Observing Self-Love

In our childhood, a very deep-rooted attitude is formed which believes “I am right.” This becomes the seed of self-love which remains all through our lives. It is a continuous tension which eats up a lot of valuable energy, a deep form of hypnosis which keeps us in its power forever. If we can separate from our self-love, it leads to the deepest relaxation we have ever experienced. Let us see some symptoms exhibited by a man who operates from self-love: 1) He ignores some people and responds to others. This selective interaction is connected with ideas of money, fame and position.
2) He does not like being insulted or ignored, and will argue and justify his position in such a situation.
3) He enjoys talking about his own achievements.
4) When proved wrong, he will do anything to prove himself right. Self-love just cannot accept that it is wrong.
5) He hates being laughed at and when people talk in whispers or are laughing in a corner, he feels they are talking of or laughing at him.
6) When he goes into a room where friends have gathered, he is continuously saying within, “Please talk about me”, and feels deep resentment at being ignored.
7) When people talk about him, he wants every event talked about to reflect his merit.
8) He feels a continuous need for people to admire him and when they do not, he feels hurt.
9) If anyone even slightly criticises him, he feels deeply offended, even more so if it is done in front of an audience. (Duryodhana felt deeply offended when Draupadi said, “a blind man’s son is blind”.)
10) If someone has insulted him, he derives great satisfaction in setting the other right. Yes, he enjoys extracting revenge.
11) He cannot accept anyone saying he is selfish or haughty.
12) He loves those who praise him.
13) He can easily put on a modest exterior while being revengeful inside.
14) He loves to show that he speaks the truth and behaves well. Yes, by working on our self-love, we take a big step towards psychological freedom.