Cultivate a Positive Ego
The goal is not to get rid of the ego but to cultivate a positive one, a personality that is kind, humble and uplifting to everyone around you.
Dandapani describes growing up hearing that the ego is bad and must be eliminated, and the different perspective his guru gave him at the monastery. The ego is your personality, and as long as you have a name, preferences, likes and dislikes, you have one. The practice is to make that personality a positive one.
What this talk covers
- Everything he heard about the ego growing up was that it is bad and that a spiritual person should not have one.
- His guru looked at the ego as personality, with some personalities more evolved and others less evolved.
- As long as you have a name, preferences, likes and dislikes, you have an ego, so getting rid of it is not the aim.
- A positive ego is someone kind, able to express empathy, compassion and love, who seeks solutions and treats everybody equally.
- The daily practice is to ask how you can be a little more humble, a little more kind and a little more gentle in your speech, thinking and interactions, so that your patterns uplift you and everyone around you.
So the goal on the spiritual path, at least from the philosophy that I subscribe to, is not to get rid of the ego, but rather to cultivate a positive ego.Dandapani
Questions
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Dandapani says no. In the philosophy he subscribes to, the ego is your personality, and everyone who has a name, preferences, likes and dislikes has one.
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Being someone who is kind, who can express empathy, compassion and love, who is uplifting, who seeks solutions and who treats everybody equally.
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Instead of trying to get rid of it, cultivate it. Ask how you can be a little more humble, kind and gentle in your speech and thinking, so your behaviour uplifts you and the people around you.
Transcript
345 words · 1:52
Ego. Let's talk about the ego. When I was growing up and I was very interested in spirituality my whole life, the only thing I ever heard about the ego is that the ego is bad and you need to get rid of it. And if you want to be a spiritual person, then you should really not have an ego.
It wasn't until I went to the monastery and I met my guru that he gave me a different perspective on the ego. He looked at the ego as a personality and we all have a personality. Some personalities are more evolved and others are less evolved. But as long as we have preferences, we have a name, we have likes and we have dislikes,
we have an ego. We have a personality and that personality is our ego. So she shared with me the perspective to take on the ego, which is to not to get rid of the ego, but rather to cultivate a positive ego, a positive personality. So to be someone who's kind, someone who can express empathy and compassion and love, to be an uplifting human being,
to be someone who is seeking solutions, who treats everybody equally, that is a positive ego. So the goal on the spiritual path, at least from the philosophy that I subscribe to, is not to get rid of the ego, but rather to cultivate a positive ego. So this is something that you resonate with,
then this is something I encourage you to do. From now on, rather than thinking about getting rid of the ego, think about cultivating a positive ego. How can I be a better version of myself
to be a little bit more humble, to be a little bit more kind, to be a little bit more gentle in my speech, in my thinking and how I interact with people
to just be a better human where my behavioral patterns, my speech patterns, my thinking patterns results in upliftment for not only myself, but for everyone around me.