What Kind Of "I" Is This?

Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj

Gold and goldsmith come together and produce a third thing that appears before our eyes as an ornament. The ornament is seen, and the gold and goldsmith are forgotten. As a matter of fact, if anyone was to try to find out if there is any such thing as an "ornament" inside the gold, one would see nothing but gold. If we tell someone to bring an ornament without touching the gold, what could he bring? The thing we call an ornament without would simply vanish. In the same way, out of the union of brahman and maya (illusion), the thief called "I" has come along proudly saying "I", and raising its head proclaiming sovereignty over both brahman and maya. This "I", or ego, is a barren woman's son who tries to establish unlimited sovereignty over the entire universe. If we observe the parents of this "I", it is clear that it is impossible for them to give birth to such a child. The mother of the child is maya, who does not exist. From the womb of this maya, the "I" has come forth. It is supposed to have been produced by the "Life-Energy". Yet, this Life Energy (brahman) has no gender, and does not even claim to possess "doership", so the readers can imagine what kind of an "I" is this.

He goes around saying "I am wise, I am great, I am small", all the while having forgotten from where he came. Instead he starts glorifying himself as "I", like the cat who laps up milk with its eyes closed, not aware of the stick that is ready to strike him from the rear. As soon as he accepts a right, or a privilege, he must also accept the responsibility that goes alone with it. As soon as one says, "I am the doer of a certain act," that "I" must enjoy the fruits of such action. Enjoyment and suffering of the fruits or the results of action are tied to the action itself, and to the identification as the doer.