One of the paths...

Most of us lead a deluded existence identifying with the ego comprised of the body and mind. At the root of all our thoughts and emotions lies this ego. So, the best way to root out the ego is to observe the thoughts & emotions constantly and trace their origin. At the most fundamental level the ego also has its birth from the 'source' consciousness or the self. So on removal of the ego, as mistakenly understood by some, it is not nothingness and loss of identity, rather it is the real identity emerging from the shadow of ignorance.

What can lead us to seek this? It may be some trivial problems in life, or in general a feeling of limitedness that is tightly constraining. After all, what sort of freedom is it as long as one identifies with a body that ages every moment, whose critical functions are all involuntary, and a mind that one knows nothing about, yet which seems to dictate each & every outcome of life?!

As I enter into a new phase of life the larger purpose becomes immediately clear. There is a mirror to the mind at most instants and its easy to observe progress in self enquiry. Sometimes attachment develops to a very large extent. Previously the technique practiced was to try and avoid thoughts or divert them - but that is largely useless as its impossible to control flow of a river. However, with self enquiry, one focuses on the self which is the self of all and since there is unity and harmony, there is no 'other' than one's true self, thus removing attachment and every other unwanted thought.

It is similar to dipping a salt statue repeatedly in the sea to dissolve the salt in the sea and once the statue disappears or rather, merges into the sea which anyway contains infinite salt, then only the sea remains! By dipping the mind and its thoughts back into the self constantly, in the beginning it takes conscious effort (of the mind itself) but gradually when it becomes smooth and effortless its an amazing feeling. There is total calm and peace. The most crucial advantage of this method is that it can be practiced at any instant of time and has no relevance to the situation or the state of mind/ body! One can be walking on the road, in a meeting, studying something, all the while resting in the nature of one's self! Having said this it is to be noted that, in a subtler state of mind its much easier to see the light of the self.

A major and often encountered pitfall is the stage where the ego becomes miniscule but doesn't disappear totally. Then there are periods of knowledge where the magnitude of everything other than the finite becomes known. But this is the crucial period that has to be gone beyond to completely extinguish all traces of the ego. That is when the knowledge dawns in its permanence!