Nirmama - rising above 'me and mine'

 Nirmama

(Rising above 'me and mine')

Man is the master of his destiny! His karma or actions decide the course of his life. His conscience is the guide that steers him on the  journey of life. He strives to attain name,  fame, wealth and secure a good life for himself and his family.  Above all he desires to have a  sense of belonging. Hence he constantly seeks validation from others in the form of recognition and appreciation to feed his ego and gain satisfaction. A satisfied Ego makes him feel worthy,  loved and happy. However this happiness is purely temporary because the Ego is in continuous need of satisfaction which is not always possible . There are times when the Ego is hurt and with experience man gradually learns that he always cannot  receive appreciation and acknowledgement that he desires. Disappointment sets in, hence to keep himself happy he builds an  illusionary Ego. This illusionary Ego is a false self , merely created to make himself happy by feeling superior to others. 

The false Ego makes him feel proud , arrogant and delusional. He starts believing that the world revolves around him and  thrives because of his presence and contributions. He starts assuming that the world around him would crush without his presence and actions. These fanciful  thoughts give him a sense of doership as well as an exaggerated sense of self- importance. . He starts putting down others and makes them feel inferior so that in comparison he can feel superior. In fact, the false Ego compels him to  build a wall around himself which eventually secludes and isolates him from others and makes him emotionally unavailable to them.  

The foolish man forgets that he is not just the perishable body but an eternal soul, a spiritual spark, which is just a speck in this vast universe. This false identification with the  body keeps him limited to the “ me and mine” mentality.. 

Man under the influence of the modes of material nature- goodness, passion and ignorance ; thinks of himself as the doer. Unaware! of the fact that although we all have a conscience there is a Grandmaster who controls our senses – HRISHIKESHA. It is sheer ignorance which keeps him away from the Absolute Truth that  it is the opulent Bhagwan who actually controls everything, including the universe and everything in it.

He is the actual doer who controls us through Prana or the life force, which gives us the ability or capacity to do all that we desire.

Bhagwan Shri krishna clearly explains this to Arjuna in verse  :

Bg. 3.27

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।

अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ २७ ॥

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

Translation

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature

LIFE LESSON

As long as we think we are the doers, we become the sufferers. The moment the soul aligns itself to the will of the universe and surrenders to the cosmic force, it receives abundant grace. The biggest realisation being that all of us have to do our duty unmindful of appreciation, acknowledgement or criticism. Remember: The Bhagwan is Opulent; He has strength, fame,  beauty, riches, knowledge and renunciation. He chooses to be detached and rules this universe with a 'Nirmama' bhaava ( nothing is mine).It is this ‘Nirmama’ bhaava we need to cultivate to lead a happy and peaceful life. Nothing belongs to us not even our karma, everything is given by him and we should acknowledge  him for all that he has given us. It’s time we rise above the petty limited concept of “ me and mine!”

Written by: Saraswathi M V

Mentor: Prof. Shalini R Pujari