Bhagwat Warns: Keep Ego in Check or Risk Falling into a Hole

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said one should keep ego at bay or else he or she may fall into a hole.
Selfless service takes place when one identifies enduring happiness and satisfaction, which also increases the tendency to help others, he said.

Speaking at the valedictory silver jubilee function of Bharat Vikas Parishad's Viklang Kendra in Maharashtra's Pune on Monday, Bhagwat also said that there was a growing perception that everything in the society was going wrong.

"However, for every wrong deed, 40 times more noble and good service activities are happening in society. This is the only way to disseminate awareness to make people realize that the strength of society lies in its service. It is what builds sustainable trust, he said.

Bhagwat made a reference to teachings by Ramakrishna Paramahansa on "ripened I" and the "raw I" in support of his argument related to ego.

In each person, there is one 'almighty' which inspires him to serve the society but there is ego as well, he said.

“As per Ramakrishna Paramahansa, every person has two ‘I’s. One is raw and other is ripened. One should hold on to the ripened ‘I’ and keep the raw ‘I’ at bay (denoting ego). If one leads life with that raw ‘I’, he or she will fall into a hole,” the RSS chief said.

It is necessary to empower all sections of the society for the development of India, Bhagwat said, adding that the progress of the nation is not only by service.

Service, instead, should aim at making citizens capable of contributing towards development, he added.

It is such capable citizens who drive the nation's progress, Bhagwat asserted.

The RSS gets the credit for several good initiatives in society, but it is the volunteers who must be hailed for these, he opined.

The Bharat Vikas Parishad's Viklang Kendra was lauded by Bhagwat for helping specially abled individuals by providing them modular legs, callipers and artificial limbs.