Hello Deepak,

"Many people who have no religious convictions achieve some of these goals on their own
simply by wanting to mature and by going about life soberly and seriously. They work on themselves without any outward show and over
time see results."

Well, this is True and nothing more can be said, and they know inside that it all boils down to the same Truth, the base of every religion, philosopy, culture and even scientific knowledge.

The Ultimate cannot be expressed in words.

Jai Guru Deva
I honor the Divine in You as I honour it in myself.
Bless the Divine Spirit within.

The closest one comes to it is breathing In and Out in total Surrender.

Namaste, from the heartphone :)

Mieke

This is very beautiful. Thank you Deepak. I especially enjoyed the closing ...

"...if you test the hypothesis that you have a soul, you will be able to prove that the hypothesis is valid. The possibility for this experiment is open to all and closed to none. The choice that must be made belongs to each of us, and no choice is more important." ~Deepak Chopra

Yes, I am one who goes back and forth between the ego and the soul, as I learn and grow on my current journey. I have found the soul to be much more pleasurable (peaceful) and complete (fullness), as well as true (real) and faithful (trustworthy) and to be the highest vehicle for LOVE.

Love, Char

However, since I still have not found joy and happiness, I continue my journey to know myself. But I have found peace, which has been amazing! Just maybe I don't know understand joy and happiness and have been defining it from the ego's point of view instead of the soul's. Regardless, I know I'm not quite there, but I can taste it .... the bliss :-)

Love, Char

Excellent!

peace

Dear Deepak,

Enjoyed your interview with the Washington Post, it was most concise and most eloquent exposition of vedantic knowledge in that format.

I know the purpose of your current post is to spur the seekers to further the process of their evolution and to inspire those who still are in an arrested state of immobility. I hope you will not take it as a criticism of your views. On the contrary, I thought when comparing the differences between the soul and the ego it would be good to have a proper take into what ego is in its actuality. It is believed that a revelation of the paradoxical concepts helps to move beyond the boundaries of the established notions. When one understands something which one is supposed to bypass, transcend or rid off it becomes so much easier. And at times what seems to be an obstacle can turn out to be a motivating force.

The concept of an individual ego is greatly misunderstood and greatly misinterpreted in a new-age teaching, as well as by some yoga teachers. Some teachers also have carried on the same attitude towards that essential and universal principal. Just remember Osho: drop the ego, drop the mind, over & over... and bewildered listeners tried, very hard. But to no avail.

How can one drop what in fact holds one together ? Ego is the gravity which literally holds together the cells & the tissues your body is made from. ( The principe of ) Ego is not to be despised, but to be understood. It is thanks to ego, the individual is driven to the expression of his unique gifts and aspirations. Towards leaving a mark of his existence. Towards experience of greater happiness, which finally culminates in self-realization. It's true the individual ego wants to pocket even the impact of an Enlightenment, not knowing it will cost the owner his individuality.

The Ego, Ahamkara (in sanskrit) is that principal which spurs Universe towards multiplicity, thus allowing the beauty of creation to take place in all its uniqueness. Ahamkara is a principal of individuation of Mahat ( Cosmic Intellect ) which gives the cosmic drama its incentive for the manifestation of all its splendor.

According to the Samkhya, the senses ( Indrias ) with their respective seats in the organs form the basis of physiology and are there to serve the Mind to express itself. Mind being the boss in the body is still inferior to the Intellect ( Buddhi ) which is a finer reality still. Now some indian schools put the ego together with the intellect as the most subtle substance which go to make an individual. Yet there are other systems which argue the supremacy of ego over intellect, like the above mentioned Samkhya.

How can an individual bypass the subtlest substance which in fact holds the key to the velocity of his own DNA, what in fact determines the whole psycho-physiological setup ? How can one act with or without the energy which is literally a motivating force behind one's actions ? And what happens to that principal when there is a condition known as being free of ego ?

What happens is a shift in perception. If in a bound state an individual thought of himself just as ''this body'', in a state of expanded consciousness he will naturally identify with that level of awareness which allows him to see beyond the seeming boundaries. The first glimpses of the Cosmic Consciousness are precisely that sensation when one simply cannot help but see oneself as the trees, the city, the forest, the landscape, the moon, the sun and and the planets... Even if that does not become a permanent experiences, still coming out of it one 'recollects' the sensation of being one with the others. That is only possible because the ''I'' has experienced a shifted from the bound, limited state to the qualitatively different one. That's why there is always be ''I have seen that'', ''I have gone through that''. The experience changes but the ''I'' stays the same. because this ''I'' is the universal principal of egoity of the Absolute. Aham Brahmasmi - I am Totality.

So ultimately speaking ego never dies, nor it drops anywhere. When Prana equalizes in the body it awakens the dormant consciousness and that's when the shift in ego-perception really takes place. It only expands larger and larger progressively encompassing an individual, his environment to greater and greater extend. It is not an overnight process, yet a gradual expansion of ego from a limited state of an individual to the state of cosmic egoity. Until the individual is but a seat of localized consciousness otherwise identifying himself with the totality of existence.

Once again, when one undergoes the process of gradual expansion of consciousness, with the transcendence ( purification ) of the psychic centers one experiences the expansion of awareness and one literally becomes larger than life. The glimpses of the Cosmic state of consciousness is where one cannot help but to identify with the whole phenomena outside of one's body complex. One literally sees oneself as the Solar System, as the Sun, the Moon the stars. And eventually as the mass of a liquid Light. Why is it sounds so disconcerting when one founds oneself to be Cosmos ! Even more so when one finds nothing but God in oneself. Yet that's the only authentic statement in a given trajectory.

Jai Guru Dev

P. S. We all act from the level of our awareness and our actions are always coloured by what we identify with the most. How selfless or how selfish we are depends on what we think of ourselves to be. If one thinks of oneself as just a body, one's behavior will reflect utmost egoism. Extending oneself to that of a family one's behavior will reflect bigger diapason of care. That of a tribe will make one a more responsible towards the needs of his community. Ideally we have to rise to the level of identifying ourselves with the Planet at least. In better times that was the case, but since we live in time of continues fragmentation we think mostly outside of our own interests as collective beings, in favor of the small groups. The only way to change that petty condition is to have a direct experience of being more than just a conglomerate of flesh and blood. The Cosmic Consciousness is the only answer for humanity if we want to rise to the level we are born to be.

That is some really groovy artwork Igor, very nice!

peace

I really enjoyed this reading! If there are direct links that covers Part 1 - 4, would someone please provide them. I am new to this community and i'm not sure how far back I need to search.

The easiest way to find the links would be to click on Deepak's name and then all his post should be to left, if I remember correctly.

“Many people who have no religious convictions achieve some of these goals on their own simply by wanting to mature and by going about life soberly and seriously. They work on themselves without any outward show and over time see results”.

Question:
Would an expansion of our consciousness into the realm of cutting edge science help or hinder the formulating of a hypothesis of our own soul?

I'm curious as to what identifying word Deepak is to use in describing those parts of ourselves that keep us from cosmic consciousness and enlightenment? If not ego then what?

For me science has and continues to validate my/our soul. The soul isn't some latent thing
to be denounced or proven, it's everywhere in everything. The deeper understandings from science will give greater insights into the mystery and splendor of the soul.

Love, Love

Sir Deepak,

Sincerely, thank you for this.

jen-d

Welcome Lily S.!

peace

Hello Deepak and Everyone,

Ahh, have to print this part out and keep for contmeplation time.

soul talk....is soooooo groovy man:))))

really, I like this conclusion to your "Soul Hypothesi"

have a wonderful day...ruth

The ego is base only when we let it be in the dream. Isn't it the same ego that elevates us to the soul when we try to wake up!? There seems to be a spectrum to the ego, which resonates with what Igor mentions.

Thed "Soul Hypothesis" for God-consciousness is such a truly great field for exploration I thought I would examine the possibilities for Democracy-consciousness using the same "Soul Hypothesis. A link to my essay into this topic is posted at the top of my website.

Google: Lovers of Democracy

I would love to learn what you all think of this approach to Democracy-consciousness. What has startled me most about this project is the terrible confusion that exists with regard to democracy in the USA. Without the wisdom and power of a democracy, we are all powerless in the face of Big Government and Big Business. Maybe this is the way to transform the situation.

Vigdor