What we name 'ego' is no more than a thought. At the right moment of action, there is only action, there is no actor. The actor appears together with the thought "I am acting". Before the birth of this thought, there is no actor, no doer. So this person named myself has no existence outside my mind. Because of the identification with the body-mind, I take myself for what I see. When the awareness arises that I am not what I see, but the seeing itself, the illusion of the person vanishes. What we name 'the person' has a functional interest, but you don't need to take yourself for that. You are not the body-mind. You are the knower of the body-mind. The knower is not a thought. It is consciousness itself. Consciousness has no personal characteristics: no form, no taste, no color, no odour. Consciousness knows itself, but "you" cannot know it as an object. You can only be it. Consciousness is the true ego. It is the only reality.
What is the meaning of a healthy ego stucture from the conventional psychiatric point of view?
Psychology and psychiatry consider that a solid ego structure is necessary for a correct functioning in daily life. What does this mean? I would say it is to learn to say "yes", "no", or "I don't know". Usually we are trapped in our fears, like the fear of being rejected, unloved and alone. All these fears are the expression of an ego looking, as a compensation, for security. So we need to clarify our inner listening, in order to feel at each moment and in each situation what is the appropriate answer, act or word. This quality of listening is maturity. Acting from the inner voice brings authenticity.
From such a perspective, constructing a strong ego has no meaning, but knowing how to listen to the right sound is the sign of clarity in understanding.
What is the mental function of developing a very solid ego through the maturing process in childhood and so on?
At a young age, the child is still innocent. But as Ramana Maharshi said so beautifully: "a sage is a child without the roots of the ego". The child contains in a latent way the self-images and opinions which will constitute the so-called "myself", a conditioned vision of what we are. Like the branches of a tree that grow, the ideas about ourselves grow and establish a sense of being, based on the idea that I am someone, and that this "someone" is separate from the whole. The breaking of this mind construction is usually painful. The stronger the attachments, the more intense are the shocks that life has to give, in order to release the identification with the body-mind. It is only in the absence of self-image, that the freedom of being can really be tasted.
We see people who suffer from a very weak ego and can't even take care of the basic needs of their lives, let alone follow a serious spiritual path. What is the relationship between developing an ego and going beyond the ego on a solid base?
Before we give up the identification with the body-mind, we must know it. Knowing it means observing it. Observing means seeing without concluding or interpreting. So we need first to learn to observe and listen. By noticing the habit to analyze and interpret, sooner or later this habit will appear as an aimless defence, and will vanish. Going beyond the ego is simply being who we are. This simplicity of being arises through the elimination of ideas and opinions that we have about ourselves. It does not mean that you won't have any idea or opinion, but just that you won't be identified with them.
In a way, the spiritual realm can be an escape. The mind creates a new immaterial purpose to reach, named God or consciousness. But this purpose remains separate from you. It means that there is a "you", and there is a "higher Self". This split is created by thought. Thought separates. Being unifies. You cannot think what you are. You can only be it. Thinking is escaping the experience of the present moment. The experience of the present moment cannot be thought. Otherwise, it would already belong to the past. So the present moment can only be lived. Living the present is not thinking about it.
What is the mental price when forcing oneself to act as if the ego structure is dissolved, or believing it never existed, while in fact this is only a delusion of thought without any real organic understanding?
Acting and living as if you are pure consciousness is a way to taste the freedom of Being. But life is a great teacher, and unmasks all remaining illusions by creating unexpected situations which will thwart your hidden desires. Suffering arises again. At this right moment, the latent attachments can be clearly seen. At the moment where the attachment is seen, you experience yourself as being free of it. You are not the attachment, you are the knower of it. And the knower of the attachment is not attached, it is outside all attachments. It is only freedom.
To
be continued...