' The Function of Egoism '...

It is both true and untrue that we cannot take up the ego with us into the life of mystical illumination.

The ego is after all only a reflection, extremely limited and often distorted, of the Higher Self . . .

but still it is a reflection.

If we could bring it into correct alignment with, and submission to, the Higher Self, it would then be no hindrance to the illumined life.

The ego cannot, indeed, be destroyed so long as we need its services while in the flesh; but it can be subjugated and turned into a servant instead of permitting it to remain a master.

When this is understood, the philosophical ideal of a fully developed, mastered, and richly rounded ego acting as a channel for the inspiration and guidance of the Higher Self will be better appreciated.

A poverty-stricken ego will naturally form a more limited channel for the expression of the Higher Self than would a more evolved one.

The real enemy to be overcome is not the entity ego, but the function of egoism.




-- Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 206
-- Perspectives > Chapter 8: The Ego > # 27 Paul Brunton