Rumi
How can it be that we instinctively understand what the ego is all about, but when it comes to defining it, we somehow always fall short. It’s the siren song of duality as it turns out. When we spiritual folks say, ‘e-g-o’, we mean to imply that something inside somehow ‘edges-God-out’. Consequently, we also have to accept that each time when we feel disconnected from God, it must be our fault, or rather, the ego’s! We mind the ego and wish it away. Alas, if it wasn’t for this annoying fellow, we would be Home already. Is that approach, logical as it sounds, really so helpful? Can’t we somehow stop that mental merry-go-around game? But how?
We are part human, part divine. Heaven and earth are both part of the Tao symbol. Heaven is in earth, as God permeates everything and everyone. Earth is in Heaven, as God experiences Herself through us. We Tao travelers say, let’s open up to this duality and accept it without fighting it. Let’s just accept it when we are mundane, boring, restless, driven, or when we are again craving something. It is this Awareness that allows us to snap out of the mundane moment. We can always plant both our feet on the ground, remind ourselves where we are coming from, but then took an inspired look at the stars. Without being afraid, let’s just see what happens.
The inner war, this back and forth of ego and Spirit is ingrained in us, just as the interplay of of yin and yang is. Surely you must have felt that fight of good and evil within. It’s like bungee jumping. Sometimes, the deeper we fall into the hole of materialism and egoistic behavior, the more forceful the consequent spiritual break-through experience becomes. Did you know that one of the greatest Christian song, ‘Amazing Grace’ was written by John Newton who was a captain of a slave ship. Ironically, it was his bad conscience and regret that enabled him to experience God’s limitless Grace. While we are grateful for his contribution, there must be a better way to be creative and pious. Let’s leave this inner fight of good and evil behind for good.
We shouldn’t try to kill the ego, just as we don’t want yang to live without yin. Experiencing God’s Kingdom here on the blue planet requires us to have a body, and our ‘ego’ comes with it as a package deal. We always need a little residual ego to function in this world. Just enough to motivate ourselves not to step in front of an incoming bus so to speak. Yet, that doesn’t mean that the ego has to take possession of us and cloud our God vision. We can very much become aware when we become restless again. We can be mindful when our overactive mind builds new castles in the sky, or when we beat ourselves up over faux-pas of the past one more time. We can be mindful of the mundane moments when the unimaginative part of our mind takes us for a spin on auto-pilot. And yes, we can step out of its interfering presence.
How exactly you may ask? Well, there are many roads to Rome as the saying goes. The Buddhist and Zen monks look inwards until the ego story dissolves into nothingness. The disciples of the Christ ask the Holy Spirit for intervention, and open up to the next miracle following the mundane prior moment. The New Agers like Eckhart Tolle find God in the Power of Now. It turns out that the Way of the Tao includes them all. We observe when the ego dissolves in the busyness of the Now. We see God’s handwriting in the love we experience, both within ourselves and by interacting with our loved ones. Different from all other faiths, however, we also accept being human. Rumi called our ego a veil that separates us from our ever-present God-connection. Well, one nice characteristic of a veil is that it can be transparent enough so that we can always peer through it. We wear the veil without complaining about it, but while wearing it, we can still can be with God every step of the Way.
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