Ego is the #1 cause of many problems and even a small trace will do havoc in one’s spiritual life! EGO can be thus considered as ‘Elbowing God Out’ – because when ego is present in the heart, it is said that it expels even God out from the heart!
At its core, the ego is the sense of self-importance and self-esteem. But when left unchecked, it will become the root cause of falling into so many miserable conditions. Sometimes, this inflated sense of ego might be connected to a mental health condition. According to the psychologists, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a condition that involves having a grandiose sense of importance, self-centeredness, and a lack of empathy for others.
As the EGO is the biggest problem in one’s spiritual life, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered us to wear the following sloka as a mala around our neck. This sloka is the great definition of humility with which one should chant the holy names of the Lord.
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ .. Sikshashtakam 3
“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”
While the sukrti of a person brings a guru for sure, but if ego is in the heart it will surely make that person to fall and take away from the guru. This great danger is there for the kanistha adhikari (neophyte) who is just trying to enter into the temple of krishna bhakti.
An egoistic kanistha adhikari even thinks that he is even higher than his own guru and even trying to manipulate his guru for his own way. He has no idea about any Vaishnava etiquettes.
So, it is a big burden on the guru to systematically knock out the ego of his disciples by routine chastisements. Otherwise that disciple will be going towards the ditch and doomed. However, if that person has a very high guru-nishtha then there may be some hope but only if ready to take the chastisements. Otherwise he may even do guru-nintana to his own guru and thus commit the most abominable of all the aparadhas – called ‘Vaishnava Aparadha’.
When one commits a vaishnava aparadha, hell is wide open and no amount of chanting or worship can save that person. We can remember the story of Ambarisha Maharaja and Durvasa Muni. Even Lord Vishnu could not help to take away the vaishnava aparadha committed by Durvasa Muni. This is why Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu compared vaishnava aparadha to a mad elephant entering into a home. It will destroy everything!
So, while Krishna bhakti may sound easy to enter, it is very difficult to maintain. Unless the disciple works on pulling out the dangerous weed called ego from its very root, he cannot make any progress.