Soul and the ego!

Recently I heard the following question in an online webinar. We can answer this question as follows. For more details, please see Anatomy of our experience.

Question:
Vanity, passion, ego are all born out of our Soul.
Then why should we negate them or try to get rid of them?

Answer:
All that is cognitive such as vanity (Lobha), passion (Moham) and ego (Ahamkaram) are all enabled by our human mind. The enabler is the soul, the life giving force of nature.
The enabled and the enabler are like two sides of a coin. They co-exist.
In that sense, the question has some validity.

But, the cognitive – our thoughts, views, emotions, etc. – exist as the enabled. It reflects our mind and our thinking. The enabler is the “Soul” – consciousness, Brahman, …
In practical terms, and for simplicity,  Brahman or Soul can be understood as the life giving forces of nature.

Nature or the Soul, have no qualities such as like/dislike, vanity/modesty, passion/detachment, ego/humility, etc.  This duality is superimposed on nature by our evolved mind (unique aspect of human beings) and our ability to think and reason. This superimposed duality, like the reflected image in a mirror is the illusion (Maya). 

When we look beyond this illusion we find all aspects of duality are the result of our connectors (Guna) as understood through our Knowledge, Bias and Ignorance. 

When we are told, “Get rid of your “ego” ”, what is really implied is that, explore the Knowledge, Bias and Ignorance behind your thought “I am responsible (Ahankaram – ego)”. You will find that such thought behind the ego, is largely due to our bias, attachment to a false sense of superiority, belief that “I” am alone the “enabler”, etc. As we address these limitations, the “ego” dissolves and it is replaced by a genuine motivation for the right reasons and right purpose with the right means!

In all of the above – being in a state of ego, reflecting on what it is and why?, and finding the corrective actions and proceeding further, etc, – the “Soul”, Athma, Consciousness, Brahman (the life giving forces of nature) always remains as the enabler, as the other side of the coin.

One can not separate or get rid of anything from your soul, since it is not connected or attached to anything!

“Negating or getting rid of ego, vanity, or passion”, simply means reflect and analyze their sources – of K, B and I – and transform them into the more desirable (Satvik) attributes of collaboration with harmony, genuine appreciation of the merit/value and affection that extends beyond selfish needs, etc.

Summary:
Good/bad are perceptions of the human mind. They need to be understood and resolved for proper and harmonious living. They can be resolved through exploration of pertinent connectors – K, B and I – and their interplay. This is what an enlightened person should do on the cognitive side (of the two sided coin). The soul or consciousness – the other side of the coin – enables our ability to think as we wish and reason as we can. This choice is the unique blessing to the human kind from our soul or consciousness!

Events and experiences of nature are all enabled by the Soul, Consciousness or Brahman (the enabler, the other side of the two sided coin). For the enabler, there is no good, bad or indifferent; there is nothing to be gained, nothing to get rid off!

Enabled – Cognitive side is like the glowing electric bulb, and you can change the red bulb to  green bulb.

Enabler – the subtle side is like the electrical energy, which has no color or light bulbs to identify with!