The obsession with Me, My and Mine is currently the foundation of Western Societies.
It has been ubiquitous for so long that it is erroneously considered to be an aspect of ‘Human Nature.’
A pointer to the real nature of the human being is contained in the oft-repeated story of Chuang Tzu’s piglets: The mother sow died while suckling her piglets, and almost at once the little pigs left the dead body because obviously their mother was no longer there. This idea (basic to most religious beliefs) has been prevalent all over the world, though the essential significance was not always grasped. In Europe, the word “animus” was used for that which “animates” the psychosomatic aspect of the sentient beings. However, what was indicated by the word “animus” was different in the West than in the East. In the West the word was considered as personal to each individual phenomenal object. In the East the word has had the more comprehensive aspect of “Consciousness” or “Heart” or “Mind” in the impersonal and universal sense.
The impersonal or universal Consciousness, when it manifests itself as the phenomenal universe, objectifies itself as subject and object. The result is that the concept of a separate, independent “me” arises in human beings, to whom the phenomenal universe appears to be “thing-ness”. This objectivizing of pure subjectivity (“pure” as opposed to the pseudo-subjectivity of the “me” concept) and calling it “me” as a separate, autonomous entity, is precisely the supposed bondage from which liberation is sought.
It is interesting and instructive to go into the process by which the “me” creates unhappiness and conflict in relation to its relationship with the outside world from which it has separated and alienated itself.
Humans have from times immemorial felt an intuitive dissatisfaction with the separation caused by the identification of the impersonal universal Consciousness with each sentient object. This separation was basically necessary for the creation of duality. And duality is the very basis of the phenomenal manifestation, of the observer and the observed object, subject and object, pleasure and pain etc. However, man has always been asking himself “who really am I?”. He has not, deep down, fully identified himself with the body-mind apparatus. The question itself is at once an indication of his intuitive identification with his source, and an effort to seek that source.
In deep sleep there is no separation of any kind. The state of deep sleep is identical for every sentient being. It is a state that every sentient being needs and wants at regular intervals. The condition of deep sleep is a hazy reflection of our real state.
The problem for the “me” really is that it knows that the separation is a false phenomenon and that perfection without any boundaries is its true nature. What is not deeply understood is that in this perfection that it seeks, the “me” itself must perish. The “me’ is itself the separation that is sought to be corrected. The non-realization of this fact makes the “me” try to improve itself. The unfortunate result of such efforts at self-improvement is that the “me” creates further and deeper separation with itself. The deeper this separation goes, the more the confusion arises. The further separation caused by self-improvement efforts leads at best to a mental frustration and at worst to total insanity.
The first schism within the human occurs with the realization that the “me”, the ego, while inextricably bound to the body mechanism, is not the body itself. This happens because there is the instinctive feeling that one has a body, that the body is of the nature of a possession, and that the reason for this schism is ignorance of the fact that the body is not the illusory, conceptual “me”, but impersonal Consciousness which has, through identification with the individual organism, lost its universality and has taken on a personal aspect. What first considers itself to be in bondage, and then seeks liberation from this bondage, is not the illusory, conceptual “me” but the consciousness itself seeking to shed its personal aspect and return to its impersonal universality.
So the mind and body constitute one whole mechanism. The split is not only uncalled for but is indeed the proof of the manner in which the body has been ignored and abused, and the intellect pampered to an extent that the intuitive faculties of the civilized man have atrophied. The result is a lopsided development of the civilized man, leading to tension, conflict and unhappiness.
This prejudice in favor of the mind and the schism between mind and body works on the infant, conditioning it continuously. By the time the infant has matured into adolescence, the split is so complete that the individual considers himself primarily the mind. The body is seen as a mere appendage, or, as St. Francis referred to his body as “poor brother ass”, something to be used to get places in the world.
It is because of this dichotomy that there is an inescapable feeling that our decisions and actions are dictated by a tiny man in the head.
The next step in the process of fragmentation and exclusion within the organism comes about with the limiting of the ego to certain characteristics required by a certain ideal. The ego or self-image is confined only to an ideal demanded by society and/or commanded by religion. All other characteristics are thrown out of the self-image as part of the not-self. This truncated self-image is what the individual considers to be himself—the person.
Thus it is that the conceptual individual narrows himself down until he is totally dominated and bound by the person. This is like a king dreaming that he is a helpless, destitute beggar.
The significant point in this analysis is that with each narrowing down of identity from universality to persona, the individual creates for himself more and more problems, conflicts and unhappiness. And the tragedy is that he does not realize that the cause of his unhappiness lies not in the outside world (as he thinks) but within himself. Thus, the more he tries to protect himself and what he considers as his security, the tighter becomes the bonds with which he has trapped himself. The more efforts he makes with the help of psychologists, psychiatrists, gurus, the more trussed he becomes until perhaps a stage is reached when he either commits suicide, or he surrenders to what he considers the inevitable fate.
The fact of matter is that all efforts must necessarily emanate from the illusory ego—whether full or truncated—which really means from that very mind (thought-intellect) which has brought about such a sorry plight. And the relief, the liberation, is possible only when the mind ceases to function in those areas beyond its allotted routine, technical scope. It comes only when conceptualization ceases. Then the desires, fears, hopes and ambitions go back to their source. This is possible only when there is a total transformation in the viewpoint. And this can come about only when the mind surrenders itself completely and merges itself in its source, which is Consciousness.
There can be no technique or system for this for the simple reason that all techniques and systems refer to the illusory ego or individual, and for the transformation to happen, the ego must vanish.
As soon as there is realization that What-We-Are is the universal Consciousness (which directs all psychosomatic mechanisms like puppets in a play) all splits and schisms get healed, and universal harmony prevails.