Question: Will the ego gradually be exhausted if we cater to its demands?

Sri Chinmoy: If someone feels that by fulfilling the ego’s demands the ego will be exhausted, as we exhaust our money by spending it, then he is mistaken. If we have money, we use it and then it is gone. In the case of the ego, it is not like that. It goes on and on. Ignorance is the mother of ego. As there is no end to our ignorance until we aspire, so also there is no limit to our ego. On the contrary, if we feed it by fulfilling its demands, it will only grow stronger and stronger. If one really wants to have a life of inner joy and fulfilment, then ego, the thief, has to be caught, and the sooner the better. This thief constantly steals our inner divine qualities: our joy, our peace, our feeling of oneness with the rest of the world.