EGOISM

Ego, or Ahamkara, is a form of bondage to the body-mind complex that generates desires, attachment and possession to an insatiable level. It forges a knot of bondages as a separate personality, although transient, in that complex. Bondages, desires, attachments and possessions rooted in separateness are concubines of ego. It remains in two states of consciousness, Jagrat, or waking, and Svapna, or dreaming, to savour the sensual pleasures in the phenomenal dimension of the world. It is interwoven with ignorance, or Avidya. They complement each other. When Avidya rules, the ego of the self is not far behind. Vidya, or knowledge, perspicaciously discriminates between real and unreal, or eternal and ephemeral. It activates Self-enquiry to know 'who am I' for Self-knowledge and Self-realisation. Avidya strives to gloss over all these through the navigation of psycho-physical apparatus into the state of ignorance. Ego is the supreme enemy of Self, or Atman. It remains in its own carved-out perimeter to cocoon itself from Atmic effulgence. It lacks self-luminosity but believes it possesses it. It is viewed as a modification of Prakriti, or matter/nature, subject to the shackles of Maya, or illusion, and, therefore, unreal and ever-changing, contrasting with the eternal, unchanging Atman, or Self. In the Upaniṣads, egoism, or Ahaṃkāra, or "I-thought", is viewed as a form of ignorance, or Avidyā, and a supreme obstacle to liberation, or Moksha, acting as the "knots of bondage". The false identification of the self with the body-mind complex rather than Atman, or Self, the essence of Brahman, or Supreme Self, is the root cause of circulating in the Samsara Chakra, or of birth and death. Realising Atman requires overcoming this ego-driven attachment to "I and mine", emanating from the psycho-physical structure. The Upanishads teach that desire is rooted in egoism, or Ahaṁkāra, and is the core cause of bondage, binding the individual to sorrow, limitation, and a false sense of separation from the Ultimate Reality. They state that transcending this complexity is not accomplished by renouncing the world, but by altering one's consciousness to perceive everything as a manifestation of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, thus transforming desire into Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Feelings and misery are attributed to this false, ego-centred identification, bereft of Satyam Jnanam Anantam Brahma, or Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, and Infinity.

 1. Outline 

Ego enthrones itself in the sensual dimension of the mind-controlled sense organs that consider the world of manifestation as the be-all and end-all of everything. The ego immerses itself in a vortex of desires, possessions, and bondages, which serves to inflate its perception of entrapment within Maya, or illusion. The entrapment of Maya causes the ego to endlessly seek water to satisfy its thirst for desire, which is ultimately just a mirage in the desert. Every step taken by the ego multiplies to an insatiable level that can never be fulfilled. The desire itself is considered the monarch of all that it surveys. Ego generates conflicts of interest with similar holders of such ideas. Conflicts of competing interest can become overwhelmed by limited scope, obstacles, and gaps in capacities, capabilities, and fulfilment of desired objectives in the transient objective dimension, leading to mental and intellectual disorientation and anger. We chase the illusion of possessions such as titles, wealth, honour, and recognition in a fleeting world, attempting to satisfy the incessant desires and greed that arise from another equivalent psycho-physical realm, which is controlled by the mind's thought-manufacturing machine. Why is this so? Why do we tend to move outward to build our image of bricks, unaware that at any time it may collapse? We know very well that the eternal bliss of imperishable nature is within us. We need to meditate upon it to realise the same thing that transcends everything: the eternal and infinite infinity. According to Yoga-Vasistha, egoism acts as the subtle, initial seed within the heart that causes the manifestation of the body and the material world. The ultimate aim is to move from the narrow, individualistic ego to the universal consciousness, where Jivatma, or the individual self, realises its oneness with the Cosmic Self, or Brahman.

2. Scriptures 

 The scriptures describe ego as everything linked to separateness and false identity and rooted in the veil of ignorance. It signifies the knot of bondages, possessions, and desires germinating from the mind and moved by sensual perceptions to gratify the sensual desires.

Yoga-Vasistha (7.4.28-7.4.33) identifies egoism, or Ahamkara, as a false, illusory notion of a separate self, serving as the "productive seed" of the material world. It is deemed non-existent in the infinite consciousness, and its extinction through self-enquiry and wisdom leads to liberation. The ego is described as a "cloudy shadow" that distorts reality, and its removal reveals the true, tranquil nature of Atman, or Self. Yoga-Vasistha prescribes living in the world with an outward appearance of action but inwardly remaining as 'I am not the doer', unaffected by the ego. Yoga-Vasistha (5.91.20-5.91.60) prescribes taming the mind for its beneficial use, and an untamed mind can do more harm, as the mind requires attachment for its thought manufacturing. Yoga-Vasistha highlights that the mind, which is the seed of the body, is subject to and a slave of all its desires. Its treasure house consists of alternating plenty and poverty, and its casket contains the gems of pleasure and pain. It spreads this network of reality and unreality as it stretches the fretwork of truth and falsehood in dreams and visions. It twists the unreality to reality and vice versa. It is just like presenting the unreal body as real to a dying man. All these forms and figures, which appear to our view in these worlds, are the formations of the mind, as the pots and toys are the works of clay. There are two kinds of seeds again, which give rise to the arbour of the mind, Yoga-Vasistha proclaims, which is entwined by the creepers of its faculties; one kind of these is the breathing of the vital breath, and the other is thinking, or the train of its thoughts. When the vital air vibrates through the lungs and arteries, the mind then has the consciousness of its existence. It is by means of the vibrations of breath and the action of the heart that the mind perceives the existence of the world, which is as false as the appearance of the blue sky in the empty space of vacuum. But when these vibrations and actions fail to rouse the sleeping mind, it is then said to enjoy its peace and quiet; otherwise, they merely move the body and mind, as the wires move the dolls in the puppet show. The vibrations of breath awaken also our self-consciousness, which is minuter than the minutest atom and yet all-pervasive in its nature. Yoga-Vasistha contends that it is of great good to confine one's consciousness in oneself. By restraining our self-consciousness, we succeed in ourselves in refraining from our consciousness of all other things because the knowledge of endless objects is attended with infinite trouble to the mind. When the mind comes to understand itself, after it is roused from its dormancy of self-forgetfulness, it gains what is known to be the best of gains and the purest and the holiest state of life. However, according to Yoga-Vasistha, the mind without its self-consciousness or conscience is a barren waste, and the meditative yogi practises the suppression of his breath for the peace of his mind and conducts his pranayama, or restraint of respiration, and his Dhyana, or intense meditation, according to the directions of his spiritual guide and the precepts of the sastras, or scriptures. It says restraint of breath is accompanied by the peace of mind, causing the evenness of its temperament, and it is attended with health and prosperity and capacity of cogitation to its practitioner. Yoga-Vasistha teaches another cause of the activity of the mind, which is considered by the wise as the source of its perpetual restlessness, and this is its restless and insatiable concupiscence. This concupiscence is defined as the fixed desire of the mind for the possession of something, without consideration of its prior and ultimate conditions. It is the intensity of one's thought of getting something that produces it before him, in utter disregard of the other objects of its remembrance. The man, being infatuated by his present desire, believes himself as it depicts him to be and takes his present form for real by his forgetfulness of the past and absent reality. It is the current of our desire, Yoga-Vasistha emphasises, that carries us away from reality. Such is the nature of the mind that it leads to the imperfect knowledge of things so as to view the unreal as real and the unspiritual as spiritual. But when the mind has nothing desirable or disgusting to seek or shun and remains apart from both, it is no more bound to regeneration in any form of existence. When the mind is thoughtless about anything, owing to its want of desire for the same, it enjoys its perfect composure, owing to its unmindfulness of it and all other things. The mind can have no field for its action when the sphere of the intellect is drained and devoid of all its notions of worldly objects. It is called unmindedness also when the mind is practised in its yoga, or thoughtlessness of all external objects, and remains transfixed in its vision of the sole essence of God.

Isha Upanishad treats the ego (Ahamkara) as an instrument of separate identity based on the ephemerality of permanence. That identity of "separative ego-sense" creates a false, limiting sense of self. It indeed teaches that desire is rooted in egoism, specifically the Ahaṁkāra, or ego, which creates a false sense of a separate, independent personality. According to this teaching, Atman is clouded by a veil of ignorance, or Avidya, that limits its experience of oneness with all existences. This Avidya leads to this egoistic sense, which in turn fuels attachments, bondages, desire of aggrandisement, greed, and the impulse to possess and enjoy the phenomenal world as something separate from oneself. The material craving is the subtle knot of bondage to the separate identity. The Upanishad advises in the first verse, "Do not covet or crave what belongs to others," which is a call to renounce the egoistic desire that arises from separating oneself from Brahman, all-pervading Ultimate Reality. The Upanishad teaches that the only way to true, lasting enjoyment of the universe is through "absolute renunciation"—not a physical rejection of the world, but a liberation of the spirit from egoistic craving. The False "I" and "Mine": Desire is the driving force that makes individuals say "I and mine", leading to attachment, suffering, and a distorted view of reality.

Adhyatma Upanishad (part of the Shukla Yajur Veda) presents the ego, or Ahamkara, as a false identification with the body-mind complex that clouds Atman, the inseparable essence of the Supreme Self, or Brahman. It teaches that liberation requires dissolving this false identification of ego-generated "I-sense" through self-knowledge, dispassion, detachment, equanimity, and meditation. The ego is viewed as a form of ignorance that, when destroyed, reveals the eternal, blissful Brahman within. It suggests surrendering the psycho-physical individual self to the Supreme Self by meditating on So'ham, or "I am That", which means Brahman.

3. Remarks 

The ego causes suffering through desire, which is a "badge of subjection.". By separating the individual, the ego prevents harmony with the universe and leads to discord, fear, and a painful struggle for survival. However, scriptures say that Existence is One and Absolute. Sant Kabir tersely says, 'When there was "I", there was no God, but now, there is only God, and no "I"' (जब मैं था तब हरि नहीं अब हरि है मैं नाहीं). Atman, Self, is the common consciousness in all beings, asserts Swami Sivananda in his commentary on Ishavasya Upanishad. He contends in his commentary that Atman is the Adhishthana, or substratum, of all beings. The sage sees all beings in the Atman and the Atman in all beings. He who sees the Atman as pervading everything, and everything in the Atman, does not wish to guard himself, because he has no fear from anyone. Atman is the same in every creature, being, or object. 

The Upanishad teaches that by acting with this higher consciousness of Karma Yoga without egoistic desire for the fruits of action, one can live fully in the world for a hundred years without being bound by Karma. The "cutting of the knot" (or heartstrings) occurs when the individual ego merges with the universal Self, removing the ignorance that creates delusion and sorrow. 

The mind is a friend as well as an enemy. A tamed mind is a friend, and an untamed one is a great enemy. Yoga-Vasistha (5.91.22-5.91.27) prescribes the pathways of controlling the mind for peace and stability. By restraining our self-consciousness, we succeed in refraining from our consciousness of all other things because the knowledge of endless objects (particulars) is attended with infinite trouble to the mind. When the mind comes to understand itself, after it is roused from its dormancy of self-forgetfulness, it gains what is known to be the best of gains and the purest and the holiest state of life. If, with the vacillation of your vital breaths and the fluctuation of your wishes, you do not disturb the even tenor of your consciousness, like the giddy part of mankind, then you are likened to the great Brahma himself. The mind without its self-consciousness or conscience is a barren waste, and the life of man, with its knowledge of truth, is as a mazy path, beset with traps and snares of errors and dangers.

The meditative yogi practises the suppression of his breath for the peace of his mind and conducts his pranayama or restraint of respiration and his dhyana or intense meditation according to the directions of his spiritual guide and the precepts of the sastras, or scriptures. Restraint of breath is accompanied by the peace of mind, causing the evenness of its temperament; and it is attended with health and prosperity and capacity of cogitation to its practiser.

-Asutosh Satpathy