The State of No Division
The natural state of being has no divisions that are otherwise created by thoughts. When I look at a beautiful car, thoughts such as, “How beautiful this model is! Its color is truly marvelous!” do not cause any division. However, thoughts like – I am not its owner; Ramesh is – create the division of I, he etc. Also, thoughts like – I had such a good car once; now I do not possess it – also bring about the division of (psychological) time.
Can one perceive something without a set of thoughts describing oneself? The absence of the self is the essence of the undivided state.
One cannot eliminate the self, of course, by deciding to not have it. The very entity that decides so is the self. The contradiction would be like a man shouting loudly, “I want to remain silent”.
“How do we get rid of the ego?” is a popular question that is steeped in habit. The questioner does not suspect that if there is a “how” (a method) to this affair, there is then an entity that would execute that method. Who would then end that entity?
There is a SEEING in which all ideas of (spiritual) practice are exposed as sustaining the self. The practices then quietly subside. The self that wishes to be free from ego (and get enlightened) disappears without being either the object of a query or being the subject (agent) of any practice.
Do not therefore take any spiritual practice for its face value. Examine deeply the nature of thoughts – including those that are engaged in the so-called sadhana (spiritual practice). When you see the sad limitations of all thoughts, however noble they may be, the curtain will rise for the true vision.
Swami Chidananda
Monday, March 5, 2004