The Ego Divides Us
The sense of ‘me and mine’ is the root of suffering and separation from God.
And he who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from it.
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शांतिमधिगच्छति।।2.71।।
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānśh charati niḥspṛihaḥ nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sa śhāntim adhigachchhati
That person attains peace who, abandoning all desires, moves about without longing, without the sense of ownership, and without egoism.
Common thread
Drop the small ‘I’, and the distance to the divine quietly disappears.
Echo
Sanskrit calls it ahaṅkāra, Gurbani calls it haumai — the same ‘I-am-ness’ that all three say must dissolve.
📖 A story to understand
A proud, wealthy man met Guru Nanak, who handed him a needle: ‘Keep it, and return it to me in the next world.’ The man laughed — nothing material can cross over. He understood: only ego makes us cling, and it cannot follow us home.
Traditional sakhi / story (simplified retelling)