[The ego of a calf.] The calf says, "Hamma" or "Aham" (I). Now look at the troubles caused by the self which says "I, I." In the first place, the calf is sometimes taken into the field where it is yoked to the plough. It is there made to work on from morning till evening, alike in the sun and in the rain. Its troubles are not yet over. It is very often killed by the butcher. Its flesh is eaten as meat. Its skin is tanned into hides which are then made into shoes. The sufferings of the calf in this state know no bounds. But that is not all. Drums are made with the skin which is thus mercilessly beaten, sometimes with the hand and sometimes with the drumstick. It is only when out of its entrails are made strings for the bows used for carding cotton that the troubles of the poor creature are over. And that is because it no longer says, "Hamma, Hamma" (I, I), but "Tuhum, Tuhum" (It is Thou, O Lord! It is Thou!). Similarly, when Jiva (ego) says, "O Lord! Not I but Thou art the doer and actor, I am merely an instrument in Thy hand," it becomes free from all the world's troubles and attains to absolute freedom from birth and

rebirth in this world of sorrow and suffering.

A devotee: How can Jiva become free from egoism (Ahamkara)?

Bhagavan: Egoism does not leave until one has realized God. If anyone has become absolutely free from egoism (Ahamkara) you must know that that person has seen and realized Divinity.

Devotee: Revered Sir, what are the signs of one who has seen and realized God?

[Signs of one who has realized God.] Bhagavan: The signs of one who has seen God are thus described in Bhagavatam. There are four kinds. First, His conduct is like that of a child. A truly wise man who has seen the Lord becomes like a child. A child has no real egoism. He is not bound by any custom. The self of the child is nothing at all like the self of the grownup man. The second sign is that one who has seen God does not care for his body or his dress. Purity and impurity seem to him the same. Third, Such an one sometimes acts like a madman, now laughing, now weeping, and the next moment talking to himself; now dressed like a Babu (gentleman) and now taking his one garment under his arm and going quite naked like

a child. Lastly, he may remain inert and motionless for a long time in the state of Samadhi.

Devotee: After God-vision does egoism (Ahamkara) disappear entirely?

Bhagavan: Sometimes the Lord wipes out the last stain of egoism, as in the state of Samadhi. Again, sometimes He leaves a faint trace of egoism, but that is harmless. It is like that of an innocent child, who knows not the doing of injury to anyone. The steel sword is turned into gold by the touch of the Philosopher's Stone. It still retains its shape but it does not injure anyone.