Question about the causal state

[Greg Goode]

At 11:50 AM 10/17/97 -0400, sadananda wrote:
>Since the statement that death of ego occurs only when complete
>surrenderence occurs is agreeable to you, we can start from that. The
>statement implies that physical death is not the death of the ego. Hence it
>follows that in my last life it was the same ego.

Yes, scripturally that is true.  But the ego was not sadananda or Greg, but
more
like a subset or component of sadananda or Greg.  So the last person who had
that ego was a different person.

I think we are really talking about two different subjects and don't really
disagree.  I was focussing on what it is to be a person.  You were talking
about the mechanics of reincarnation according to Vedanta.  I think we agree
that the person doesn't reincarnate.

I like what Ramana says, that reincarnation is only true for those who think
that one of the shareeras is who they are.  But in reality, there is no birth,
death, or reincarnation.


>Now what is the ego - It
>is the concept in the subtle body and it is not just the identification of
>the upaadies - or shareeras - Shareeraas can  be changing, but the same ego
>identifying with the changing shareers.

Again, I agree that this is scriptural, but in other places, like in Drig
Drishya
Vivek, Shankara says that the subtle body is insentient.  So ultimately,
the ego
is not what identifies with anything, because it doesn't do anything.

>Brahman identified with subtle body is the soul - the individual - the
>jeeva or jeevaatma - also called conditioned consciousness.  Currently it
>is the small i the ego, when realized it becomes the big ego, I. - bigness
>or the infiniteness  is the Brahman -

Thanks for this explanation.

>Well this may be my last mail for this week - will be out of town for a
>week or two.

Have a nice time!

--Greg