Ego is untruth. (CWBSSB, p. 6)

Ego is what prevents us from getting close to God. (CWBSSB, p. 8)

In whatever field it may be, if an individual is working so that ego gets hold of him, then it will not only land him into a dangerous position but will also create considerable difficulties for him. Ego works on the stature of a man like the rays of the morning Sun on his shadow. In the morning, on account of the rays of sun, our shadow will be a very long one.)

As the Sun goes higher in the sky, the length of the shadow caused by the sun s rays will become smaller and smaller. In the same way, the stature of an egoist is something, which has to go down and down as time goes on.)

Humility on the hand works on your stature in a manner that can be compared to the effect of the evening sun s rays on your shadow. The shadow in the afternoon will be small. As the sun goes down and down, as the evening comes on and on, the shadow that was quite small in the beginning, becomes larger and larger. Therefore, humility is good and indicates the path, which is good for one s life. Humility and obedience, although they look as if they are tiny things, which do not confer on you any large powers, will really give you enriched and increased pleasure and happiness as time goes on. (SSB 1972, p. 4))

Ego plays all kinds of tricks, in order to get unholy pleasure. (SSS Vol.8, p. 49))

Generally ego develops in men as a result of attachment and desire.Moha is the result of Abhimana, Mamakara andAhamkara. The worldly relationships proceed from these evil tendencies. (SSB 1979, p. 18)

Now about the ego. There are two fields in which it operates and so, it has two meanings: (I) Self-love, Ahamkara, the ‘Dehatma’, Body-consciousness, the Exterior ‘I’ and (2) the Inner ‘I’, the Pratyag-Atma. (SV, p. 188)

Egoism is the measure of altruism. Mankind is one community; you harm yourself and you harm all. (SSS Vol.2, p. 232)

Criticising others, finding fault with them, all this comes out of egoism. Search for your own faults instead; the faults you see in others are your own personality traits, pay no heed to little worries, attach your mind to the Lord. Then you will be led on to the company good men and your talents will be transmuted. (SSS Vol.1, p. 67)

Delusion comes only to those who forget their bearings; egoism is the greatest factor in making people o forget their very basic Truth. Once egoism enters man, he slips from ideal and precipitates himself from top of the stairs in quick falls from step to step, down to the very bottom floor. Egoism breeds schisms, hatreds and attachments. Through attachments and affection, and even envy and hatred , one plunges into activity and gets immersed in the world. This leads to embodiment in physical frame and further egoism. (JV, p. 5)

Each one from ego takes his birth and clad in ego dies and comes and goes, gives and receives and earns and spends, and deals in lies or speaks the truth, in ego all the while; Heaven and hell and incarnations. All these from ego are not free. Those who do away with their ego attain salvation. The Lord is ever true, and higher than the highest is. But you must crush your ego and realize Him. He is in you, with you and around you. Be happy. (S&M, p. 142)

If ego is completely given up and there is absolute selflessness, then certainly maya (illusion) will be removed and you will have realisation of the divine.... If there is ego and you think Swami is yours, then Swami gets imprisoned by your ego and cannot come to your help. But if you think, ‘I belong to Swami’, then Swami becomes free to look after you and bring you spiritual progress. It is all a matter of humility and your attitude.

Accept everything as God. God is everywhere, in everything.... True realisation of the omnipresence of God will knock out your ego, since it stands in the way of surrender. (DG, p. 33)

What is the root cause of egoism? Why should you ever feel egoistic? Egoism arises because of the Ignorance which is inherent in man. Every person has to think out for himself what is the birth place of this egoism, where it comes from and where it ends? (DBG, pp. 220-221)

That is also a kind of egoism. ‘I am low, mean, small, useless, poor, sinful, inferior’ – Such feelings are also egoistic; when the ego goes, you do not feel either superior or inferior. Self-condemnation is also egoism. (SSS Vol.2, p. 25)

The ego is the enemy number one of spiritual progress. Egoism is the Chief Executive of the Kali Raja, the sovereign of the Kali (Iron)Age. It is egoism and its attendant evils that stalk the world today. Egoism breeds the scourges of greed and hate. Even leaders of ascetic orders and heads of monastic institutions suffer from egoism and indulge in the pastimes of competition and conflict with other orders and in situations. Some of them wear elaborate outward symbols of spiritual splendour, especially when the camera is aimed. There is popular adage, which says that a Sadhaka must eat like a dog and wander about like a fox, meaning that he must be content with whatever he is able to get and rest whatever he can. (SSS Vol.5, p. 88)

Egoism is the mightiest enemy that has to be overpowered and destroyed. When Rama was proceeding from one hermitage to another in the forest, the Rishis who were expecting Him to visit them made elaborate preparations to receive Him; they prepared lists of grievances to be presented to Him, and hoped to win His grace by competitive pomp and adulation, by exhibition of superior asceticism! The old woman, Shabari who was the attendant of the sage Mathanga, was told by her dying master, that Rama will be passing that way and so, she longed in sincere anguish that she must be spared until she could wash the Lotus Feet of Rama with her tears. The Rishis sneered at her audacity and laughed at her foolish hope, Rama visited the hermitage of the egotistic ascetics on his way; they read out the verses of welcome they had composed; they presented a petition in which they had listed atrocities committed by the Rakshasas; they complained that the river water which was their only source of supply was contaminated and had become undrinkable. Rama told them in His reply, that the water will be rendered pure and potable as soon as they stop reviling Shabari and start appreciating her simple, sincere yearning for God. Shabari had strong and steady faith; that was enough to bring Rama to her lowly hut. Austerity, scholarship, power, authority, experience, riches – these are handicaps that obstruct the acquisition of that simple, sincere faith, that God will accept. (SSS Vol. 6, pp. 143-144)

Take Hanuman as your example in Seva. He served Rama, the Prince of Righteousness, regardless of obstacles of all types. Though he was strong, learned and virtuous, he had no trace of pride. When asked who he was by the Rakshasas (demons) in Lanka into which he had entered so daringly, he described himself, in all humility, as the ‘servant of Rama.’ That is a fine example of uprooting of the ego which seva must bring about in us. No one can serve another while his ego is rampant. The attitudes of mutual help and self-less service develop the ‘humanness’ of man and the help the unfoldment of the divinity latent in him. (SSS Vol. 15, pp. 163-164)

I Surrender the ego, dedicate every moment and every movement to Him; He has assured mankind that He will ensure liberation from pain and evil. When asked where God is, people point towards the sky or some far distant region; that is why He is not manifesting Himself. Realise that He is in you, with you, behind you, before you and all around you; and He can be seen and felt everywhere. Realise also that He is all mercy, eager and anxious to fulfil your prayers, if they arise from a pure heart. (SSS Vol.4)