We must do away with our ego

Devotees would approach Sri Ramakrishna with various doubts regarding ego and seek his clarification. Sri Ramakrishna would clarify their doubts using a beautiful analogy. He would say how human beings in spite of extreme uncertainty about their very existence boast of egoistically. He would add that “God laughs on two occasions; when the physician assures the mother that he can cure her child and when two brothers divide their land saying ‘that side is yours and this side is mine’”. He would further elaborate the analogy. A child once fell ill and his mother who was very fond of the child took him to a doctor. After administering some medicines the doctor assured the mother that he would save the child. Little did he know that complications would develop and the child would meet its death. In the other example, the two brothers were  fighting over a piece of land and dividing it among themselves meticulously. Little did they realize that both of them would meet with their end very soon and that the land would remain as it is. God, watching the behaviour of the doctor and the brothers, would laugh because he could clearly see that they were behavin this way due to their ego. They were under the delusion that they would live for eternity. Neither the doctor nor the brothers could do anything about death or life coming to an end on this earth. Hence, human beings instead of behaving egoistically or asserting wrongfully based on ego would do well to surrender to a superior power and function with a deep sense of humility. This does not mean that one must not perform existential duties or whatever is required to live peacefully on earth, but one should always feel the underlying current of self-surrender to a superior power or God. Such an attitude will save spiritual aspirants from great disasters and make their lives meaningful.