It is a man’s ego, within him, that whispers secret suggestions not the devil.

 

55. It is a man’s ego, within him, that whispers secret suggestions of vanity and wrong doing to him, not some evil anti-god, not a Satan: There is a base earthly side to the condition of man that holds a dark animalistic control over him. This is found in all mankind’s hidden psyche and is touched on throughout the religions of God almost mystically.  Christianity: Romans 8:27 “He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.” James 1:8 “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” One mind being the higher self or the spiritual nature of man and the other being the lower self or the natural, animal side of man; the ego. 1 Corinthians 15:40 “There are… celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.” In other words; 1 Corinthians 15:44 “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man (the part controlled by the yearnings and lusts) (the ego) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; (with ego in partial control of his actions), the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (or the higher celestial side of spiritual man quickened and more in control of man), or we could say man was, 1 Corinthians “Sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” A heavenly spiritual man. Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (the ego), and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.”  Judaism: Ecclesiastics 3:18 “I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.” (natural man or egotistical man) 3:19 “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; …..man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.”3:21 “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast (ego) that goeth downward to the earth?” (natural man)

 ISLAM: “You have seen sheep and goats, after eating and drinking their fill they retire to their den. Do you want Ali to be like them – to eat, drink and enjoy? May I get blind if after having passed so many years of my life I now turn into an animal (ego) in human form!”

(Ali b. Abi Taalib, Letters from Nahjul Balaagh)

Islam: 16. “It was We who created man and We know what dark suggestions his (lower ego) soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 50)

Islam: “The Prophet said, ‘Allah (God) has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers in the hearts of my followers, unless they put it to action or utter it.’” (Islam, Hadith, Bukhari Vol 3 Book 46, # 705)

 ZOROASTRIANISM: Denkard. Zoroaster, “Those that are evil have no hope of saving their souls in the other world from God. Thus without any thought of spiritual faith they become strong for evil through the power of the latent animal passions:” The lower egotistical side of man controls him.

 Zoroastrianism: “O Mazda (God), to me, who approaches You through conscience, grant the gain of both selves; of the tangible (i.e. the lower self, ego) as well as of that which is the spiritual (i.e. the higher self) so that the aspirant, may through rectitude, persist in holiness.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan)

 Zoroastrianism: “There are two selfs in you, my friend- one lofty as high as the high heaven, and the other low as the deep sea.” “Certainly it is best that I would discard my own egotism O Mazda, so that there be for me the end of all duplicity.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan p. 227 and 228)

 Zoroastrianism: “Subconscious mind (ego or Satan) is the seat of evil impulses. It can be purified only by constant thought of God.” “Man is in the grip (of) Angra Manyu (the force of evil) that could not be helped, that is the precedent condition of the creation of the universe. But man can get out of the clutches of Angru Manyu (the Devil) this is how the Holy Prophet asks man to cheer up to the spite of the lower self.” (the subconscious ego) Love can change pain into joy has not the saint gone out of the clutches of Angru Manyu. (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan pp. 259 and 599)

 Zoroastrianism: “The subconscious mind (the ego or the Devil) is the seat of all evil impulses.” (ZOROASTER, Hymns of Atharvan p. 377)

 Zoroastrianism: “When a man is in the grip of passions, he identifies himself with his lower self. He does not realize that it is the enemy of his real self.” “Nothing else then the love of Mazda (God) is competent to eradicate evil impulses completely and redeem the sinner and such immaculacy is what the prophet desires. It is very necessary to make the heart immaculate.” (ZOROASTED, Hymns of Atharvan pp. 433 and 539)

 HINDUISM: “Earth, water, flame, air, ether, life, and mind, And individuality- those eight Make up the showing of me, Manifest. These be my lower Nature; learn the higher, Whereby, thou Valiant One! this Universe Is, by its principle of life, produced;”

(Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr) chapter 7)

 Hinduism: 147. “Let him consider that he received a mere animal existence, when his parents begat him through mutual affection, and when he was born from the womb (of his mother).” “These be my lower (egotistical) Nature; learn the higher, Whereby, thou Valiant One! This Universe Is, by its principle of life, produced;”

(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 2 and 7

 Hinduism: 2.3 “The five afflictions are ignorance, egoism (Vrtra), attachment, aversion, and the desire to cling to life.“

(Hindu, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali)

 BUDDHISM: “The evil out-flowings that arise from the illusions of the mind and the infatuations of egoism, concern the mental life more directly and are such things as fear, anger, hatred and pride; these are purified by study and meditation and that, too, must be attained gradually and not instantaneously.” (Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra)

 Buddhism: “He must fully understand that all these things come with the awakening of the notion of an ego-soul and its conscious mind.” “they (have) been influenced by the self-interests of egoism” “With the Bodhisatva’s attainment of the eighth stage there comes the ‘turning- about’ within his deepest consciousness from self-centered egoism (Mara or the devil)  to universal compassion for all beings, by which he attains perfect self-realization of Noble Wisdom.” (Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra)

 Buddhism: “He who takes refuge within himself must first get rid of the evil-mind and the jealous-mind, the flattering and crooked-mind, deceit, and falsehood, and fallacious views, egotism, snobbishness, contemptuousness, arrogance, and all other evils that may arise at any time, To take refuge within ourselves is to be always on the alert to prevent our own mistakes and to refrain from criticism of other’s faults. He who is humble and patient on all occasions and is courteous to every one, has truly realized his Mind-essence, so truly in fact that his Path is free from further obstacles. This is the way to take refuge in oneself.” (Buddha, Sixth Patriarch)

 Buddhism: “If a son or daughter wishes to study the profound Prajna-Paramita he or she must get rid of all ego selfness. If the ego-soul of personality was an enduring entity man could not obtain Nirvana; it is only because personality of man is made up of elements that pass away that a person may obtain Nirvana.” (Buddha, Prajna Paramita)

 Buddhism: “By the Truth of emptiness and egolessness that enlightened disciples are to advance along the Path, to restrain their thoughts.” (Buddha, Diamond Sutra)

 SABEANISM: “Avaunt! flee in fear all (ye) evil, restricting, wrathful spirits! (of the lower animal nature, better known as the ego of man), Flee, begone, be vanquished and brought to naught before the glory and light of Manda-d-Hiia!” (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 17)

BAHA’I FAITH: “In man there are two natures; his spiritual or higher nature and his material or lower nature.” “As long as man is a captive of habit, pursuing the dictates of self and desire, he is vanquished and defeated. This passionate personal ego takes the reins from his hands, crowds out the qualities of the divine ego and changes him into an animal, a creature unable to judge good from evil, or to distinguish light from darkness.” “This lower nature in man is symbolized as Satan — the evil ego within us, not an evil personality outside.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 133 and Paris Talks, p. 60 and The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 286)

 BABI RELIGION: “The character of a people who, stigmatized as they often have been as selfish, mercenary, avaricious, egotistical, sordid, and cowardly, are yet capable of exhibiting under the influence of a strong religious impulse a degree of devotion, disinterestedness, generosity, unselfishness, nobility, and courage which may be paralleled in history, but can scarcely be surpassed.”

The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers)

 Babi Religion: “I will disown you as my son,’ cried the mother, when brought face to face with him, ‘if you incline your heart to such evil whisperings and allow them to turn you away from the Truth.”’

The Bab: (Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 562)

BAHA’I FAITH: “Self has really two meanings, or is used in two senses, in the Bahá’í writings; one is self, the identity of the individual created by God. This is the self mentioned in such passages as ‘he hath known God who hath known himself etc….’ The other self is the ego, the dark, animalistic heritage each one of us has, the lower nature that can develop into a monster of selfishness, brutality, lust and so on. It is this self we must struggle against, or this side of our natures, in order to strengthen and free the spirit within us and help it to attain perfection.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 113)