What Is The Ego? Suffering and The Path to God.
In each and every moment, there are two major forces at play for the conscious being: Suffering and Love. Let us understand and explore the the negative polarity of “Suffering”, the entity of the ego, the lower self, so we may understand the Truth of God, which is Infinite Unconditional Love and the end of the Seeker’s Path, into full Divine Union and Infinite Happiness and Bliss.
Let us first explain what the ego is, and what it is not, as there is much confusion and misperception about this word. The word “ego” would be more accurately described as “suffering”, or the mind’s identification with anything that is not Love, Truth, and Acceptance, anything that is not God. The “ego” could go by many other names: Evil, fear, separation, untruth, or selfishness. The ego is simply the entity of negativity that seeks to destroy salvation for itself and for others in the present moment. In this sense, as the ego is opposed to salvation, it is therefore opposed to God, and therefore is a manifestation of energies you might call “evil”.
The ego, however, is not defined by the the sense of euphoria or happiness one receives from living out one’s most joyful, Godly, and authentic purpose. Others may call this state “ego” when one lives one’s full purpose in God, and one might appear to have a rather grand existence, full of vibrancy, happiness, and joy. However, understand that this state of vibrancy is not “ego”, but is rather simply fulfillment of one’s Divine Purpose, so long as one is not attached to the external circumstances associated with that happiness. The Divine and egoless being, the Enlightened Being, is as happy sweeping a floor as it is as Pope of the Vatican. The external circumstances do not matter in the egoless state. Joy is God, and God is every moment.
Now on the Ego of Suffering: This suffering comes in too many varieties and forms to be accounted for in a brief sharing, but let us lightly explore the ego of suffering that seeks to take away the beautiful salvation of God in the present moment. The ego of suffering is very often one of judgement of the present moment, judgement of the self, and judgement of others. The ego does not understand that by judging anything at all, that it is literally judging, or in a state of non-acceptance of God. To be in a state on aversion, of non-acceptance of any kind, is to be in a state of ego, a state of Judgement over God, who created the present moment, not for suffering but for salvation!
When the state of Enlightenment is entered, one simply enters the egoless state, that is the state of non-judgement, of total acceptance, of total forgiveness, of total and ever-present love in each and every passing moment. This state of being is the very state of consciousness of a Christ, a Buddha, or a master in Samadhi or Satori. It is all the same. Simply practice dwelling in this state of non-attachment, non-judgement, and see how the world of suffering simply falls away. In this place, you have found God.