Pride, Ego & Arrogance--- How to Keep them at Bay

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"Hypocrisy, pride, self-conceit, wrath, arrogance and ignorance belong, O

Partha, to him who is born to the heritage of the demons.” ~ The Gita, XVI. 4

 

Why do I wish to talk about pride and arrogance? Because in my opinion, while

pride harms only the proud man, arrogance due to overbearing pride brings

contempt for others. An arrogant man is often rude and very fond of offending

his friends, relatives, colleagues and everyone else who comes in contact with

him.

Pride-

Pride rears its head even in the most unsuspected corners. One man may be proud

that he is proud, and another, proud that he is not proud. While one may be

proud that he is a non-believer in God, another may be proud of his devotion to

God. Learning may render one man proud, and yet ignorance can also be the source

of pride for another man.

Ego

Ego is nothing but pride in its inflated form. For example, an arrogant man is

unduly or excessively proud of his wealth, status, learning, etc. He shows ego

in spirit of conduct. He is unwarrantably overbearing and haughty. His head is

swollen like the swelling caused by dropsy. He thinks very highly of himself

and poorly of others. He claims much for himself and concedes little to others.

 

Arrogance

Arrogance is an absorbing sense of one’s own greatness. It is a feeling of one’s

superiority over others. In the presence of superiors, overweening pride

manifests itself as arrogance. Pride is too self-satisfied to care for seeing

the good in others and in praising them.

 

Vanity

Another by-product of pride is vanity, which intensely craves admiration and

applause. It is undue assumption of self-importance. It often results in open

and rude expression of contempt and hostility. It quickly takes for granted

superiority and privilege, which others are slow to concede.

 

Why is it Difficult to Ward Off the Ego?

However, if you think pride or ego is easy to get rid of, think again! The play

of the ego pervades our whole life. The ego does not go away by merely

substituting some set phrase for “I”. As long as the body is alive and the mind

functions in and through the body, what is known as the ego or the personality

will arise and exist. This ego or pride is not a permanent and unquestionable

reality. It is a temporary phenomenon; it is ignorance that invests it with

permanency. It is a concept; it is ignorance that elevates it to status of

reality. Only enlightenment can bring you this wisdom.

The Underlying Paradox

How does enlightenment arise? How does the realization “God is the real doer and

we are just His means” get instilled in our hearts? I am sure you will agree

that until this realization arises in our minds and inner intelligence, we

cannot get rid of the ego. One may very easily say, “Practice Karma-Yoga and

the ego will disappear.” Is practicing Karma-Yoga as simple as these words

sound? If, for instance, you say that you have been a Karmyogi i.e. doing your

duties and not looking for rewards, for years and years and years, then you

become so vain and arrogant that the ego waxes gloriously inside you, instead

of being eliminated. The argument is that if you are established in the

practice of Karma-Yoga, your heart is purified, and then in that pure heart

divine grace dispels the darkness of the ego. Possibly! But before you get to

that stage, the ego becomes so great that the earlier philosophy is completely

forgotten.

May God Bless You!

So, what should we do to exorcise the devil of pride (ego) and arrogance? In my

opinion, only by the grace of God one can be watchful of the presence of pride

in all our actions. How does one earn God’s grace? You cannot earn it because

that will again involve your ego.

In the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna says: “On account of pure compassion I bestow

knowledge on My devotee. I give it out of compassion, not because he deserves

it.” Mark the Lord’s words, “My devotee.” Who is His devotee? He, whose heart

all the time cries, "My God, what am I going to do? I can’t get rid of my ego.

I cannot deal with my pride” — in the hope that one day by the miraculous grace

of God someone, probably a Guru will come in your life, who will switch on the

enlightenment and put off the pride. Until then all you can do is to keep

praying.

 

By Gyan Rajhans "Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat

ParambramhaTashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always

shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties

by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of

mind.Sai bhakt,Deepa Hdebu7366

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