Burst 43
Inner Purification
While “freedom” is the erasure of the self, inner purification is just weakening of the self. Sometimes referred to as the ego, the self is made of thoughts that create the false illusion of the separate entity ‘I’ in everyone of us. Countless descriptions then of the self hold us captive in a virtual psychological prison.
Good, bad, winner, loser, smart, dumb, pure and immoral etc are just a few examples of self-descriptions. We judge ourselves and we judge others in such terms. Our jubilant exultations as well as groaning with pain on different occasions are all supported by some nice or terrible self-descriptions in our own mind. While thoughts create a picture of being good or bad, who am I really? That is the ultimate spiritual question.
Not all can grapple with this deep question. Most of us are dimly aware that we have a burdensome ego. We occasionally glimpse our obsession with our own name, fame, achievements and acquisitions. We notice the self-importance that dominates all our thinking. Even when we ‘renounce’, the thought of being morally or spiritually upright seizes us. The self (ego) renders the renunciation self-contradictory and futile.
Prayer is one way we may weaken this age-old self. Thoughts of God and loving surrender to Him make the self subside. He, and not me, then rules the roost. We undo the ego in us when we kneel before the Lord and submit to His will.
Thoughts, words and deeds in the past have created and nurtured the self. Prayer, worship and meditation are all in that very sphere of thoughts, words and deeds. The self is weakened and subjugated by these practices.
“Good actions born of mind, speech and body nullify the results of (bad) past actions which also had arisen from mind, speech and body.” Ramana Geetha 7:15
So we must serve man, be kind to all life and worship God. Our own selfish tendencies become less and less thereby. This is inner purification. It sets the stage for true freedom.
Swami Chidananda
Tuesday, February 28, 2006