“…In an effort to acquire good or to get rid of bad, you have invented a god. Then, you worship such a god…and you pray to that god for something good to happen to you.”—Maharaj
From a site visitor: In one entry, you talked about people inventing god. In another you talked about ego being a Latin word for “I.” After reading those entries, it suddenly came to me that there has to be a connection. What I mean is that it hit me for the first time about how arrogant it has been to create a god in our image, especially in a male’s image. Yes or no?
F.: Definitely “yes.” First, see this about the false “I” or the ego: in the title of the book FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to Reality, the starting point of that “journey” is the “I”—the ego, the false self, the false identity. More exactly, “ego” in Latin was often used to mean “I myself” for emphasis, which makes even clearer the Advaitan understanding that the “I” refers to, specifically, “my [false] self.” The “journey” begins when persons (the non-Realized) start to wonder for the first time if maybe the “I”—which they have assumed themselves to be—is not their Real or Authentic or Actual or True Self at all. Relatedly, “person” is another word with a Latin root and can mean either “mask” or “actor” or “oneself.” All three of those words point to the false attributes of the ego…of the “I.” In the book mentioned above, "The Seven Degrees of Separation from Reality" are explained, but the pointer for now is to understand that nothing is farther removed from Reality than (1) being out of touch with reality and therefore (2) believing that the “I” is real.
Now to what “hit you for the first time.” Your conclusion is accurate in that there has always been a linkage between (A) personal ego—and the fear and desire that always accompany ego—and (B) the invention of god/gods by personas who believe in the false “I.” The power of the ego is four-fold: it is able to say “No!” to reality, it is able to reject any acceptance of truth or reality, it is therefore able to desire eternal continuity for itself, and it is able to accept illusion as reality. The Advaita teachings are an invitation to say “Yes” to truth and to say “No” to illusion. Thus, the link: the invention of god came about as a result of desires and fears, which are always ego-based.
The greatest fear is not the fear of the unknown around “death,” as some suggest. [A 100% “death rate” among humans cannot be denied by the sane.] The greatest fear is the fear of losing the familiar, including the world that people think they know, the bodies which are so familiar to them, their “minds” which house familiar images, and their personalities. It is ego that wants to keep all that in tact, that has a desire to preserve all ego-states, and that wants to be guaranteed eternal continuity for the body-mind-personality triad. Since humans haven’t yet been able to produce those results (the efforts or promises of some to cryopreserve humans with the intention of future revival notwithstanding), then humans living in the trap of their egos turn to something outside this world in hopes of a “miracle” that can make permanent that which is temporary. Thus, desiring to get “good” things and to avoid “bad” things, persons invented god/gods. The connection, therefore, should be obvious: there is a link between (a) ego’s desire for continuity and ego’s fear of a lack of continuity and ego’s boundless desires and (b) the subsequent “need” to invent god/gods in the belief that gods, or a single god, can grant to ego all of that which ego wants and can remove from ego all of that which ego fears.
One irony of the ego is this: freedom—as defined by the ego—is about having the ability to make choices. When non-realized persons finally realize that no one has any choice when living under the influence of programming, conditioning, personality, ego, genetics, and enculturation, then ego can dissolve along with all of those other influences. Only then can true freedom happen. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be concluded tomorrow]
F.: Definitely “yes.” First, see this about the false “I” or the ego: in the title of the book FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to Reality, the starting point of that “journey” is the “I”—the ego, the false self, the false identity. More exactly, “ego” in Latin was often used to mean “I myself” for emphasis, which makes even clearer the Advaitan understanding that the “I” refers to, specifically, “my [false] self.” The “journey” begins when persons (the non-Realized) start to wonder for the first time if maybe the “I”—which they have assumed themselves to be—is not their Real or Authentic or Actual or True Self at all. Relatedly, “person” is another word with a Latin root and can mean either “mask” or “actor” or “oneself.” All three of those words point to the false attributes of the ego…of the “I.” In the book mentioned above, "The Seven Degrees of Separation from Reality" are explained, but the pointer for now is to understand that nothing is farther removed from Reality than (1) being out of touch with reality and therefore (2) believing that the “I” is real.
Now to what “hit you for the first time.” Your conclusion is accurate in that there has always been a linkage between (A) personal ego—and the fear and desire that always accompany ego—and (B) the invention of god/gods by personas who believe in the false “I.” The power of the ego is four-fold: it is able to say “No!” to reality, it is able to reject any acceptance of truth or reality, it is therefore able to desire eternal continuity for itself, and it is able to accept illusion as reality. The Advaita teachings are an invitation to say “Yes” to truth and to say “No” to illusion. Thus, the link: the invention of god came about as a result of desires and fears, which are always ego-based.
The greatest fear is not the fear of the unknown around “death,” as some suggest. [A 100% “death rate” among humans cannot be denied by the sane.] The greatest fear is the fear of losing the familiar, including the world that people think they know, the bodies which are so familiar to them, their “minds” which house familiar images, and their personalities. It is ego that wants to keep all that in tact, that has a desire to preserve all ego-states, and that wants to be guaranteed eternal continuity for the body-mind-personality triad. Since humans haven’t yet been able to produce those results (the efforts or promises of some to cryopreserve humans with the intention of future revival notwithstanding), then humans living in the trap of their egos turn to something outside this world in hopes of a “miracle” that can make permanent that which is temporary. Thus, desiring to get “good” things and to avoid “bad” things, persons invented god/gods. The connection, therefore, should be obvious: there is a link between (a) ego’s desire for continuity and ego’s fear of a lack of continuity and ego’s boundless desires and (b) the subsequent “need” to invent god/gods in the belief that gods, or a single god, can grant to ego all of that which ego wants and can remove from ego all of that which ego fears.
One irony of the ego is this: freedom—as defined by the ego—is about having the ability to make choices. When non-realized persons finally realize that no one has any choice when living under the influence of programming, conditioning, personality, ego, genetics, and enculturation, then ego can dissolve along with all of those other influences. Only then can true freedom happen. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be concluded tomorrow]
