Life is a constant war, a war with ME – the Mind and Ego along with the army of the 5 senses on one side and Consciousness on the other side, backed by the intellect. This is a virtual war that is constantly raging within us. Every moment of life, the wrestling between thoughts and Consciousness continues. SatChitAnanda is the reward if we win the war against ME. If we lose, we become prisoners and the ME takes over. If the ME wins, then the cycle of death and rebirth unfolds life after life, and we will never attain the state of SatChitAnanda. As long as we remain prisoners of ME, we will experience the triple suffering of the ego, mind, and body.
Our challenge is to win the war. We have to defeat the ego. Unless we let go of the ego, we will not realize the Truth and be conscious of it. The ego is empowered by the mind. But it becomes so inflated that throughout life, it drives the mind to fight the war against our Consciousness of the Truth.
One who wants to attain SatChitAnanda, prepares for the battle with the 'ME'. Every time the ego says 'I', Consciousness shoots it down as myth, as an illusion, and puts the ego to rest, but the bigger challenge is to transcend the mind. How do we win the war with the mind?