Tariq Ramadan – Ramadan Chronicles #05 The Ego

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			Peace be with you. We have been talking
		

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			yesterday and the day before
		

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			about the path, about the jihad, and that
		

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			we have
		

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			to resist forgetfulness.
		

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			There is a notion which is central
		

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			also, which is part of our
		

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			the first steps of our resistance is the
		

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			resistance to the ego.
		

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			The fact that I'm saying
		

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			I, it's so important because where I can
		

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			understand that I am a subject, that I
		

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			am thinking. But we have to be very
		

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			careful that the starting point does not become
		

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			the jail within which I'm
		

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			imprisoned, and then it cannot just achieve
		

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			this,
		

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			path and coming close to god.
		

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			The figure and the the the the the
		

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			being that we have that in that is,
		

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			embodying the very essence
		

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			of
		

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			this ego
		

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			is a shaitan in the Quran, Iblis.
		

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			When he is called by Allah to prostrate
		

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			before Adam, he refused. And
		

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			then,
		

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			before
		

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			Adam, he refused,
		

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			and then,
		

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			Allah is asking him.
		

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			What prevented you from frustrating
		

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			when I'm asked I asked you to do
		

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			so? And his answer is
		

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			I'm better than him. You created me out
		

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			of,
		

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			fire, and you created him out of dust,
		

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			meaning that my essence is better than his.
		

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			Not talking about the essence of faith, but
		

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			the essence of this kind of arrogance, and
		

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			we have it in the Quran.
		

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			When he was asked to prostrate, he said,
		

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			He refused, and then he was so proud,
		

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			so full of proud that he used to
		

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			do so, and he was,
		

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			from those who were negating the very essence
		

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			of truth. He knew that god was there,
		

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			but he refused out of this arrogance. So
		

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			this arrogance, this I could be the jail
		

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			while you you you
		

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			refuse the truth and you refuse to prostrate
		

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			and you refuse to come back. So how
		

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			are we going to come back to this
		

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			fitra within the sound heart that we were
		

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			talking about, is by struggling.
		

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			And what is
		

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			giving
		

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			power to the ego?
		

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			It's the instincts. It's the passions that we
		

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			have. It's
		

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			looking for money, looking for power, looking for
		

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			all these dimension. This is where the ego
		

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			is I and that we can the I
		

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			that was supposed to be the starting point
		

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			of your consciousness
		

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			with God
		

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			is ending
		

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			by being the jail within which you're forgetting
		

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			God and only thinking about yourself. So you
		

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			have to follow the path. You can't follow
		

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			the path of I with
		

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			pride, or you can follow serving god and
		

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			serving the poor people, and this is why
		

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			you are struggling with your own ego.
		

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			Resisting the ego is the first step of
		

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			our all,
		

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			our deep liberation.
		

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			Deep down,
		

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			it's as much as you think at the
		

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			periphery that saying I is your freedom. You
		

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			understand that liberating
		

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			yourself from the ego is the only true
		

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			way to be free,
		

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			and you have to struggle for this. So
		

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			the resistance
		

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			to the ego that we find in all
		

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			our traditions,
		

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			the spiritual tradition, it's so important.
		

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			Never forget to tell the people you love
		

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			that you love them. Life is fragile.