Ego example

A wonderful example of how our ego works: If you are sitting in the banks of a flowing river and paddling your feet in the river thinking that you are making the river flow,  it is just a wrong understanding!  Infact that egoistic thought will cause stress and tensions in yourself.  It will prevent you from enjoying that moment.  Leave the flow in the hands of Supreme (or nature) and just sit there watching and admiring the waters and surroundings. The river flows by itself, and all happenings around are because of the nature managed by that Supreme.  You are just one of the pieces in that set up.

Handover all the responsibilities on GOD and just be a pawn in HIS hands.  He will take you to your best possible environments (according to your Karma and Prarabdha) which is condusive and suitable four you.  Keep Calm and leave the work to HIM!

Vasanas

All religious rites are only for the purification of mental and intellectual layers and to prepare them for the meditation. All physical and mental religious rites will result in positive vasanas. This may cancel out the negative vasanas in us, but  they are still vasanas and will result in after life.  If they are + vasanas, it will result in a better life condusive for further spiritual evolution in the succeeding lives, but the individual will have to destroy those positive vasanas too in that life to attain moksha.

Meditate and boil our your impurities!

When water from clouds come down, it is in its purest form.  However when when all such pure water collects and  forms rivulets, streams, rivers etc. it flows down through various environments where it collects other particles to it both good and bad.  These particles are not merged in the water, they are just suspensions. Water is still the H2O, but there are other compounds mixed in suspension. However when that water is purified and distilled again (thro boiling),  the water again becomes pure.

SImilarly,  all things including humans in this cosmos comes from the pure Brahman.  However the circumstances of the life make them add vasanas to their bosom and make them impure, demonic and evil.  Non-humans such as plants and animals continue to live as such in their path of evolution.  However humans alone have the capacity to make a change in their existing life. 

Meditate and boil out the impurities and you can become pure and attain God hood again.