Death of the ego

Death of the ego

When God’s subtle presence writes answers to your prayers, there oozes out words of wisdom packed with Truth unsullied. Here is an episode from San Salvador when God decided to write The Answer... (From the Sanathana Sarathi Archives)

When Swami authorised the trip of Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter to the Sathya Sai Centres in eleven countries in Latin America, the devotees in El Salvador were very happy even though we were number eleven. We decided to hold a public meeting and immediately wrote to Swami for His blessings.

A few days later, two new devotees who knew nothing of the public meeting, asked if they could dance for Swami. This started a chain of events which led to the presentation of the dance titled "The Death of the Ego". Four dancers danced the roles of Ego, Atma, Mind and the friend of the Mind. Everything was going smoothly up to two weeks before the event. Then started some difficult circumstances. First, the dancers all got into a big quarrel. The director wanted to quit. But with some careful explanation it was brought to the attention of the dancers that they wanted to present the death of the Ego to Swami and in order to do this their egos must truly be under control. They saw the light and danced beautifully together from that day forward.

Then it was discovered that the National Theatre where the meeting was to he held did not have its air conditioning in working order. The cost of repair was equal to two trips to India. So we decided to organise a fan brigade. Everyone that could, loaned us their electric fans.

A few days before the public meeting, the posters with Swami's picture were delivered and all the devotees helped to post these in strategic places around town. In a school where the EHV programme had been introduced, a devotee teacher placed a poster. To her chagrin a couple of days later the picture of Swami had been defaced by some miscreant. The teacher was upset. At first she asked Swami to punish the culprit, but then she thought, "No, that isn't right." One afternoon after school she was thinking on the problem and praying to Swami for guidance when all of a sudden she started writing. It was not her words that filled the paper. It was an answer to her prayers. This is what she wrote...

"I return to you not as the image on a poster that you pretend to destroy. I return to you as the light which you cannot extinguish, as the truth that you cannot destroy. I return to you as the voice of your conscience that you cannot silence, because I am the essence of the universal truth. Wash the dirt away from your heart so that you can hear my voice. Remove the blindfold that is covering your eyes and you will be able to see Me. I am in you, I'm your Atma, your spirit, your truth, the voice of your conscience. I am your beginning and your end. You cannot destroy Me. You can only achieve your own destruction." The poster was replaced with this message and all the students read it in silence and walked away.

On the day of the public meeting, Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter were received in the airport's hall of honour and there we sang bhajans. Then after a brief visit to six Sai Centres, the public meeting was held. But what a multitude! The crowds were turned a way, the doors were closed, only those who arrived punctually found seats. The nectar of the talks by Dr. Goldstein and Leonardo Gutter found a place in the heart of each. Then the dancers flew through the auditorium as the drama on the death of the ego unfolded. Swami was watching from His chair in the Presidential box and from His jhoola in the heart of each one present.

If there is ego and you think Swami is yours, then Swami gets imprisoned by your ego and cannot come to your help. But, if you think, “I belong to Swami”, then Swami becomes free to look after you and bring you spiritual progress. It is all a matter of humility and your attitude. Accept everything as God. God is everywhere, in everything. True realisation of the omnipresence of God will knock out your ego, since it stands in the way of surrender.

- Sri Sathya Sai.