The Path Of Egoity, Part One
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: Most of the people on this Earth are following the path of self-indulgence and self-interest and selfishness, the āṇava mārga, or the path of egoism. There are three worldly paths-mārgas: āṇava, karma and māyā. Even when we learn not to create difficult karmas and to not be attracted to the world, we still have to deal with āṇava. It is important to know where we are on the path of life progressing to mukti. The kriyā mārgī knows that divine law will work for him if he follows the path of righteousness. The intrinsic ability to ignore, consistently and persistently, the eternal truths of the Sanātana Dharma is one of the great qualifications of the āṇava mārgī.
Transcription:
Good morning everyone. Today we are starting "Merging with Siva" chapter twenty-two which is entitled "The Path of Egoity." It's from 1989. For those of you who aren't familiar the chapters in "Merging with Siva" are not in chronological order. They're placed in an order to present the topics in a certain sequence. So some are the chapters that were given last are toward the beginning which is the cased here. It's from 1989. The latest one is from 1990.
Lesson 148
"What is the Anava Marga (Question.)
"Much has been said of the path toward merger with Śiva, and much remains to be said. But the truth is this: most people on this Earth are following another path for the moment, the path of self-indulgence and self-interest and selfishness. (Two selfs.) No doubt, it is the most popular path, and it has its own pandits and masters, who teach how to perfect the path of the external ego, how to perfect worldliness, how to perfect the trinity of I, me and mine, how to perfect self-indulgence. But that is not the ultimate path, which is followed by the few, by mature souls. It is important for aspirants to know that the real path leading toward merger with Śiva has many detours, pitfalls and sidetracks that beckon unwary travelers. It is important for him or her to know about these side paths, to be warned, as I am doing now, to be wary of them, to be cautious, to be extremely careful.
"One of these I call the āṇava mārga, or the path of egoism. True, it is not a traditional path, but it is a path well worn, well known in all human traditions. In fact, you could say there are three such untraditional paths, three worldly mārgas: āṇava, karma and māyā. The last two bonds, karma and māyā, are the first to begin to diminish their hold on the soul as one proceeds on the path to enlightenment."
So, that's a very interesting statement worth commenting on.
So when we think of māyā in Saiva Siddhanta, māyā doesn't mean illusion, it means the world. And in concept of āṇava, karma and māyā it's not just the world it's our attraction to the world. That's what the bondage is, it's not that the world exists, it's that we're attracted to the world. And we act, sometimes we act unwisely and what does that do, creates a difficult karma to face. So learning to not be that attracted to the world, learning not to act in ways which create difficult karmas is what we have to do first. And then once that's done we still have to deal with āṇava.
"And when these fetters begin to loosen, the āṇava, the personal ego identity, thoughts of “me,” “my” and “mine,” should also begin to go, but often don’t. When karma and māyā begin to go, āṇava often becomes stronger and stronger and stronger. (Interesting.)
"The karma mārga is when the soul is totally enmeshed in the actions and reactions of the past and making new karmas so swiftly that little personal identity, or egoism, is experienced, like a small boat bouncing on a vast ocean of ignorance, (Isn't that great, "...small boat bounding on a vast ocean of ignorance...") the ignorance of the māyā mārga. This mārga is not spoken of at all in Hindu scripture, except indirectly, yet all the sages knew of its delightful distractions. It is truly there for the soul who is bound to ignorance of how to know karma, know dharma, or even know anything but the next and the next experience, as each is eagerly thrust upon him. Here the soul is bound by karmas, bound by māyā, giving the abilities to ignore. That is the path that has to be left once on it, the sidetrack to be ignored and passed by. A sharp turn, a firm decision, brings this unhappy soul onto the āṇava mārga, the path of extreme personal identity. Here the realization comes that 'Yes! I am a person on this Earth with the rights of all. I am no longer bound and harassed by experience. I can adjust experience, create new experience for myself and for others. I can be the controller. I am I.'
"The I becomes the realization and sometimes the end of the path of the karma and māyā mārga. The I, the all-important personal identity, so strong, becomes the realization of the small and limited “self,” which appears to be a big and real “self” to those who have found this path, which is not the spiritual path, but the path of grayness; while the karma and māyā mārgas are the paths of darkness. Yes, the āṇava mārga is a real mārga, a labyrinth. It truly is.
"We are concerned to define āṇava because a word can be dispatched too quickly; a concept can be forgotten. Āṇava, the personal ego, finding oneself, with a small “s,” the personal identity, gaining intellectual freedom are all modern clichés.
"Defining the āṇava mārga appeared in my mind as a necessary thing to do while I was helping devotees to understand the charyā mārga, the kriyā mārga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga and rāja yoga. To offset the negative with the positive better explains the positive. To understand the pure essence of ignorance, where it comes from, its values, beliefs and motivations, better defines the heights of wisdom out of which comes dharma and aspirations for mukti. Sometimes, in fact, we see āṇava mārgīs thinking they are yoga mārgīs.
"We cannot advance on the path without a starting place. No race was ever won but that everyone began at the same place. To know where we are on the path of life progressing to mukti—which is one of the four tenets of life, dharma, artha, kāma, and mukti, merger with Śiva—we should not be deluded by the ignorance of what the āṇava actually is, and what artha and kāma are, the strength of their hold on the soul, preventing the dharma and the final attainment of mukti."
Lesson 149
Self-Concern; Self-Preservation
"People who are living totally on the āṇava mārga are not religious, and if attending religious functions, they stand with folded arms, on the outside looking in. Their only emotions are for themselves, their immediate family and friends, but only if the latter prove useful to them. Selfishness and avarice are two descriptive words for their lifestyle. To their immediate family, they are protective, kind and resourceful, provided the spouse, sons and daughters are productive and equally as concerned for the family welfare. The animal instinct prevails of 'Let’s preserve the nest, the lair, at all costs.'
"The businessman on the āṇava mārga is generous by all appearances, gives enough to gain praise, adulation and to make friends. In proportion to his wealth, he gives a pittance. There is always some attachment to the gift, some favor to be eventually reaped. The gift is a purchase in disguise. The āṇava mārgī in giving charity would always want adulation, credit, name to be mentioned, and if it is a large amount, some control in the use of it. There are strings attached. He may even follow up years later and wreak criticism and havoc if the gift given in cash or kind is not maturing in value.
In contrast, the devotee of God on the kriyā mārga would know that he was only giving to himself through indirection, and place his gift freely in the hands of those he trusts. (In other words, what we give away now comes back to us in the future. Gurudeva likes to say that if you're giving to a temple it comes back multi-fold. God pays better interest. That's what he said, that's what he says.) Trust is always preceded by love. There is no difference between the two, except the method of follow-up. The āṇava mārgī becomes the law. The kriyā mārgī knows that divine law will work for him if he follows the path of righteousness, while the āṇava mārgī is driven to manipulate the law in fulfillment of each of his concerns.
"Emotional ups and downs are contingent to the āṇava mārga. Four steps forward, three steps backward, a step to the side, six steps forward, two steps backward, a step to the side, six steps backward, three steps forward, a step to the side—it is an amazing dance. It’s a maze. They all think they are going someplace. This dance of ignorance is not one of Lord Śiva’s favorite dances, though it is definitely one of His dances. He does it with a smile and a sneer, mirth and a tear on His face. He actually has most of the world doing this dance now. Ignorance is equally distributed throughout the planet. The intrinsic ability to ignore, consistently and persistently, the eternal truths of the Sanātana Dharma is one of the great qualifications of the āṇava mārgī.
"Television is a window into the āṇava mārga. We see extremely successful professional people who maybe have started on the āṇava mārga and have bypassed it to the artful acting portrayal of people on the āṇava mārga.
"We can see in their eyes, they have a life that is seeking and searching, understanding and knowing, and their magnetism keeps them before the public year after year after year. These are the professionals."
So thank you very much. Have a wonderful day.