'RIPE' EGO AND 'UNRIPE' EGO

There are two types of egoes, one 'ripe ' and the other ' unripe'. " Nothing is mine, whatever I see, or feel, or hear, nay, even this body itself, is not mine ; I am always eternal, free and all-knowing,'—such ideas arise from the ' ripe ego. " This is my house, this is my child, this is my wife, this is my body,"—thoughts of this kind are the manifestation of the unripe ego.

The ego that asserts " I am the servant of God is characteristic of the true devotee. It is the ego of Vidya (Knowledge), and is called the ripe ego.

What is the 'mischievous I? The 'I' which says, "What! Don't they know me? I have so much money ! Who is so wealthy as myself ? Who dares to surpass me?

The ' I which makes a man worldly and attached to lust and wealth is mischievous. The individual soul and the Universal Being are separated because this ' I comes in between them. If a stick is placed on the surface of water, the water will appear to be divided into two sections. The stick is the Aham—the I . Take that away, and the water becomes again undivided.