Ego As Target

Ego is the target of many spiritual traditions concerned with one’s directly seeing that one is the Self, or consciousness, or awareness, or universal love.

To its credit, the direct path teaching of Advaita Vedanta has elegant, philosophical ways of honing in on this target in order to see whether there’s actually a bull’s eye.

Formula

Ego = the I that’s associated with X.

What Is X?

Let’s consider the basic categories:

• Space
• Time
• Form, or object

X = Space

What is the ego candidate here? It is: “I am the center, and this center is localized and limited.”

In other words, when the question is put, “Where are you?,” the first answer is: “I am in here.” Specifically, one will feel that one is located at the third eye, in the mouth, in the throat, or in the chest.

A simple Vedantic approach is to proceed by way of discrimination. Isn’t it clear that this spot is a sensation? Yes. And isn’t it very clear that you, being aware of this sensation, are separate from this sensation? Yes. Then you can’t be “this center.”

Many more arguments concerning space can be advanced in support of the direct insight that I am not in space and, in particular, that I am not a center situated in a particular place in space.

X = Time

There are, I think, more ego candidates here. Notably:

• I am the author.
• I am the thinker or knower.
• I am the feeler of emotions.
• I am the imaginer.
• I am the doer, who has a life to lead.

Two considerations show that I can’t be any of these. First, I am present whereas at the very moment I ask, “Where is the author?,” I don’t find any-thing. And, second, I am aware of (for instance) an emotion and, as such, am separate from it. Therefore, I can’t be it, nor can I be the feeler.

X = Form

Of course, an investigation of space and time will show that neither is real. That investigation undercuts even the possibility of identifying myself with any form (since form implies that space exists, and time’s existence is parasitic on space’s existence).

Carry on nonetheless by examining

• The gross (physical) body
• The energy (pranic) body)
• The subtle body

Even if we assume that the gross, energy, or subtle body exists, our investigation will swiftly reveal that I am the witness that’s illuminating the gross, the energetic, and the subtle. Therefore, I can’t be any of these.

Direct Experience

Atmananda’s most important statement is: “Pure consciousness is mere experience.” When I stay with “mere experience” and thus when I remove all superimpositions from mere experience, all I find is pure consciousness. In fact, I don’t find pure consciousness. I am pure consciousness.