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Forget completely about the ego; concentrate totally on bringing alertness into your being.

The ego is a cunning masquerade of the self, it thrives on separation and thrives on clinging to identities, possessions, and achievements. It draws its power from the past and its projections onto the future, but it has no essence in the present.

Now, when Osho prompts you to forget completely about the ego, he is not suggesting that you fight or destroy it – because that too would be an act of the ego. Rather, he invites you to become aware, to witness it; to bring a total pure consciousness into your being, here and now.

This alertness, this consciousness that he speaks of is the very quality of being absolutely present. In a state of such alertness, you watch your thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they arise and pass away, without identifying with them, without becoming them. This is what Buddhists call ‘mindfulness’ and what Patanjali referred to as ‘witnessing’.

In this state of pure awareness, the ego cannot exist because the ego is rooted in unconsciousness. By becoming alert, you shine a light on the very shadow that the ego is. Like a shadow that disappears with the rising sun, the ego dissolves in the light of your awareness.

So, bring this alertness, this luminous consciousness into every aspect of your life. Eat consciously, walk consciously, and talk consciously. Be fully present with every breath, every movement, every thought. This is the path to liberation, the path to a life of pure joy and celebration, beyond the grasp of the ego.

As you practise this, you will find that actions flow with an ease previously unknown to you. You act not out of personal desire or for the sake of the result, but from a deep, calm place within that is in harmony with the totality of existence.

Remember, the goal is not to destroy the ego but to transcend it. It is not a fight; it is an awakening. It is the ultimate alchemy of the soul where what was unconscious becomes conscious, and in that light of consciousness, all that is false and illusory dissipates.

This is the art of living – to live with such an alert understanding that every moment becomes a moment of awakening.