[Happy Independence Day? ]

Hello Friends.

Happy Independence day! While celebrating and rejoicing the day, let us spend some time to understand what is real freedom? I have chosen three quotes that suggests that we are not really free and further I have added some more quotes that suggests as to how we can achieve real freedom.

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”

― Ralph Ellison.

What is Ego? Ego in short is "I". Life is a journey from I to WE -BABA.

Here are some quotations relating to ego.

Ego is one divided by the 'Knowledge'. 'More the knowledge lesser the 'EGO' and ' lesser the knowledge more the 'EGO' _ Albert Einstein.

Paramahansa Yogananda defined Self-realization as "the knowing — in body, mind, and soul - that we are one with the omnipresence of God;

The 'I' (awareness) casts off the illusions of 'I' (ego) and yet remains as the 'I' (awareness) - such is the paradox of Self-realization.

Ramana.

The ability to distinguish between the I(awareness) and the I(Ego) is 'Self-Realization'.

“A big ego isn’t problematic until it executes priorities at the cost of itself and others.”.

Ego says,"once everything falls into its place, I will will find peace. Spirit says, "Find peace and everything will fall into its place".

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.Colin Powell"Ego is the immediate dictate of human consciousness.” – Max Planck>

An ego leads itself into the depths of disconnection whilst knowing itself as fundamentally faux.”

 Our relationship with our ego is the most difficult one to deal with. Ego is neither good or bad. orm is a judgment. Judging is fine. Whether our judging or conclusion is realistic and healthy or the opposite depends upon our conscience.

If one remain conscious, one will likely be able to say with a clear conscience that you know the difference.

For example, calling a duck a duck is fair and accurate. We did an analysis and judged it as a duck. Simple. But if our conclusion condemns it because it’s a duck, then we’ve brought in an unhealthy ego aspect to our judgement.

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How to have a big ego without having a big ego problem?

Those of you who have the experience of drawing the water from the well in a pot know pretty much that an half filled pot is difficult to carry as it would make noise and spill more than the fully filled one. Imagine you have a jar and fill it with a little sand. Now when you shake it, the sand particles have enough space to move around. Next if you completely fill the jar, the sand particles are restricted because of space. It is the same case with the water molecules inside the pot. The only free motion is at the neck of the pot where a little water will spill over. But not as much as when the pot is half full.

Knowledge is like a ocean inexhaustible unfathomable. Such being the case, individually ones knowledge is like a drop of water in the mighty ocean.

"A little learning is a dangerous thing;/Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." The spring is believed to be a fountain of knowledge that inspires whoever drinks from it A small amount of knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are. The "I" component in all of us thinks and feels 'I am Me'. It fails to recognize the limitations due to its inability to think outside of itself. With all this in the background, let us understand DVG's interpretation of ' Water in a pot'. Water in a mud pot full, bloats and boasts of self! Sings merrily forgetting mighty ocean; When immersed casually in roaring ocean! Dissolves and merges in silence!-mankutimma–901 We are a small but significant piece of the jigsaw puzzle of the landscape that is in front of us. Similar to the water in the pot, we have the tendency to bloat and boasts of self. We need to learn to be humble and be able to identify ourselves with the nature and feel proud to be a part of a big picture . Those who know Kannada should read and recite the Kaggas. Understanding Kagga has been made very easy for Kannadigas (ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು) by Tirumalai Ravi (Kagga Rasadhare) ,Vijayendara Rao (Sai baba quotes and kaga in Viji's calender) and Goutham DVG Kagga. I remain grateful to all the resources relating to DVG Kagga and other excerpts on the internet. Verse # 901.