How can we evaluate ourselves in terms of Demands of the Ego?

• One is to know them by understanding their attributes and be conscious of the ego-to overcome it.
• The other is to know how they impact our life and take only what gives higher consciousness and higher progress.

In first one: We start evolving when the spirit touches our mind. Spirit touches mind by higher values initially, leading to the higher, wider, knowledge when it dwells inside. To start that after certain stages of life, or business, or in relationships -take oath to be fair and just in all. This is actually getting inspiration from the spirit to evolve in consciousness – coming out of demands of ego. This makes us to see our own, as well as egoistic actions of all around us – compare with ours and as we took oath, we start thinking on other men terms which is leading to higher wider knowledge-to discard the demand of ego.

The following are some of the examples Sri Karmayogi gives for that – after taking such an oath:

wife not trying to dominate husband,

subordinate not trying to influence the boss,

boss not trying to exploit subordinates.

mind being incapable of desiring things to which it has no right,

man trying to take another man’s point of view,

not trying to get the better of a situation through a trick or strategy.

not grabbing the opportunities by unfair means

not jumping the queue

Reduced meanness,

Reduced jealousy,

In second one: Practicing first one -leads to the second one to see how our ego-based character, behaviour, attitude, and opinions influenced the life response. Sri Karmayogi says this analysis is equal to consecration. Because it is spirit’s point of view to give the self. In one sense it is self-giving to all around-persons, atmosphere etc., so that he expands thought reins of spirit and not through the reigns of ego. Now it is a realisation- higher knowledge -that divinity in him should expand and reflect in his life -which actually demand of the spirit.

Somehow, I feel the following lines of Sri Karmayogi explaining the process is very poetic.

Overcoming the ego: Such type of aspiration is -as given -above- is man’s part which he does not come forward to do or when he does come forward finds it too much. Mother helps even here. When you call HER, the call includes the fullness, richness and intensity. It summarises the whole yogic effort. That call is from the surface, overcoming the ego.

Hence it is an effort. Very appreciable effort. This call on maturing, slips into the inner being and depths and very slowly it rises by itself. That is a fuller call, a higher order, it moves from the surface to the depth to the psychic and rises through the grades of the spiritualized mind. It can be mind, vital, physical and each stage has its consciousness and substance. Thus, the physical matter is the very last. At each plane, the original difficulty repeats in the same order in greater intensity.

Sri Karmayogi says, for the devotee, coming out of demands of the ego is – to release the Spirit which is locked up in demands of the ego- in our attitudes, preferences, prejudices, and opinions. That will bring us to the demand of the Spirit.

Though the intense call, by aspiration, should come from the depth, initially in practice we cannot do that or feel that. So, when we want to overcome the demands of the ego which we feel in the surface level and also, we feel that it is wrong in the surface level, calling Mother at that level will suppress the ego. To make that calling full rich and intense, we have to call loud without inhibitions (again overcoming the ego) just as intense as the child calls its mother when it is missed in a crowded jamboree.

I understood this as calling from the surface, which slowly goes into the depth. As it is voluntary and conscious for the sake of Mother -it is said it is appreciable. The next stage is whenever we behave or even think to behave that way, along with those thoughts, parallelly we can see call raising voluntarily and reminding us that is wrong. The next stage is automatically something calls Mother, Mother and makes us to take more expansive decisions. This is my experience. Though it may not exactly fit the term call going to the “depth” -but such experiences make me to understand Sri Karmayogi’s words in a crude way.