Introduzione
In questo lucido saggio, Filippo Falzoni Gallerani affronta una delle trappole più insidiose per chi intraprende un cammino di ricerca interiore: l’illusione dell’ego spirituale. Attingendo alla sua esperienza personale, l’autore esplora le dinamiche che si innescano quando l’incontro con un vero Maestro o l’ingresso in un ashram vengono distorti dalla mente condizionata. L’articolo è un pressante invito a non confondere l’autentica consapevolezza del Sé con le proiezioni, i dogmi e le gerarchie create dal pensiero, ricordandoci che la vera pratica spirituale coincide con la limpida e spontanea attenzione al momento presente.
EGO AND GURU
“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be morphine or idealism.”
(C. G. Jung)
The intuitive mind is an immediate awareness, which does not depend on memory, time, experience, or a logical process. It is an immediate state, beyond logic and thought. Intuition is a kind of knowledge-action that occurs spontaneously in a mind that is open, receptive, attentive, and free from confusion, conflict, patterns, desires, and fears.
A restless mind is like a distorted mirror; a conditioned or dogmatic mind sees only within its expectations. A mind that is a victim of inner conflicts is unable to hear and see clearly.
Today, humanity has a great need to develop intuition to navigate this historical period of immense transformation, characterized by the collapse of old values and the embryonic emergence of a consciousness of Unity.
Some people face the challenge of finding a guru, a spiritual guide to free them from inner conflicts and perhaps even resolve worldly, economic, and sentimental issues.
Others face even greater problems because they have met one and are now lost in the quagmire of a spiritual ego. I believe this has happened very often to the followers of saints and masters, both in the past and in the present.
Humanity lives imprisoned by abstractions and conceptual worlds, which alienate us from the direct perception of what truly “is”. In this way, we experience the frustration of those who confuse the map with the territory, living constantly separated from real life, trapped in a cage of thoughts.
Under these conditions, even if one encounters a true Master, their perception will be filtered through the mind, and the relationship with the Guru will be colored by their own way of seeing and thinking.
The problem with religion over the centuries has been truly dramatic. It is hard to believe that the message of Love spread by Jesus could have led to phenomena such as the Inquisition, or that Protestants and Catholics could have killed each other for centuries. It is amazing how the words of the wise can be so deeply distorted by religion.
Many communities, inspired by spiritual paths and humanitarian purposes, often become places where conflicts are amplified instead of disappearing.
Ultimately, many seekers face the same issue: the moment we identify with the separate, disconnected ego, we tread a dangerous path. Observing the dynamics of the separated ego, we realize that this is at the root of all human problems. Ashrams are no different from the rest of the world. But there, the problems of the ego seem even more evident, probably due to the gap between reality and the professed ideals.
The purpose of this article is not to criticize those who follow a Guru; meeting a Master has been the most important experience of my life. I simply want to point out how easy it is to fall into the traps of the mind and the problems that entails. We are all victims of this. However, if we want to achieve self-realization, we need to wake up and confront the divisive aspect of the ego that drives us. The ego is the human problem par excellence.
I do not criticize individuals; rather, I want to shed light on the mental deceptions and false values we can all fall prey to. These erroneous assumptions are the root of all our problems. That is why all the sages say that the development of a new consciousness is urgently needed.
Over the years with my Guru, I have gone through phases similar to those I describe. Ever since I was very young, I have been a passionate admirer of Jiddu Krishnamurti. I went through the exact same deceptions of the spiritual ego, even though, on an intellectual level, I was absolutely certain that I had understood everything and could resolve any problem.
I hope that my experience can help those who follow a Master and a path of self-knowledge. The example of the ashrams reflects what is happening all over the world, because at this stage, humanity is a victim of the limits of thinking that fragments and distorts reality.
TO MEET A MASTER
Meeting a Master—a truly enlightened and awakened individual, free from the prison of the ego, who lives in harmony with the cosmos—is a touching and unforgettable experience.
We perceive that their mental presence is vastly different from the restless and divided mind of the common man. The mere presence of such a person can trigger moments of profound depth and clarity.
Interacting with them, we become aware of the prison of thoughts in which we live, and thus, in their presence, the mind’s continuous internal dialogue stops, at least for a moment. Seeing the mind’s games clearly leads to moments of true awareness, in which the mind is still and lucid.
The Master is not lost in thoughts and words because they communicate from the spontaneity of the heart. They touch us deeply by seeing our essence, completely unfazed by the masks we wear. Consequently, in front of them, an authentic transparency of mind frequently emerges within us, leading to a magnificent sharpness of perception [nota 1].
Often, after a meeting with the Master, we find that all the problems we had in our head have miraculously dissolved. It is enough to feel the “natural state” [2] for a moment, to get in touch with real life, and to free consciousness from the fallacies of thought. In the natural state, the reality of the moment is clear and radiant.
This awareness is the true Inner Master, guiding us in the present, here and now. From the perspective of the intuitive mind, we discover that awareness is the Guru and daily life is our true Yoga.
At this point, it becomes clear that retreating to an ashram is no longer strictly necessary for spiritual growth. Being aware of every situation that life presents is our true sadhana [3]—the perfect and right practice for us. Retreating into nature or an ashram for meditation and isolation from ordinary life for a period can certainly be very beneficial and advisable.
We must, however, remain highly vigilant not to confuse the knowledge of the Self—free of time and thought—with the desires and fantasies of the spiritual ego that grows so easily in every ashram. The spiritual ego is simply the inflated ego playing another role. It is just another illusion, another deception, because the spirit can only be present when the ego is out of the way.
WE DO NOT SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, BUT AS WE ARE
Unfortunately, states of lucid mindfulness and ecstatic perception are momentary because the ego immediately tries to take over and possess the experience. This moment of awakening soon becomes a memory to which we attach ourselves, and so we go back to sleep in our thoughts, failing to grasp the actual, ever-new experience—the truth of the moment—that is unfolding right now.
We become prisoners of the conceptual dimension once again, and the experience is interpreted through the lens of our religious conditioning and desires. Even though we met a true Master who offered us an opportunity for awakening, over time, our relationship with them will more often than not be influenced by our own way of seeing and thinking; on that basis, we invent a more or less imaginative story.
Following the practices suggested by the Master brings moments of great serenity and enthusiasm, but eventually, the unsolved problems of the ego will re-emerge. Unfortunately, we are soon driven by the desire for these states to become more complete, deep, and stable—and this marks the beginning of major problems for the ego, which is already projecting itself into the future.
If there is a religious context surrounding the Master, ancient symbols handed down for thousands of years will certainly hold great sway over the disciple’s mind, strengthening mystical fantasies that can facilitate a loss of contact with reality. Thus, instead of cultivating a fluid and spontaneous awareness and truly living the teachings, we are driven to create a new religion.
By crystallizing our experiences with the Master, we end up developing an excessive attachment to rules and rituals, losing sight of the spirit. If human conflicts arise, we expect them to be resolved through the imagined grace of the Guru. This can turn into a direct abdication of our responsibility to sort things out in simple, human terms.
The Master’s phrases (often poorly translated) are emphasized as commandments, without the realization that outside of their original context, they frequently make no sense. In this way, emphasis is placed on outward forms rather than our own consciousness. And this almost certainly comes at the expense of our serenity.
Of course, there are also many good things in an ashram; sometimes we meet lovely people and forge important human relationships. However, this can lead us to gloss over deep contradictions within the group. We ignore massive problems because we only want to see the good.
Unfortunately, the ego, identifying as the “spiritual seeker,” finds a rewarding, seductive role that feels worth living: “I am not just anyone; I am a disciple led by a guru, and I will have access to higher and higher spiritual attainments.”
This mindset creates even more trouble: the subtle illusions of the spiritual ego. These illusions inevitably lead to painful disappointment. Hubris [4] arouses the wrath of the gods, and as a result, Nemesis is certain.
THE MASTER IS PROJECTED OUTSIDE
For example: From the perspective of the self-deceptive ego, when we notice a synchronicity (those strange coincidences that happen frequently), instead of considering it an expression of the mysterious nature of undivided reality, we begin to interpret it as the direct intervention of the Guru. We see it as proof of our personal relationship with them, believing that every fortunate coincidence demonstrates how much they love and closely follow us.
If the coincidences are not as fortunate, we blame the negative influence of our peers (whom we deem “unspiritual”), or we consider it a punishment for our “sins” (insufficient faith, lack of discipline, or even hypothetical ritual errors). The Christianity we learned as children creeps back into our minds, and nothing is easier than regressing to childhood patterns.
We forget that the true example set by the wise person is the equanimity with which they welcome the cyclical flow of events and the fluctuations of Yin and Yang—their serenity and detachment in the face of whatever happens, where neither merit nor fault comes into play. Due to the absence of ego, their responses are always perfectly in tune with what the moment requires. For the devotee, however, the Guru quickly becomes a fetish to be worshipped in the hope of telepathic guidance.
Consequently, we completely miss the true teaching we experienced near them—the teaching that reveals the spiritual nature of everyday reality: a “direct drive,” free from the cage of words. Only if we live in the moment, free from thoughts, can we tap into the guidance of spontaneous, discriminating intelligence—the very intelligence that dogmas destroy.
The natural state occurs when the ego, with its conditioning and expectations, dissolves into choiceless awareness in the here and now, without desires or fears—a state of mind where the observer as a separate entity disappears.
Waiting for help from the fetish our mind has created, we confuse the path of truth (objective perception and authentic, spontaneous behavior) with a path of imposed discipline and shared dogmas.
Those who have not met the Master in person, but have only heard of them, will often boast of a special inner relationship with them so as not to feel inferior to the “old devotees.” An individual who does not feel realized suddenly feels like “someone” the moment they consider themselves a disciple. If they memorize a few mantras (as anyone can do), they become convinced they are a very special person. The great Orientalist Heinrich Zimmer wittily referred to this condition as “imaginary disciples.”
With this new and rewarding identification, the ego chases respectability and importance within the group that shares its spiritual myth. And here lies the paradox: the seeker who was originally attracted by the awareness and presence of mind of the Master is now pursuing the most deceptive path of all.
Involvement in hierarchical roles strengthens the ego’s separation from the awareness that only occurs in the ego’s absence. Instead of a greed for money or pleasure, there is now a greed for spiritual experiences and accolades. This, of course, creates power dynamics in many ashrams that inevitably lead to endless conflict. A place of peace becomes an arena where minds battle over personal projections.
If the devotee achieves status and support within a small group, they become convinced they are on the way to becoming a teacher themselves, and their ego grows ever larger. Humanity is predisposed to expect others to solve its problems, and it is amazing how easily the role of “teacher”—the one who provides easy solutions—is projected onto anyone willing to assume that position.
Seeing these things, many people are led to reject any form of spirituality completely, thereby throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Humanity needs religion, but in the truest and deepest sense (religere = to gather, to reunite). It is therefore crucial to recognize this egoic deception if one does not want to spend a lifetime worshipping the vessel without ever drinking the water.
To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the rational mind is a faithful servant of which we have become slaves, while the intuitive mind is a sacred gift we have forgotten. The day I realized the illusion of the ego-thought, my life changed dramatically.
I believe it is urgent that every spiritual community truly cultivate the authenticity of being and the insight that comes from surrendering to the Self, to nature, and to life with great simplicity and spontaneity. But to do so, we must first recognize the deceptions of the ego and its delusions of grandeur; otherwise, we risk misrepresenting the message of truth the Master demonstrated through their example.
Only in this way can authentic, fraternal relations arise among humanity—in the Truth of spontaneous authenticity, in the simplicity of the natural state, and with the Love of the undivided state.
“It is in the nature of the mind to wander. You are not the mind. The mind jumps up and then sinks, it is impermanent, transient, while you are eternal… stay in the Self! Do not give importance to the mind… man realized the mind might be active or inactive, only the Self remains for him.”
RAMANA MAHARSHI
“Seeing into one’s nature is to see into the nothing. Seeing into the nothing is true seeing and eternal seeing.”
SHEN HUI
“While I am this or that, I am not all things.”
MEISTER ECKHART
Filippo Falzoni Gallerani, Milan, 29 December 2012
Notes
[1] However, immature individuals do not seize the magic of mindfulness; instead, they become overwhelmed with exaltation and possessed by religious fantasies, regressing to mythical and magical thinking. The search for emotional pleasures within this kind of spirituality leads many astray and discredits authentic spiritual inquiry.
[2] Natural State is the term used by Ramana Maharshi to indicate the spontaneous awareness of the Self, which is free from the sense of separation induced by the ego (a product of thought).
[3] Spiritual practice. Literally means “a means of accomplishing something.”
[4] Hybris or Hubris is a technical term in Greek tragedy and literature, appearing in Aristotle’s Poetics. It literally means “arrogance,” “excess,” “pride,” or “abuse.” In tragedy, hubris is an action that violates the immutable laws of the gods, causing past events to adversely affect the present. At the end of a hubristic arc, it is often directly followed by Nemesis, which means “revenge of the gods” or “anger”—the punishment justly inflicted upon those guilty of hubris.
