The
central message of our ancient teaching, testified
by innumerable sages, is this: You are not the
ego-self that you think you are, and this misidentification
is the root cause of all your problems. Awaken
from the deep-rooted ignorance related to your
identity and find liberation.
This, of course, is more easily said than done.
In the first place, the vast majority of us
are blissfully unaware of this teaching, and
it may appear to be rather formidable. Secondly,
in this modern age of reason, there is no reason
why we should accept such a teaching, which
cannot be established by modern science or psychology.
Thirdly, even many of those who seem to have
theoretical knowledge of such wisdom are not
necessarily awakened.
Above all, the greatest resistance comes from
one’s own ego-self, and this is something
that anyone who practises self-awareness will
easily understand. After all, can the ego-self
be expected to allow its own annihilation without
resistance?
What
is the stuff that one’s ego-self is made
of? One’s physical appearance, personality,
possessions, achievements, affiliations, etc.
— these are the things that commonly define
one’s ego-self. In every society, there
is a sense of power associated with these attributes,
the value of that power depending on the value-system
practised by that society.
The sequences of various pleasures and pains
are like peaks and troughs in the waves of the
ocean. The waves are numerous and endless, having
varying amplitudes and frequencies. The ocean
is, in fact, an archetypal image reflecting
the basic problem of human existence (samsara
sagara in Sanskrit), with many meanings. One
such meaning relates to the delusion in identifying
the self with the ocean wave, which is tossed
and turned relentlessly by the tide of time.
Wisdom lies in discovering the vastness, immensity
and stillness in the depths of the ocean, and
this enables one to deal effectively with the
ego-ripples on the surface with detachment and
responsibility. The ripples will always be there,
but one is no longer entrapped by the belief
that the ripples constitute the totality of
one’s existence.
