If you look at your life from childhood, you will see that the aim has been to increase the quantity or quality of anything and everything you do. This maybe knowledge as a student; money as an income earner; investments as a wealth creator; or market share as a business owner. These will bring opportunities, earning power, greater comforts, but we know that beyond a certain point they don’t bring greater happiness.

We all know wealthy people that have incredible problems in their lives and that “money does not buy happiness”. The same applies to power and fame. Chasing these false gods may bring some happiness in the short term, they do not bring anything long lasting and may even lead to unhappiness, despair and depression.

Money, power and fame are false gods.

Do not chase them. If they happen to come your way along the course of your life then accept them gracefully, but in no way consider yourself a greater success than someone else without such material good fortune. The inflated ego is a symptom of deep ineptitude. You try to fill the hole with outer accolades. It never works.

In the world of yoga, meditation and eastern philosophy, the cravings and strivings for these false gods, come from the “ahamkara” or ego. On the contrary the deepest impulse of the human being comes from the “atman” spirit or soul. The spirit or soul has an unlimited capacity to expand. The ego falsely falls for the illusion that it is the soul and strives for expansion on the material level. It has limitations. The spirit has no limitations. When spirit expands it merges with a collective. You feel so expansive but simultaneously so small.

Both can not be expansive together. If you wish to experience the expansive, unbounded nature of the soul, your ego will have to become very small, like that of a child. In the Bible, Jesus says, “truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

We need ego, but it can lead to a delusion that makes humans chase the false gods which never lead to fulfillment.

Food for Thought!