The ego is a deadly enemy

What is the heaviest thing in the world? What is that if successfully eliminated is capable of bringing untold happiness? What is the harbinger of darkness? It is the ego.

It is the most deadly enemy in the search for spiritual enlightenment. If we are to set it aside and destroy it, it can set us on the road to opening up the inner eye of wisdom located in the heart.

God assumes human form to help us adhere to the path of self-realisation. Such a person is known as a Mahatma. He comes into our lives and mingles in the world to spread the message that God is present not only in the external universe but that he is equally present inside us.

In spiritual parlance, the human mind is often referred to as the subtle body. By its very nature, it is forced to exteriorise itself. This is why it must be controlled to make it turn within.

It becomes a friend when it delves within but it becomes an enemy when it turns without. This is why Mahatmas ask us to meditate during the early hours of dawn because it is relatively easier during that time to keep the mind under control and still it from within.

When we read about the lives of Mahatmas we learn that when they were still in their mortal coil, they moved freely among human beings. They were untrammeled by consideration of caste, creed, community, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sex or race.

Similar to Lord Krishna exhorting Arjuna to dedicate all thought, words and action as an offering to Him, Mahatmas ask us to keep their presence in our hearts and minds.

They do so to help us internalise the truth that whatever happens in the world is a direct and exclusive result of their Grace and their Grace alone.

But it is our ego that prevents us from grasping this immutable truth. We take credit for the good things that happen to us and blame the Almighty for our negative experiences.

We experience happiness when we are able to put our minds in a thought-free state. Meditation at dawn and dusk under the supervision of a trained master fertilised by unshakable faith in the Guru is an effective means of burning up our negative karmas. The keys of our emancipation are given to us by God but we need to reach out Him to unlock its secrets.

Keeping our minds free of thoughts is the essence of meditation.

As Sri Babuji once expressed it: "An earnest disciple considers his Guru as his sole refuge.

Mere faith unshakable and singular in his Guru is sufficient to steer himself through the ocean of worldly existence."