insolent and indiscreet, etc.
The four levels are called Anantaanubandhi, Apratyakhaani, Pratyakhaani and Sanjvalan. The most intense level (Anantaanubandhi) causes infinitely long term bondage, so that one remains in the cycle of birth and death for a very long time. A person with such ego is like a pillar made of stone, which has no flexibility and can never bend. This most intense passion lasts a life-time and disallows the person to attain samyakva or right perception. The person dying with such passion goes to hell.
Ego is considered to reside in the neck since ego ("Maano vinayaasano", from Dasavalkalika Sutra) destroys the quality of courtesy and humbleness (vinay) and vinay is symbolized by the leaning of neck. Ego also makes the nature inflexible (hard). The chain-effect from ego is presented below, which results in the hurdle of trying to liberate the soul.
Ego is the absence of vinay, absence of knowledge,
absence of non-violence, absence of religion, absence of nirjara (destruction of karma), absence of moksha, and the ego is not able to discern between living and non-living things.
The next milder level of ego, Apratyakhyani. is like a wooden pillar which may be slightly bent with a lot of effort. Yet this level is so intense, that one can not take any vows of self-control. The span of this state is one year. This state does not allow one to rise above the fourth stage of spiritual development. If one dies in this state, one is reborn as an animal (tiryanch gati) or a one-sensed being (akindriya).
Under the influence of ego, one may hide major sins (even those people with a lot of knowledge, penance and austerities), or one may behave indiscreetly and destroy or harm one's family, own body or wealth. A power with ego engages oneself in the search of faults of others (aarta dhyaan, raudra dhyaan). Anger is easily found in person with ego.
The next milder level of ego, Pratyakhanl, is like a pillar made of a very slender piece of wood. Thus, such a person is quite flexible and bend (be polite), with very slight efforts. The span of this state is only four months. This state nullifies the austerities and self control but a person dying in this state is reborn as a human.
Eight kinds of Pride:
Achaarya Umaaswaati described in "Prashamarti," the genesis of ego. These are caste (mother's lineage), community (father's lineage or kul), body
The mildest of passions is called Sanjvalan. Such ego becomes a hindrance to the finest forms of conduct (athakhyat chaaritra) and obstructs reaching the state of kevali (reaching thirteenth of
"Divine grace planty the seeds of Faith in Man: when it blossoms, it liberates him from Greed, Hate, and Fear"
(Satya Sai Baba)
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