The mouse and the elephant

1001 Tales told by the Master

“The original mind is egoless. It does not know the ‘I’, because ‘I’ is a shrinking. The original mind is infinite, like the sky.”

African elephant

All minds are artificially created minds: nirmana cittany asmita-matrat. Artificially created minds proceed from egoism alone: I am a Hindu, I am a Mohammedan, I am black, I am white, I am this, that – they are all artificial minds. The original face, the original mind, uncreated by man, has to be known and realized. […]

I have heard:

The elephant looked down and saw a little, very tiny mouse standing by its foot.

“Dear me,” said the elephant, “you are very tiny.”

“Yes,” agreed the mouse, “I have not been very well lately.”

Even a mouse has his own ego? – he has been ill, that’s why.

The artificial mind lives through ego, so if you start dropping your ego, the artificial mind will start disintegrating. Or, if you drop your artificial mind, the ego will start disintegrating. And if you really want to get rid of this rock, start both ways together. Never enhance the ego in any way. The ways are very subtle.

Remember that the original mind is egoless. It does not know the ‘I’, because ‘I’ is a shrinking. The original mind is infinite, like the sky.

Osho, Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega, Vol 10, Ch 1

Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales
Featured image: wikimedia.org

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