Is your ego positive or negative?

Man has conquered space; man has conquered the sky; man has controlled even the courses of the rivers and the growth of the great forests - but man has not found it easy to control or conquer the ego

“King Hugo’s Huge Ego” is a clever, witty and funny story by author and illustrator, Chris Van Dusen. In its time, it became a children’s classic but adults can learn from it too!

King Hugo is one tiny monarch with a very large Napoleon complex. Hugo rules the land with an iron fist and a rather bloated sense of self; his ego is head and shoulders above his three-foot three stature.

“Yes, Hugo was a cocky king-as boastful as could be. To him, no other person was as wonderful as he.” King Hugo makes sure his subjects bow to him whenever he passes (wouldn’t want them to be taller!), and they are treated every Friday morning to his “Speech of Adoration”. What’s the subject of that adoration? You guessed it; it’s Hugo!

One day, while riding in his coach, he encounters a peasant girl who will not get out of his way or bow to him, so Hugo has his coachman bump her right off the road. What he doesn’t know is that the peasant, Tessa, is a sorceress. Tessa proceeds to put a spell on Hugo that makes his head grow larger every time he boasts about himself (very similar to what happens to Pinocchio’s nose when he tells a lie), until it is hilariously large. Finally, it just becomes too big to be supported by his tiny, little body! Hugo returns to Tessa, who explains her spell and why she did it. King Hugo sees the errors of his ways and ends up Tessa’s husband and becomes a much kinder, humbler king. All’s well that ends well.

We often talk of a swollen head, a massive ego and pompous arrogance. In the above story, all of it becomes literal! The ego can make you its slave, if you do not learn to be its Master!

Alas, for many of us, I’m afraid, the ego is unconquerable. Man has conquered space; man has conquered the sky; man has controlled even the courses of the rivers and the growth of the great forests-but man has not found it easy to control or conquer the ego.

For many of us, our life on earth is nothing more than a parade of ego-desires. As the ego changes, our desires change as well. The little child craves toys; the young boy wants computer games and gadgets; the young man chases after fast cars and girls; the grown-up man chases wealth and power. And so we hanker after shadow shapes, fondly imagining that fulfilling the ego desires will make us happy.

The ego, in its positive state, uncontaminated by selfishness, can give us determination and confidence as well as a clear sense of purpose but in a negative state, when it is dominated by selfish impulses, it can give us a false sense of ourselves and lead us on to think that we are the greatest in the world, and no one else really matters.

The ego becomes poisonous when it is coupled with power and authority. Thus, we have certain types of politicians, certain types of stars and celebrities and even certain types of leaders and executives, who begin to think that they are the alpha and omega of existence, and that the entire population of the world exists to love and admire them and carry out their bidding. They live in the delusion that they are very special and their needs and wants must take precedence over everyone else’s.

I said certain politicians and certain celebrities... because all of them are NOT devoured by the ego.

Let me say this again: the ego is essential to our survival and our achievements. Experts tell us that there would be no progress, no evolution to higher forms of awareness, if we were not impelled by the motivation, the drive to reach beyond our grasp. It is only when the ego begins to dominate, overpower the self that problems are created.

A genuine leader once said to me that being powerful means that one is strong in the power of loving-kindness! For true power is never corrosive or control-seeking; it is about offering everyone the best help and service that you are capable of!