The sense of false ego and the sense of false proprietorship go hand in hand as fundamental mentalities of the conditioned soul. A conditioned soul strongly identifies with the material body, considering it to be the self; additionally, objects in relationship to the material body are identified as “mine”. Indeed, the mentality of I and mine are the primary symptoms of our diseased consciousness of illusion. Such false consciousness extends to claiming complete proprietorship over our actions and the material possessions in relationship to the body. Unfortunately such consciousness is not only illusory, but locks us into the chain of fruitive action and karmic reaction.To see animals as “things” is a standard mistake. All living entities are spirit souls encased in various types of material bodies. Many Christians or even those who accept reincarnation are often foolish enough to think that there are human souls and animal souls, and that the soul in an animal is somehow of an inferior grade. Such a conclusion is not confirmed in any authoritative Vedic scripture, where it is comprehensively described how the soul of a lower animal can be gradually promoted to the human form, or one in the human form can be degraded back down to the animal or even lower species. Killing animals unecessarily is sinful. Higher animals like cows, whales and others have a highly developed consciousness, emotions, language and family structures. Killing them unecessarily or to satisfy the taste for meat is a very sinful activity.These points are further elaborated on in the purport to the Sri Isopanishad verse I have quoted later in this answer. The animal rights movement and the philosophical work of Peter Singer and others addresses these matters from a somewhat speculative perspective, however they do illustrate the cruel barbarity of the factory farming and mass animal slaughter culture we so pride ourselves on. I have included a number of quotes from the website brijbasispirit.com/cows.htm which are pertinent to this answer:“Cow killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of the cow”Caitanya Caritamrita“The brahmanas, the cows, and the defenseless creatures are My own body.”Lord Sri Krishna (Srimad Bhagavatam)“Even the killer of an animal is to be considered a murderer” Manu Samhita“As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.”Leo Tolstoy“Do not make your belly a graveyard for dead animals.”Imam Ali (cousin of Prophet Mohamed)“As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” Pythagoras (6th century mathematician and philosopher)“We are the living graves of murdered beasts, slaughtered to satisfy our appetites. How can we hope in this world to attain peace we say we are anxious for?”George Bernard Shaw (poet and philosopher)“If you have men who will exclude God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, then you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”Saint Francis of Assisi“Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”Albert Schweitzer (physicist and philosopher)“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.”Paul McCartney (Former Beatle)“Whatever information one has about cow protection, he should try his best to spread that information everywhere and as far as possible. May God give him success in this endeavor. If we protect the cows, they will protect us.”Pandit Madan-mohan Malviya (Indian statesman)“Men do not understand that because they unrestrictedly kill so many animals, they also must be slaughtered like animals in big wars. This is very much evident in the Western countries. In the West, slaughterhouses are maintained without restriction, and therefore every fifth or tenth year, there is a big war in which countless people are slaughtered even more cruelly than the animals. Sometimes during war, soldiers keep their enemies in concentration camps and kill them in very cruel ways. These are reactions brought about by unrestricted animal-killing in the slaughterhouse and by hunters in the forest.”Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaIn the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes the false ego as follows:Chapter 3. Karma-yogaTEXT 27 prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyateTranslationThe bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.The gross material body is a biological apparatus. The subtle mind, intelligence and false ego are somewhat like the software in a computer. The mind is basically the operating system for the gross body. The soul is entirely different and separate from the gross and subtle bodies, however the false identification of the soul with the gross and subtle bodies constitute ahankara, or false ego.What is the mentality of a liberated soul?A liberated or fully Krishna conscious personality does not identify the body as self, nor does a liberated soul entertain a sense of false proprietorship over material paraphanalia, objects, other people or any other living being. The liberated soul correctly identifies everything as an expansion of the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, and accepts stewardship over that which has been allocated as a quota by the Lord. This is explained in detail in the translation and purport to the first verse of Sri Isopanishad by Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. isavasyam idam sarvamyat kinca jagatyam jagattena tyaktena bhunjithama grdhah kasya svid dhanam TRANSLATION Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. PURPORT Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect disciplic succession of spiritual masters beginning with the Lord Himself. The first word of Vedic knowledge was spoken by the Lord Himself, and it is being received from transcendental sources. The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruseya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1) He is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat others, and (4) his senses are imperfect. Being conditioned by these four imperfections, one cannot deliver perfect information of all-pervading knowledge. The Vedas are not produced by such imperfect creatures. Vedic knowledge was originally imparted into the heart of Brahma, the first created living being, and Brahma in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have handed down the process through history.Since the Lord is purnam, or all-perfect, there is no possibility of His being subjected to the laws of material nature; however, the living entities and inanimate objects are both controlled by the laws of nature and ultimately by the Lord's potency. This Isopanisad is part of the Yajur Veda, and consequently it contains information concerning the proprietorship of all things existing within the universe.This is confirmed in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita where para and apara prakrti are discussed (7.4-5). The elements of nature -- earth, fire, water, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego -- all belong to the inferior or material energy of the Lord, whereas the living being, the organic energy, is the para prakrti (superior energy) of the Lord. Both of the prakrtis, or energies, are emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything that exists. There is nothing in the universe that does not belong either to the para or the apara prakrti; therefore everything is the property of the Supreme Being.The Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is a complete person, and He has complete and perfect intelligence to adjust everything by means of His different potencies. The Supreme Being is often compared to fire, and everything organic and inorganic is compared to the heat and light of that fire. Just as fire distributes energy in the form of heat and light, the Lord displays His energy in different ways. He thus remains the ultimate controller, sustainer and dictator of everything. He is the knower of everything and the benefactor of everyone. He is full of all inconceivable potencies: power, wealth, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that but for the Lord no one is a proprietor of anything. One should accept only those things which are set aside by the Lord as his quota. The cow, for instance, gives milk, but she does not drink that milk; she eats grass and grain, and her milk is designated as food for human beings. Such is the arrangement of the Lord, and we should be satisfied with those things which He has kindly set aside for us, and we should always consider to whom those things we possess actually belong.A house, for instance, is made of earth, wood, stone, iron, cement and so many other material things, and if we think in terms of Sri Isopanisad, we must know that we cannot produce any of these materials ourselves. We can simply bring them together and transform them into different shapes by our labor. A laborer cannot claim to be a proprietor of a thing just because he has worked hard to manufacture it.In modern society there is always a great quarrel between the laborers and the capitalists. This quarrel has taken an international shape, and the world is endangered. Men face one another in enmity and snarl just like cats and dogs. Sri Isopanisad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but it can deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide acaryas (holy teachers). The human race should take the Vedic wisdom of Isopanisad and not quarrel over material possessions. One must be satisfied by whatever privileges are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no peace if the communists or capitalists or any other party claims proprietorship over the resources of nature, which are entirely the property of the Lord. The capitalists cannot curb the communists simply by political maneuvering, nor can the communists defeat the capitalists simply by fighting for stolen bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property which they claim to be their own is stolen. Consequently they will be liable to punishment by the laws of nature. Nuclear bombs are in the hands of both communists and capitalists, and if both do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, it is certain that these bombs will ultimately ruin both parties. Thus in order to save themselves and bring peace to the world, both parties must follow the instructions of Sri Isopanisad.Human beings are not meant to quarrel like cats and dogs. They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance and aim of human life. The Vedic literatures are compiled for humanity and not for cats and dogs. Cats and dogs can kill other animals for food without incurring sin, but if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds, he is responsible for breaking the laws of nature. Consequently he must be punished.The standard of life for human beings cannot be applied to animals. The tiger does not eat rice, wheat or drink cow's milk because he has been given food in the shape of animal flesh. There are many animals and birds that are either vegetarian or carnivorous, but none of them transgress the laws of nature as these laws have been ordained by the will of God. Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower life forms strictly adhere to the laws of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.It is wrong to consider that simply by becoming a vegetarian one can avoid transgressing the laws of nature. Vegetables also have life. It is nature's law that one living being is meant to feed another. Thus one should not be proud of being a strict vegetarian; the point is to recognize the Supreme Lord. Animals do not have developed consciousness by which to recognize the Lord, but a human being is sufficiently intelligent to take lessons from Vedic literatures and thereby know how the laws of nature are working and derive profit out of such knowledge. If a man neglects the instructions of the Vedic literatures, his life becomes very risky. A human being is therefore required to recognize the authority of the Supreme Lord. He must be a devotee of the Lord, offer everything to the Lord's service and partake only of the remnants of food offered to the Lord. This will enable him to discharge his duty properly.In Bhagavad-gita (9.26) the Lord directly states that He accepts vegetarian food from the hands of a pure devotee. Therefore a human being should not only become a strict vegetarian but should also become a devotee of the Lord and offer the Lord all his food. Then only should one partake of prasada, or mercy of God. A devotee who can act in this consciousness can properly discharge the duty of human life. Those who do not offer their food to the Lord actually eat sin and subject themselves to various types of distress which are results of sin (Bg. 3.13).The root of sin is deliberate disobedience to the laws of nature through disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord. Disobedience to the laws of nature or the order of the Lord brings ruin to a human being. If one is sober, knows the laws of nature and is not influenced by unnecessary attachment or aversion, he is sure to be recognized by the Lord, and he is sure to become eligible to go back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.”
www.prabhupadaconnect.com 
15-07-2007, 09:22
What is our sense of false proprietorship and false ego.? 
