To Know the Truth, You Must Drop the Ego
nirantara
control himself when dangerous thoughts come into his or her mind by
reflecting on what he or she has learned from the scriptures. However,
it is usually seen that the study of scriptures without a Guru and
without doing sadhana will only help to inflate the ego."
"One must really know that one is egocentric. A person should realise
the ego is a burden; he or she should be aware of his or her
ignorance. He should know that book knowledge is not real knowledge
and that such learning only adds to the strength of the ego, unless
one is subtle enough to go beyond the words and see the real truth."
"Study of the scriptures does not necessarily create more ego in you.
It is wrong understanding of the scriptures that creates a big ego in
a person. Scriptural study is not the mere gathering of information
about Atman, the Self. You cannot collect information about something
beyond words and beyond the mind, about something incomprehensible.
You can gather information about people, objects, places in the world
and how to do things like computer programming, which are products of
human intellect.
But you cannot gather information about Consciousness. You can
understand Pure Consciousness only if you drop your intellect and
reasoning. Study of the scriptures is to help you drop the ego and go
beyond all explanations and interpretations. It is to prove the
insufficiency of words, to explain that state fully. Study of the
scriptures is to give you only an idea about spirituality. It explains
the benefits of spiritual life. They are just explanations and
conclusions.
But remember, all scriptural statements and declarations have been
made by those who have gone beyond the ego. To know the truth of the
scriptural declarations one must drop one's ego."