Ego Death: The Real Meaning
In the world of spirituality, metaphysics, and mysticism, ego death is a very talked about thing. People often believe that, the death of ego, is the gateway to the mystical, and god. A lot of effort is put in by aspirants, to kill their ego, however, nothing happens. Unfortunately, we have got a wrong idea about ego death. In this article, we are going to bust the myths surrounding ego death, scientifically, and inform people that what it actually is.
Introduction
People often believe ego, to be self-centric nature, and too much of “I” thought. It is believed that this “I” thought is what keeps us away from the mystic world. This ideology gave birth to ego death, wherein we are suggested to drop the”I” thought. Eventually, we end up claiming that “I do not have an ego,” which in itself is a delusion.
In reality, ego basically means false identification with memory, which is the basis of our individual existence. Hence ego death means, abolishing this false identification, so we can experience ourselves an unsullied by memory intelligence. To understand this further, we need to understand memory or information, boundaries, physical, and the non-physical. (Read: Why You See 1111)
The Existence Of Information
For understanding ego death, it is important to begin with understanding information. Our personality is basically accumulated information coming from genes, DNA, and we gather through our five senses. This information is like a software and blueprint, which controls how we look, think and act, making us a puppet. Hence without information, we cannot even define ourselves.
This information patterns, are what we refer to as karma. Every mental or physical action leaves an imprint on our system in the form of information, which ends up controlling us. Furthermore, it is because of information, that we experience the illusion of time. Because past exists as memory, present as information coming from senses, and future as imagination, do we get to experience time. Without information, we cannot have our individual, or entire physical existence. Because, it is this information, that works as a blueprint, and gives matter a defined form. (Read: Science Of Mahashivratri)
Being Information
As humans, we prefer being in a “known and familiar terrain,” because we always fear the unknown and unfamiliar. Because we have not experienced ourselves beyond information, and because we need information to define ourselves as on individual, we identify with it. In our experience, we become information, hence thinking. Because of this, we end up claiming “I think therefore I’m,” because without thinking, who are we? This false identity further, creates a storm of thoughts within us, keeping us bound to cause-effect, hence life-death cycle.
Ego death in the context of information means, dropping the familiar, and embracing the unknown and unfamiliar. This ego death, takes us into an unknown dimension, where the idea of “I” ceases to exist. To further understand this, we need to understand the concept of boundaries.
Information And Boundary
The moment we identify with information, we create a boundary around ourselves, like a territory. Things and people, who are present in this memory, becomes ours and family, the rest remain strangers. We talk about ego death and big things, but do not understand that animals are territorial, and not humans. It is this boundary that gives rise to separateness and disconnection from the rest of creation. This further, gives rise to me vs others attitude, survival of the fittest and so on. It is because this separateness, from where all negativity stems. Because, we do not mind harming others, for benefiting people, who are in our territory.
Ego death, that ways, is not pushing, but destroying our boundaries, which is a natural consequence of dis-identifying from information. When we cut off from information, we not only lose ourselves, but also these boundaries, which gives us a feeling of separateness. Now, we need to understand the basis of physical world. (Read: What Is Sanatan Dharma)
Boundary And Physicality
People nowadays talk about being spiritual, and ego death. However, we cannot become spiritual by effort, but can just bring down our physicality. This is the right way. When we use the term “spiritual,” we are essentially saying that it a dimension which is not physical in nature. Meaning: it does not have a boundary encapsulating it. This is so, because, matter can only maintain its physicality, when it has a boundary around it. Without boundary, we cannot have physical matter.
Same is the case with our physical bodies that are encapsulated in a boundary. Further, our bodies get this definite form, because of the software of information. Hence, ego death is not about escapism, but is about dropping the familiar. When we drop the known “I,” we lose our bounded existence, and merge towards oneness.
Ego death, basically means, destroying our false identity, and experiencing ourselves as an unsullied by information soul. From boundaries, we merge with the boundless. From physical, we merge with the non-physical. It is only by experiencing this dimension, can we say that “we are one.”
Conclusion
To sum-up, it can be said that ego death, is death of our false identity with information, hence boundaries. However, ego death is not something that we can claim as our own doing. Rather, it Is a consequence of grace. When we truly acknowledge the trap of boundaries we are in, we naturally want to let go. This art of letting go, takes us into nothingness, where we lose our thinking, and become receptive to grace. And that grace, lifts us from the trap of physical matter, and merges us with itself.
We hope that you liked our article on ego death, and your answer has been answered. Thank you for reading.
FAQs
When your ego dies, you experience a profound shift in consciousness. You transcend the false identification with memory and information that forms the basis of your individual existence. This allows you to experience yourself as unsullied by memory intelligence. Essentially, killing the ego involves abolishing this false identification, leading to a profound shift in your perception and experience of the world. You may feel a sense of oneness with the universe, a loss of attachment to your identity and possessions, and a deep sense of peace and contentment.
Determining if you have killed your ego can be challenging, as it is not a straightforward process with clear markers. However, some signs may indicate that you are moving towards ego death. These include a sense of unity with all things, a loss of attachment to your identity and possessions, and a deep sense of peace and contentment. You may also experience a shift in your priorities and values, placing less importance on material possessions and more on spiritual growth and connection with others.
Knowing if you have experienced ego death can be similarly challenging, as it often involves a profound shift in consciousness that may be difficult to describe or quantify. However, those who have experienced ego death often report a sense of oneness with the universe, a loss of the sense of self, and a feeling of transcending time and space. You may feel a deep sense of peace and connectedness with all things, and a profound shift in your perception of yourself and the world around you.
Killing the ego means letting go of the false sense of self that is based on memory and information. It involves transcending the boundaries that separate us from others and from the universe as a whole. By killing the ego, you can experience a profound sense of freedom and connectedness with all things. It is a process of letting go of the attachments and identifications that keep us trapped in a limited sense of self, and opening ourselves up to a deeper, more expansive experience of life.
