25 April 2015 - QA 2

You spoke about not stepping on the husband’s ego. Don’t you think the ego is the source of all sufferings and it is against the spiritual path?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

No, one has to work on one’s own ego; someone else need not work on your ego. If you find that your ego is your botheration, you have to work on it; your wife need not work on it. If someone else is trying to destroy your ego, it becomes worse.

There are many definitions to ego in spirituality; ego is an identity. When the ego expands, i.e., from being the limited identity to becoming a bigger identity, then it is good. Then the ego becomes transparent. But if someone is trying to put your ego down, it only causes depression and more suffering.

You should read this book ‘Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker’ or ‘Celebrating Silence’. In these books, I have spoken about all the seven layers of existence. There are many definitions to ego; here I have spoken about it in a different context.