11 May 2012 —
Question
Q206: Seeking attention?
Question 206:
Amma says: “The predominant tendency of the ego is to seek as much attention as possible. The ego thrives on this.” How do you understand this?
Please make your answer brief and clear (maximum 5 or 6 lines).
That is the ego alright! Wanting to feel special in one way or the other. Wanting attention to feel important. For this, all means and all forms are good, sometimes even spiritual practices…
When the ego has attention – whether the attention it courts is from us or others – our focus is off the Goal. The Goal is the last thing our ego wants us to attain, so it makes sense that it would thrive on attention, especially since it is so wired into our feelings and thoughts. By practicing selflessness and not attending to our egos, we enable ourselves to fixate on the Goal and work toward liberation.
The original hunger. A cohort of the evolutionary impetus; gone haywire.
A forging stone supreme.
The ego started out to protect us, then turned mean. That surprised it.
Duality just chuckles at the source.
The moment attention is not given, ego loses its strong hold as there is no more fuel and the veil starts getting cleared ..but, its a long way.. we got to keep practicing it..
An ego that wants something from another and what ego doesn’t?-will usually play some role to get its needs like-sense of power,superiority or specialness,or some kind of gratification.Usually we are unaware of the roles we play.The ego thrives on other’s attention,which is after all,a form of psychic energy.The ego doesn’t know that the source of all energy is with in us,so it seeks it outside.Its not the formless attention that the ego seeks,but attention in some form such as admiration,praise,or just to be noticed in some way,or to have its existence acknowledged.Any conceptual sense of self-seeing myself as this or that is ego,whether predominately positive (I am the greatest)or negative(I am no good).
however it certainly brings down the peace of a person.There is enormous freedom in letting our ego go..
The nature of the ego/mind is to pull us down to lower tendencies. Each individual is pulled down according to their attachments and aversions. Amma creates experiences so we can clearly understand these weaknesses and why we have them. Having lived through the sorrow arising from such cravings, over time we gain discrimination and dispassion. We begin to learn that it’s not about fulfilling the ego’s need for attention, but rather where we place or direct the ego’s attention. Amma and the scriptures both say that attachments and aversions can be overcome when there is deep love for the goal. Experiencing suffering can make that love grow, eventually giving us the strength to say no to fleeting pleasures and yes to infinite Supreme Bliss. Once the goal becomes our beloved, lesser attractions will not sway us from our firm love. Attention: directing the mind to an object. Use the ego’s tendency and direct it to God.
The One Self is the Truth of Existence. The Self is infinite, immortal and eternal yet it is Silent. It is pure consciousness which does not feel proud or announce its existence. On the other hand the ego, which is identification with the body, takes credit for everything. It is proud and sees itself separate from the Self, and thus seeking attention, praises and love.
the ego may be seeking attention, but what you feed grows, so setting your “intention” to heatfelt chant mantra more (continuosly), serve selflessly more, think of God more i think starves ego (when done enough over long enough time).
That was a nice reminder…next time i do something to get attention i’ll remember its my ego waking up…then try changing focus to Amma and chanting my mantra….
to not see the present moment as enough. to not see this moment for what it is ‘GOD’. In that all feelings, thoughts, actions are simply what they are ‘a play’ of light. Out side of that, now there is an ‘i’ and it goes about its own bisness including glorefying its self. To get more, to think there is more to get, to try to be more than ‘I’ already, is to not be happy in this present moment and to seek self fulfilment.
The ego, the external ‘I’ constantly seeks attention. Its needs and demands keep increasing. But the internal ‘I’ is one with creation. So, it is good to ignore the external ‘I’, through the knowledge of one’s unity with the whole of creation. The path of selfless service and constant remembrance of the Divine, help undermine the ego and its demands.
The ego is the mistaken sense that a particular body-mind complex is the real Self. All unenlightened beings have this sense; only the enlightened masters know the true Self. Because the ego sees the body-mind complex as itself, it regards the rest of existence as other to itself. So it must try to increase itself, and defend itself against destruction. That’s why it becomes arrogant, attention seeking and sometimes megalomaniacal. Because it is terrified of its death and wrongly believes that it is the real Self.
My ego always tries to show its existence. Sometimes it does so by showing that it is humble, sometimes by being assertive. Whatever may be the situation, the ego tries to identify itself in front of others. The attention it gets seems to confirm its worth. If it doesn’t get this attention it may die and the ego starts to show symptoms of a dying person when it feels it does not have the attention of everybody.
How do i explain this, it looks as if Amma has written about me! Once upon a time I was also one of those attention seekers and for that I used to do silly acts. But my darling divine MAA has taught me and made me understand that if ever u want attention seek attention of GOD’s grace that is worth than human attention. Merge urself in his grace that is all important.
How i can perceive what dearest Amma says is that, always as i have read in books and i have heard , there is a wall between ones self and the Supreme God, once we break it, we will have a chance to experience Him.Ego is what that wall is and as how our sweet Amma says, it will block the connection if its size increases, also called as Aham, when this dissolves, We can have a chance to experience HIM as AMMA does.
I think this notion of ego is very much into showing off as Amma says, this is very subtle and requires a lot of attention and concentration to get focused on the heart and service…Ego is a work of every single day and is the hardest notion ” to fight” without fighting anyway…
Ego is a warrior and does not die without fighting
…
Nature of the ego is to seek attention and those who help the ego to seek attention are intellect and speech.
It is so true . We may think that we are ego free, but a small prick from Amma will show how much we are identified with this body, mind and intellect and how much we strive for attention and recognition. It can be a real eye-opener when we react to situations and find ourselves so much attached to the temporary world outside. To advise others is so easy, anybody can give speeches and exhort about our true nature, but when we look into ourselves and our thoughts and actions we realise that we have to learn so much and that we have still not experienced the oneness in all that Amma says is required to be egoless.
From the moment of birth we are groomed to develop the tools that allow ego to grow and become stronger: education, beauty, money, power, fame..etc. We are also urged to give the matter our undivided attention. Not that any of these are unnecessary or negative as such but it is more about how we use them. With time passing, many get more and more taken by the game of ego and farther away from inner and outer peace. What a predictable waste!
One characteristic of the ego is that it wants to feel it is different from others. Attention gives the sense of being special. Another characteristic is that the ego is convinced that love can be gained only from others. Attention can be a form of expressing love at a grosser level. As such, it is natural for the ego to seek attention, which makes the beholder feel loved and special.
” I ” believe that only a Satguru can talk about Ego. as he/she is the only one who has understood Ego and can really keep it ” under control ‘… and we too are ” under control ” , BUT by our own ego.. 🙂
Ego arises when one deviates from his/her true nature. For example “I am the body “, “I am the mind” , “I am the senses”. Such tendencies can never give the ultimate satisfaction or happiness. That is the reason why we seek as much attention as possible from the said tendencies. They all combine to be known as “ego”
The only way to get rid of ego is “self-surrender” to a Maha-Guru who will guide us rightly.
Ego is dual. There is fear of non-existence from lack or loss of faith in the ONE.
Ego is afraid that it is not.
I love this question and all the answers above. For me ego swings between “Inferior ego” and “Superior ego”. The pendulum is constantly moving between the two. Living in this world requires the use of some form of ego. The difference is whether one is driven by the ego or uses it for a purpose!
Ir além do ego. Identificar a sede da atenção com ajuda da sua consciência e então ir além…
Stronger the attachment to body and mind, stronger will be the ego. The Ego which is our own creation somehow manages to create a feeling that we are superior or different from others. It gives us a feeling of being special. Ego craves for attention because that is the very nature of ego. So we should understand the nature of ego to overcome or transcend ego, which is easily said than done.
There are two types of Ego.One is always seen in the day to day life.Iam somthing great or iam different from others ,or i should be noticed by all .For this purpose they will do something special.For Eg;if there is a function or party is going on they try theri level best to come best very late and try to ahead to catch the attention of others like that etc. But it is the actions of a ignorant,but the ignorant people never can realise it. There is a story in Sreemadbhagavadam about Ego of Dakshaprajapathy.Dakha came very late in the Yaga sala and while coming his attention was who were not stand up and not respected him, but not who were stoop up.The consequence of his ego was to replace his head with a goat’s head..But the second type of Ego is little difference. This ego is one of a inner equipments of our subtle body.(Manaha,Bhudhi,citta and Ahunkara(EGO)).The thought ‘I’am the doer is the ego here.It does’t mean pride.It is the sense if individuality ot notion of doership.Some are proud others are not,but all have the notion of doersip (except a Mahatma like our most beloved Amma or a realised person or Lord)The mind, intellect,and memmory keep changing but the ego is there with every thought.It owns them as ‘i decide’and my anger etc.
So many egos….so little time!
Jai! Jai! Ma.
Ego believe that without attention will dead,
so attention can be used fron spiritually person keeping it costant
to one point: AMMA