7

Conceit

(mada)

Conceit is self-deception, false pride, building castles in the air. The word mada in Sanskrit means self-intoxication. The player is intoxicated by false vanity, pride, power, possessions, accomplishments, or achievements. When he has any kind of delusion about himself, he is taken over by mada.

After entry into the game the player becomes subject to mada, conceit, false identification of all kinds. Pride and vanity are two great intoxicants — and one drinks them in bad company. Bad company, the outcome of delusion and greed, is the snake that leads the player to conceit. In this space the player is completely trapped by his own game. The bad company he keeps is a manifestation of evil desires.

Everyone plays his own game and throws his own die. Once the die is cast he has no option. A player with no desires does not seek out company. But since desire is in the nature of the game, the seeking out of company is inevitable at some point in his development. The player needs a group to reinforce new identifications. The danger comes when the player is overwhelmed by his desires. His behavior patterns alter radically. The right no longer seems right, nor the wrong improper. His desire must be sated at any cost, and thus he creates bad karmas and keeps bad company — those who support him in his wrongdoing. As a man is known by the company he keeps, the player can stop generating bad karmas by seeking out good company.

A sun-family member, 7 is associated with Saturn and the principle of darkness. Seven are the days, the notes of the musical scale, the days of the week, and the chakras. One with two odd numbers (two 3s) on either side, seven is the number of the problems of adjustment. Seven is lonely in nature, and aspires for completion.

Seven is associated with ketu, the south node of the moon, also known as the dragon’s tail. In modern Indian numerology, the number 7 is ruled by Varuna, the deity presiding over water, which is related to the planet Neptune in Western numerology. Seven is the number of writers and painters, who, when not evolved, live in false pride and are famous for building castles in the air and being always anxious about the future. They dislike following the beaten track and have very peculiar ideas about religion. They create a religion of their own and spend their life in amusement.