Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / The Role of the Ego in the Evolution of Consciousness

Transcript

The Role of the Ego in the Evolution of Consciousness · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:01
  In one of his aphorisms, SRI aurobindo observes quote, the
• 0:07
  ego is the helper. The ego is the bar and quote,
• 0:12
  for most spiritual Seekers, the attachment to the ego
• 0:16
  personality is the great hindrance which they must find a
• 0:20
  way to overcome. Some try extreme methods to
• 0:24
  minimize the role and power of the ego but we must ask the
• 0:29
  question. Why does the ego exist in the
• 0:32
  first place in the Divine creation?
• 0:35
  If it has no purpose and must be done away with?
• 0:41
  The close examination of plant life.
• 0:43
  And that of many of the less complex animals shows that they
• 0:48
  seem to live a life without individual reflection or ego
• 0:51
  awareness. In many cases, there is a hive
• 0:55
  or Congregation of some sort of which each member is apart.
• 1:00
  And to, which each member relates, its entire awareness,
• 1:04
  ants and bees, for instance, seem to have a group existence,
• 1:08
  rather than an individual life. As animal life develop greater
• 1:13
  mental power. We begin to see a growing
• 1:16
  awareness of the individual as a somewhat separate entity.
• 1:19
  And we thus see not only the pack or the hive awareness, but
• 1:25
  something of an individual Consciousness, which we may term
• 1:30
  a rudimentary form of ego with the development of the higher
• 1:35
  primates and eventually the human species.
• 1:37
  We see the development of Clear and distinct ego Consciousness.
• 1:43
  The ego Consciousness is not however, an unmixed blessing, it
• 1:48
  has its drawbacks and this leads to results like selfishness,
• 1:53
  greed, self-aggrandizement and other forms of ego, centeredness
• 1:57
  and attachment. Along with the ego Consciousness
• 2:01
  comes at a certain point in development, the capacity for
• 2:05
  self-reflection for a quest for meaning and significance.
• 2:10
  And eventually the aspiration for progress in various Fields,
• 2:15
  including the development of the spiritual aspiration.
• 2:20
  At this point, the ego has reached its peak of development
• 2:24
  and significance and is then time for a new phase that
• 2:29
  transcends Supersedes the ego awareness.
• 2:33
  This does not imply a return to the hive but a new formation
• 2:38
  that can recognize both the value of the individual and the
• 2:43
  integration of the individual into the collective entirety of
• 2:47
  the universal manifestation. Dr. Dalal notes, quote even
• 2:54
  after the emergence of mind, the growth of Consciousness and the
• 2:58
  human being continues to be a more or less unconscious process
• 3:03
  because the roots of matter. Life and mind lie in the
• 3:08
  incontinent out of which they have evolved.
• 3:12
  The first step for emerging out of the Primeval unconsciousness
• 3:16
  is to develop a conscious ego, a separate and independent.
• 3:20
  Individuality so long as an individuality has not been
• 3:25
  formed, the human being remains an amorphous, entity, more or
• 3:30
  less fuse with the unconscious totality of existence.
• 3:35
  It is by the development of a conscious ego.
• 3:38
  Individualization of being in becoming that a person becomes
• 3:44
  an individual ego, is the identification of our being with
• 3:48
  the superficial outer cell. Self made up of the body, the
• 3:53
  vital nature, and the mind due to the ego, the certain
• 3:57
  formation of physical vital, and mental experience is
• 4:02
  distinguished from the rest of the being and is regarded as the
• 4:05
  self. Thus, the ego serves to bring
• 4:09
  about the emergence from unconsciousness through a purse,
• 4:13
  Progressive Consciousness, awareness of the physical vital
• 4:17
  and mental aspects of the being Once the separate of ego has
• 4:22
  been adequately developed evolution of Consciousness can
• 4:26
  be accelerated through growth in a different dimension that which
• 4:31
  lies in the Transcendence of the ego Liberation from the ignorant
• 4:36
  identification with one's superficial nature and the
• 4:40
  discovery of the true self inner growth.
• 4:43
  Thus represents a new dimension of evolution.
• 4:48
  And quote, reference SRI aurobindo, and the mother
• 4:53
  growing within the psychology of inner development, introduction
• 4:58
  Pages Roman for to Roman five.