Ahankār or ego is a state where a person’s focus is always directed towards oneself. In this state, a person feels that ‘I am responsible’ for ‘this’ and ‘that’ and there is a feeling that ‘All this belongs to me’. ‘Aham’ means ‘I’ or ‘mine’; ‘Kār’ means ‘consciousness’. Ahankār is therefore a state where the focus is always directed towards oneself.
Ahankār can be overcome by becoming a ‘tadākār’. ‘Tada’ means God; ‘Kār’ means ‘consciousness’. God consciousness can be achieved by surrendering to a Sadguru, a spiritual guide or teacher. After surrendering to a Sadurugu, we should perform selfless service to him and abide by his teachings doing which will cleanse our thoughts and minds. We will then be in a position to ask questions, the answers of which will lead to our spiritual progress.
In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita it is said – “tadviddhi pranipāten pariprashnen sevayā, upadekshyanti te jnānam jnāninastattva darshinah” (4:34).
By surrendering ourselves, realizing and experiencing that everything happens because of the grace of our Sadguru and God, our ego (self-directed focus) will decline and will become more and more God conscious and God focused. A Sadguru is like a doctor. He will not allow disease to flourish in the minds of his disciples. Just as we take the doctors medicine and advice with faith, we should similarly have faith in our Sadguru’s teachings. In the Ramcharit Manas, it is said:
‘sadguru baid bachan bisvāsā, anjam yah na bishay ke āsā’ – Bālkānd
A Sadguru sees the disease, shows us the symptoms and signs and then helps us to eradicate the disease from its roots.
