Edging God Out

The most famous cliché you can read about ego is “edging god out”. Some say
that even God has an ego. Then why does he feel the need to be worshipped
everyday, ask some?
Ego is a Latin word, which is derived from the Greek word meaning “ I “, often
used to mean the self. The society’s concept of ego has been often the
recognition of an arrogant and abusive behavior.

What does the ego want? It wants to own everything, compare and dominate.
This can be anyone, from your milkman to your mother-in-law. Is it satisfied?
No. Never. It always believes “I am separate from everyone.” Once it is
satisfied, then you are finished. It always exists in people who ask for more.
MORE is the ego’s mantra.

By the time the child is two years old, it starts receiving appreciation from
parents, relatives and everyone around. It feels good and starts expecting an
appreciation always. Now an ego is born. It is going to stay with this child,
because it is a byproduct of living with others.

The ego in a teen stage can be quite baffling. Lot of fuel for this ego comes
from the parents and gadgets. Mostly egoistic parents create such a fragile
personality of their teens. They replace love with money and affection with
credit cards, and ensure that their kids are always fully loaded. So with this
mindset, these kids fear criticism in class and react to every minor scolding
from their teachers.

Child Psychologist Dr. Allen Kanner says “ its the Meta message that you can
solve all life’s problems by purchasing the right products, that’s having the
most profound effect.” Well, marketing companies and ad agencies thrive on
their consumer’s ego. It’s their bread and butter. If not for ego, they would
have shut shop and gone home. An article from “Driving teen egos through
branding” says , these marketers distort the organic process of developing an
identity by hooking a self-value to the brand.

What about the adult ego? This ego has just the carried forward inventory
from the child. Most of the damage is done already, in this stage. So if you are
lucky and strong-minded, you can shed a few threads from the old ego fabric
and spin a new one. The least we can do is to keep this adult ego in a tight
leash. As adults, whatever is the nature of work that we do, there is always the
ego playing with us. A scientist, a politician, an actor or a religious leader, or
anyone, the mind is the same.

Actors can have the biggest egos. The hero worship, the arc lights and fan
following can create havoc into an actor. We have seen many actors fall flat
after their market vanishes. They rewind and fast-forward their golden
moments wondering where have the fans gone? They have no answer to this
question.

On the contrary, just write the name Rajinikant. There you have a global
brand, millions of fan following, but what? All this stardom hasn’t changed
this man. He has his feet firmly on the ground and moves like a common man.

He recently said at an audio launch function that if you start lifting your
collars you might have to lose a few buttons. True.

So there are a few exceptions here too. Even a cricketer like Mr.M.S.Dhoni
would be a strong contender for this ego less crown. During cup triumphs, we
see him smiling more often in group photos, in a corner, and avoiding to be
the centre of attraction. He lets the cup of joy be carried by his teammates.

Is religion above ego? All religions were founded to do good and there ends
the matter. Only when man takes religion into his own hands and tries to
manipulate it for his own benefit, then it becomes an ego trip.

To sum it up , here is an interesting blog “Sam’s thoughts” which says it all in
black and white. Without an ego you won’t have toes to step on. No feelings to
hurt. No battles to win. No grudges to hold. No jealousy to feel. No revenge to
take. No faults to allocate. No knowledge to prove.

Are we listening?