Ego, Purusha, Psychic Being
By Karmayogi
Man lives in his ego. The Rishis
withdraws into the Purusha, during meditation. The Psychic being is a new
spiritual concept to the world. When Churchill joined the British Cabinet, his
aunt wrote him advising him to run his department and not the entire Cabinet. Ego
has the philosophy that what it is is sacred, and everyone should worship it. An
egoistic corrupt official does not expect his family and department to condone
his guilt. He insists that they proclaim him to be a personification of
integrity. That is the rationality of ego. USAexterminated the American Indian population but now champions the cause of
human rights, and does not allow parents to discipline their own children. The
change is welcome, but it must come as a reversal of the earlier barbarism. Instead,
USA insists on being
hailed as the hero of human rights. It is said of them that they want to be the
first anywhere, even in a wedding, claiming precedence over the groom.
We can call Purusha as Manomaya Purusha, Jivatma, Soul, witness Purusha, etc. The
Jnani withdraws into it, into its Timeless aspect during meditation. When he
emerges out of meditation, his ego resumes its rule with an added intensity to
make up for the loss of its reign during the meditation. Hence, the ferocity of
his curse if his path is crossed. Still his meditation can take him to Samadhi
and to moksha. His moksha is a realisation of his ego. Purusha is the
immutable, changeless Soul, but in the domain of Nature it is powerless. It
remains a witness. However, Nature cannot exist without a soul. The deputy of
Jivatma in Nature is the Psychic Being. As Nature works, the psychic Being
evolves. Tradition does not have this concept, though they know of the Psychic
Being. It was born on earth when Lord Krishna came on earth. In all Bhakti
cults, the soul that leads is the Psychic Being.
One major characteristic of the Psychic Being is, it cannot curse. As it
refuses to curse, the world tries to destroy it, just as Rana, the husband of
Mirabai, tried to kill her by poisoning. It exudes Love, compassion, and
sweetness. It has been there in our tradition, but our tradition honoured the
Purusha as it sought moksha. The Psychic can transform the human being or offer
moksha if the devotee desires. Sri Aurobindo denied Himself moksha, sought
transformation in human life so that the entire earth consciousness – all of
humanity – would be transformed, shedding disease, pain and death. As long as
one clings to his ego, he cannot enter the realms of Sri Aurobindo's
yoga. One single LIE will wipe off the entire yoga done up to that point, as a
lie strengthens the ego. Sri Aurobindo's yoga demands the surrender of
ego by the soul to the Divine. Invocation of the Spirit
demands an egoless Soul.