The solid feeling of ‘no’
When you feel that you have undergone the maximum suffering, your ego feels good that you have been able to handle a tough life.
The solid feeling of ‘no’
M any times you may have seen, whenever someone says something to you, the first reaction inside you is a certain resistance, a ‘no’.
When you say ‘no’, it is ego- fulfilling. You feel solid and firm inside yourself. When you say ‘yes’, you feel liquid and vulnerable. Your ego feels submissive, which is uncomfortable, so you say ‘no’.
This is also why you feel good when you break rules at home, school, in the workplace, or while driving. You feel boosted in ego when you say ‘no’ to rules. You can see this with small children. The moment you say they are not meant to have certain things, they will ask only for those things!
Ordinary Vs Extraordinary
Whenever you try to live for your ego, you make your life and others’ lives miserable. Most of the time the miseries you face in your life are not created by others. They are unknowingly created by you. You may not even derive any benefits from them. But just to prove your ego, you create them.
A small story:
An enlightened master, Suzuki, lived in Japan. When his master passed away, he started weeping profusely. One person asked him, ‘You are an enlightened person. Why are you crying on your master’s passing away?’ Suzuki replied, ‘My master was the most extraordinary man on planet earth.’ The person was puzzled and asked him, ‘What was so extraordinary about him?’
Suzuki replied, ‘I have never seen such an extraordinary person who thought he was the most ordinary man!’
In ordinary life, every average person thinks he is extraordinary. When you feel that you have undergone the maximum suffering, your ego feels good that you have been able to handle a tough life. Only when your enemy is big, you feel big. When your enemy is small, you feel small.
For the same reason, if your suffering is big, you feel good. Your ego feels satisfied. You measure life with the amount of your suffering. Unknowingly, you torture others as well as yourself. Suzuki’s master was extraordinary because he thought he was the most ordinary, whereas in this world, every other person thinks he is extraordinary.
A small story:
There was a king in India who was very egoistic. His ego had grown to such a great extent that he started declaring, ‘I can do everything god does. I am greater than god.’ If someone objected to his view, immediately he would give the order, ‘Kill him’.
There was an enlightened master in that kingdom. When he came to the capital, he heard about the egoistic attitude of the king and wanted to show the king the truth. He went to the court and started praising the king, ‘O king, you are equal to god. You are god’.
The king was very happy and said, ‘Yes, you seem to be an intelligent person. Tell us what more you have realized.’ The master said, ‘O king, I have to tell you an important thing. There are some things you can do that even god can’t do!’ Now the king was floating with pride. He said, ‘Please tell us what it is that I can do that even god cannot!’
The master replied calmly, ‘O king, if you are angry with somebody you can send him out of your kingdom, but god cannot!’
God cannot send us out of His kingdom. The kingdom of god, enlightenment, the vibrant silence, is our birthright!
If you want to check whether you are average or not, do this experiment. If you feel extraordinary, be very clear: you are average. If you feel ordinary, you are extraordinary!
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