"It is a science and an art to understand the nature of
the human ego and to train it. One can understand
the nature of the human ego by a study of human
nature; but one can learn the way of training it by
training one's own ego. Man can train his ego by
being patient with all around him that has a jarring
effect upon him. For every jar upon the soul irritates
the ego. When man expresses his irritation he develops
a disagreeable nature; when he controls it and does
not express it, then he becomes crushed inwardly.
The idea is to rise above all such irritations.
"Life has a jarring effect by its very nature which every
sensitive soul can feel. If a person wishes to keep away
from all jarring influences, he had better not try to live,
for life is a constant jarring. Life is motion, and it is the
nature of motion to strike against something. It does
not require strength to stand against the jarring influences
of life – there is no wall of stone or of iron that can always
stand against the waves of the ocean – but a small piece
of wood, little and light, can always rise and fall with the
waves, yet always above them, uninjured and safe. The
lighter and the littler man's ego becomes, the more power
of endurance he has. It is two strong egos that strike against
one another. The little ego, the light ego, just slips over
when a powerful wave of a strong ego comes for it to knock
over itself against a stronger wall that may throw it over.
"The art of dealing with egos of different grades of evolution
is to learn gentleness, tolerance, and forgiveness, which all
come from charity of heart. When man stands on the same
plane as the other, then he is subject to the influence of the
other ego. But if he rises above it, then every effort of the
other ego falls flat. There is a poem in Hindustani, the verse
of Ghalib: 'the world seems to me a playground of children.
How constantly busy the infants seem with their toys!'
"Verily the secret of peace is hidden under the cover of the ego."
~ Hz. Inayat Khan
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