Who is here?” God asked.

“It is I, Mr Paul,” came the response.

“Go away,” God replied.

After some time, God asked, “Who is here?”

“It is Thou,” Paul replied.

“Enter,” answered God.

Ego, along with the play of the mind, is like a silkworm; it spins its own web and chokes itself to death. Is not our ego silently killing us by choking us? One has to look deeply, just as one must dive into the ocean to retrieve pearls. Similarly, one must deeply understand the perils of the ego.

Ego prevents us from being sensitive. To be sensitive is to be sensible. When one is sensible, one brings the right feelings, not the wrong ones. Both love and hatred exist in our hearts.

An impure heart brings hatred and anger, while a pure heart brings love. Therefore, by purifying the heart, ego disappears.

There is a poem which says, “God is in the domain of feeling and with the right feeling, you feel God and not that you see God through your eyes. God hands over the key of his house not to everyone but the one who has the right feeling.” To be sensitive is to experience God in the realm of feelings. Ego fosters gross feelings, not wise ones.

When one enjoys what one does, when one loves what one does, work becomes fun. But if one does not enjoy it, work becomes a burden. Why doesn’t one enjoy their work? It is because the ego has programmed itself with desires—what it wants, what it likes, and what it dislikes.

As a result, one is not available to the present moment. Our mind is programmed to be happy only when it gets what it wants, and it seeks that in the future. But life is in the movement of ‘now’. Therefore, ego misses the wisdom to enjoy.

Student: “I have come to render my services.”

Guru: “If you drop your ‘I’ and ‘my’, service would certainly follow.”

A mind rooted in greed cannot be grateful. A greedy mind is never content.

When there is no contentment, one can never be grateful. Greed creates hell, while gratitude creates heaven. Be grateful, and let heaven become your shadow. Being greedy is like inviting hell as your shelter. It is a choice one must make. Ego has no place in a grateful heart.