What do you define as a person? Are we just Man ruled by his Ego?

Question

Controlled by our conditions? Or are we more than that? Who do you think you are?

Answer 1

As a physical manifested form... every human being at a given point of time is the sum total of all his thoughts! Our soul atman within is the real owner of the body... it is our soul atman within that has manifested the body and not otherwise. Our soul atman has manifested the form of a human being to remove the impurities within. The moment all dross within removes... the human being reaches the stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha)!

As the metal within an ore cannot separate on its own... our soul atman also requires working out its karma and for that it requires a body. If the owner of the body is the soul... why would the body workout its karma for somebody else. For the body to ever remain in ignorance... the concept of ego (aka aham in Hinduism) was created by God. It is our ego that makes us do everything in the physical manifested world.

The wanton desires... the greed for materialistic riches all result from the promptings of the ego (aham). It is ego that makes a human being feel the owner of the materialistic riches which primarily it is not. The fruits of all karma performed by the body always belong to our soul atman within... and never otherwise! Every human being is required to perform ones karma... there is no escape from that!

In the cosmic system... the doctrine of karma is governing! As we perform so shall we get... nothing less or more! No human being is slave to ones karma. All human beings can manifest destiny if one truly desire so. Having a goal in life is journey half completed. Pursuing this goal with bulldog determination (as evidenced in Winston Churchill)... with all eggs in one basket is the mantra of life!

Most human beings never transcend the boundaries of ephemeral life! They practically remain slaves to their destiny. When I was young... 11 years of age... I wanted to meet and see God! By 13 years of age... my desire turned into conviction! By 15, I gave notice to my mother for leaving the confines of the family in search of God Almighty. She refused. I continued my search for God remaining in the family.

I finally manifested destiny. At 37 years of age I realized God. Having come face-to-face with God on a permanent basis... I reached the last leg of cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation... when one can gain salvation (moksha). Thereafter it is a direct journey to the kingdom of God (aka Baikuntha in Hinduism).

No human being ever is bound by the prevailing conditions. We simply need to transcend life by gaining control of the five senses and the mind. Practicing absolute celibacy for 12 years and the practice of Neti does the rest. More on Human Beings - http://www.godrealized.org/humanbeings/human_being.html

Answer 2

This is a good question because it is a lot more subtle than many would suspect.

After all, a person is NOT just a human being. There are copious examples (even today) of human beings considered to be other things than persons - most often as property instead. 'De-personing' someone is, in my observation, one of the most common ways of justifying behaviours that would otherwise be completely unacceptable if they were performed on another person. America de-persons criminals, terrorists, and enemies in war rather regularly.

Nor is a person a thinking being. A human who is mentally incapable may still be considered a person even when a genius is not. I can recall cases of people born without a brain having their rights staunchly defended and genius slaves being oppressed more BECAUSE they were smart.

I think we should take a cue also from children. Sometimes a child will insist on having a beloved stuffed animal given a place at the dinner table. And many men (more than you would think) present valentine's day gifts to their cars but not their spouses. What defense does a child give for this insistence? "They're a real person!"

This suggests that 'personhood' is a status that we set in our minds. A person is someone who should be afforded rights and status similar to yourself. They are an entity and an individual worthy of a certain basic respect and tolerance. Someone who is NOT a person does not (in the mind of the viewer) deserve any of these things.

Who is a person and who is not, then, tells us a lot more about the being who is making such a declaration than the entities that he is talking about. Being a person is a judgement, not an intrinsic quality.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Ego is a false identity that is imposed upon the Life itself. It has no reality except in your identification with it. Ego is a false entity claiming all the athority forwhat it cannot do. Ego hides the fact that you are a Spirit having a human experience- not the other way around.

Answer 4

Most people identify with the learned thought system and feelings of their ego and therefore cannot remember what brought them here in the first place. Observing our experience of reality - the patterns of unhappiness in it - allows us to trace causality back to the origin of the childish ego errors from conditioning. When they are reframed in the light of reason, the experience of reality changes. It is a tedious process but there is no way around it - whether you use the Eight-fold Path, NLP, rebirth of the Christ Self, or whatever, it has to be done to return to 'being.'

I am the observer of reality, aware of being disinterested in egos, pursuing my innate interests.

Answer 5

Heredity + Sum of all experiences + Electricity, all in a fleshy shell. Here's the recipe: 7 parts water 2 parts proteins 1 part minerals Assemble 0.001% of water and proteins into genes Slowly mix genes with remaining ingredients to combine for emulsion Add electrical current Bake at 98.6 for 8-9 months, until small, bipedal oblong form and spongy consistency Remove, let cool for 5 minutes, and add life experience to taste

Answer 6

A person is an individual who sees themselves as they want to. Some with bigger ego's than others. Not necessarily ruling them.

Answer 7

Ego nope. Conditions and our environment does develops our personality. Then again its our morals/ values that dictates our character.

Answer 8

A person is a distinct, ontological subject who is characterized by an intellect and a will.

Answer 9

We're just animals that figured out how to manipulate everything else for ourselves! And nothing is more metal than leaving thousands dead or in poverty for yourself.