It Depends On.

Circumstances

मूढ जहीहि धनागम-तृष्णा, 

कुरु वैतृष्ण्यं विषय-वितृष्णा।।

-- 

Sings the sage, walking along, the River.

He has no one, to say His own.

The River He Talks of Is the Life Sacred,

Is without any beginning, or any end, 

He lives in the woods, the forest, or in the Jungle, 

Though has no 

Jungle-house

like the one I live in!) 

He lives in the open, where there are so many wild and ferocious animals, 

Where the weather is, Arid, Humid or Extreme, Cold Or Just Pleasant, 

People occasionally come there to see Him or just as a tourist from the cities, for a picnic, and seeing Him, bow to Him.

Offer Him respects, gifts, money, and the  things of luxury and comfort, 

He merely casts a glance over them or even looks not at them, He distributes the offerings amongst the visitors and hardly keeps anything for Himself. 

He has a place as a shelter, of a tree, a home for all the good, bad or the normal weathers,

The cool and fresh water of The River to drink, and to quench the thirst, 

Hardships and troubles, keep following Him, yet unperturbed, unconcerned of them, he never complains.

He knows these all, are the colors of the picture, that keeps charming, changing, enchanting. 

Always, all the time. Everyday, and every moment. He comes across and welcomes quite a new every situation,

He has with Him a walking stick only, to help Him in walking, supporting and protecting Himself just in case, from the occasional and the unexpected dangers, that are aplenty in the woods. 

He knows quite well, and needs not to remember that decay is inherent in all composite things. 

He as well understands, only the names and the forms are the things that go on and on without a beginning, appearing and disappearing and their is nothing to grieve about. In fact, nothing is going to perish, for nothing is born. It's like the river that is but The Life sacred. 

Because of knowing this nature of things and of their inherent decay, and the ever-changing names and forms of things He thinks not of death, 

Nor how to protect the body, the mind or even the self, for their survival from the fate ultimate.

He is aware, the greatest pain is the pain of safety and insecurities; in the form of worry and the fear and anticipation of the incumbent imaginary future, never arrives in this present moment, now and here in the instant.

Who dies?

Is not death only an idea that itself gets born and dies and reborn, a thousand times in the life of everyone?

--

They had come in a car. The visitors,  - a team of doctors. Someone wanted that they check if the sage is doing well and may need any help. 

He allowed them to perform the health check and they found Him in excellent health condition.

They however gave Him a few medicines and supplementary tonics, which were soon given away to some local visitors who often came to see Him.

This was so because He had no place to store those things.

He didn't thank them but just asked :

"Why are you worried?"

"We just want to see you happy and in good health"

They replied.

He only smiled back in response.

And they left.

What really makes one insecure, unsafe and worrisome?

Isn't it's the insensitivity only?

Insensitivity brings fear and the thought of the hypothetical future, which could neither in experience, nor through logic or example be brought into perception.

It remains as much elusive, as it has no substance nor essence.

Six Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali are a gem in understanding the characteristics of all such tendencies  (वृत्ति)  which form the core of the ego and the Alter-ego.

Again the ego and the Alter-ego itself is a tendency of the mind, though looking as if are different and independent from one another, really they are complementary of one and the same phenomenon that is the individual mind.

 वृत्तयः पञ्चतय्यः क्लिष्टाक्लिष्टाः।।५।।

प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः।।६।।

प्रत्यक्षानुमानागमाः प्रमाणानि।।७।।

शब्दज्ञानानुपाती वस्तुशून्यो विकल्पः।।८।।

विपर्ययो मिथ्याज्ञानमतद्रूपप्रतिष्ठम्।।९।।

अभाव-प्रत्यययालम्बना वृत्तिः निद्रा।।१०।।

अनुभूतविषयसम्प्रमोषः वृत्तिः स्मृतिः।।११।।

(समाधिपाद)

The phenomenon that has these two core and essential complimentary aspects are ego and Alter-ego is the very sense of I itself which again is given the names :

अहं-वृत्ति, and अहं-प्रत्यय,

The following verse of :

Vivekachudamani

Elaborates how this sense of I is only a manifestation and reflection of its very own source from where it comes into existence and gives rise to the apparent all the phenomenal worldly Existence -

अस्ति कश्चित् स्वयं नित्यं अहं-प्रत्ययलम्बनः।।

अवस्थात्रय साक्षी सन् पञ्चकोषविलक्षणः।।१२५।।

The source and the origin which is the only Reality is in no way affected by all this apparent emergence of the World and the individual Who finds oneself confined in the world as is perceived by the I-sense. 

Another equally important clue comes from the Sanskrit text UpadeshaSaraH of Sri Ramana : 

वृत्यस्त्वहंवृत्तिमाश्रिताः।।

वृत्तयो मनः विद्ध्यहं मनः।।१७।।

मानसं तु किं मार्गणे कृते।।

नैव मानसं मार्ग आर्जवात्।।१८।।

All the tendencies depend upon and are supported by the अहं-वृत्ति /  I-sense  as has been already said in the stanza 125.

Know therefore the mind as the "I-sense" itself.

Trying to find out "What is Mind?"

results in the revelation that there is no independent existence of this thing what is named "the mind".

The ego is therefore verily the mind, the one who is possessed with the idea :

I do (sense of doer-ship)

I feel / experience (the sense of oneself being the one who enjoys or suffers) 

I know (through the knowledge and the memory)

and finally, 

I own (the sense of oneself as having the things thought of one's own).

The ego is thus split into these 4 ways and all the secondary tendencies form the Alter-ego.

Thus summarily, 

The Thinker is the ego while the thought is the Alter-ego.

The Observer is the ego and the observed is Alter-ego.

Having understood and realized this the Sage ever so abides in the Timeless Bliss  of :

The Self  / Brahman 

***