Emerging victorious in our battle with visible enemies is easier than defeating invisible enemies such as our EGO – part of mind that has sense of individuality; Self-esteem. This personal vanity makes a person self-conceited egotist. Like lethargy, laziness, forgetfulness and death-like sleep for very long hours, ego is also an invisible enemy that should be crushed as pulp.
Flatterers make a person EGOMANIAC. False praise becomes the fodder for egomaniacs. The insincere eulogy of sycophants makes them think too big of themselves and ultimately become over confident. We fail to distinguish between sincere praise and insincere praise, don’t we? By converting a person as an incorrigible egomaniac, hypocrites reap a harvest of benefits from the flattered victim. Sometimes we mistrust true friends and trust false friends. This is a bitter lesson that history teaches us.
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Egotists underestimate others and rush to be at the forefront in everything. But self-confidence is our reasonable trust in our capabilities. Both are different in a sense. Self-confidence is an indispensable virtue for us all, whereas ego is deceptive, ruinous, hazardous. It is like mirage on a desert; an absolute illusion.
To quote Winston Churchill – “Facts are better than dreams”.
Dreams and imaginations change like passing clouds. Truth is an intransient element like the sky. Truth ultimately triumphs as we are all well aware of. Self-confidence is an inexhaustible water-source. But ‘ego’ is like a balloon that is inflatable only to certain extent. Forcing it to swell out beyond it would only cause a burst.
An eminent Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said – “Some people are silent because they are sound”.
By “sound” he meant knowledge. He implied that “one who knows, talks less. The ignorant always talks more”. Egotists are great talkers but poor listeners. We should learn to be men and women of a few words. Wise people use silence as a weapon because “no communication” is also a communication. Practising detachment is an antidote to drive away ego.
Keeping distance is also an art. But what is the safer distance? Our experience in life should determine it. Ego is like a whirlpool. It can drag us to unfathomable depth in life. We must give up our ego.
That does not mean that we have to exist as insensitive morons, in self-imposed isolation. It would cause meaninglessness in life. Three things are there to remember:
1) Being modest and humble at all times.
2) Accepting success and failure with the same spirit.
3) Practical, realistic approaches if we fail to succeed.
Humility is an elevator that can make us reach great heights. Let us all say “go” to “ego” and make our life lovable. The rest in my next.
Source: ‘Viduthalai’
