Category:Ego
Theme Analysis
This article analyzes the concept of Ego in its totality, decisively distinguishing between the temporary False Ego (Ahankāra) and the eternal Real Ego. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the ego is the permanent sense of "I am" that is inherent to the soul's identity. Spiritual life is not about dissolving this identity, but purifying it, restoring the constitutional understanding that the ego is spiritual and its proper function is eternal service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
- The Nature of Ego: Ego is the fundamental sense of "I am" and is constitutionally present in every living entity; one cannot exist without it, as doing so would convert the soul into inert matter.
- Ego’s Cosmological Role: Ego (specifically, the false ego) is a material element, part of the eight separated energies of Kṛṣṇa, and is the subtle product of the Mahat-tattva, forming the basis of the cosmic manifestation.
- The False Identification: The ego is contaminated when it functions under a material designation (I am Indian, I am learned, I am this body), which is the root cause of all suffering.
- Purification Required: The real purpose of spiritual life is to purify the mind, intelligence, and ego, removing the false impression of proprietorship and lordly enjoyment.
- The Real Ego Defined: The Real Ego is the purified identity: "I am not this body, I am spirit soul, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa dāsa)." This purification is the beginning of liberation.
- The Vaikuṇṭha Standard: The state of having a purified, real ego (being free from false egoism, misery, anger, and envy) is the prerequisite for entering the spiritual planets of Vaikuṇṭha.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Ego - Its Real Constitutional Identity.
Subcategories
This category has the following 12 subcategories, out of 12 total.
F
G
K
M
R
S
Pages in category "Ego"
The following 115 pages are in this category, out of 115 total.
A
- A fractional portion of the mahat-tattva is called the false ego. A portion of the ego is the vibration of sound, and a portion of sound is atmospheric air
- A living entity has constitutionally mind, intelligence, and ego, but they are contaminated in contact with matter. At the present moment, our ego is working under some designation
- A part of ego is the sky, a part of which is air, a part of which is fire, a part of which is water, a part of which is earth. Thus one universe inflates to an area of four billion miles in diameter
- Actually, he is nothing but a small particle. This egotism (I am the doer of everything) is the root cause of suffering. Discuss all these, amongst yourselves & preach & inform these rascals, so-called civilized scientists & philosopher. That is preaching
- After experiencing the inhabitable time of the three modes of material nature, known as two parardhas, Lord Brahma closes the material universe, which is covered by layers of earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, ego, etc., and goes back to Godhead
- All activities begin with the creation of the total energy, the mahat-tattva. Then, by the agitation of the three gunas, the physical elements are created, as well as the mind, ego and the controllers of the senses
- All the objects of our sense gratification are the products of egoism in ignorance
- And for His material creative energies, He (the Lord) is served by four, namely the principles of prakrti, purusa, mahat-tattva and ego
- As far as intelligence is concerned, it is clearly stated here (in SB 3.26.31) that it is a product of egoism in passion
- As long as we are not making puffed up egocentered claims, we are already liberated. There is no need to actually seek liberation. But as long as one thinks, "I am this body," he is not liberated
B
- Because the sense organs for activity and for acquiring knowledge require energy, the vital energy, or life energy, is also produced by egoism in the mode of passion
- Both kinds of senses, the senses for acquiring knowledge and the senses for action, are products of egoism in the mode of passion
- Brahma also entered His heart with intelligence, but even then the Cosmic Being could not be prevailed upon to get up. Lord Rudra also entered His heart with the ego, but even then the Cosmic Being did not stir
- By agitation of the element of egoism in ignorance, the first thing produced was sound, which is the subtle form of ether
E
- Earth, water, fire, air, ether, ego and the total material energy, as well as nature, the marginal energy, the living entities, the mind, the senses, the sense objects and the demigods who control the affairs of the cosmos
- Egoism in the mode of passion produces two kinds of senses - the senses for acquiring knowledge and the senses of action. The senses of action depend on the vital energy, and the senses for acquiring knowledge depend on intelligence
- Egoism means that without having the qualification, one declares that "I am God"
- Everyone acts under the dictation of the ego. Therefore Lord Siva is trying to purify false egotism through the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Everyone has his individuality: "I am this," "I am very learned," "I am very beautiful," "I am white," "I am black," "I am Indian," "I am American," this is called ego. So this egotism is there, but we cannot see it
- Everyone is conscious of his activities, ego: "I am doing this." But this ego, this is called false ego. This material. . . under the material energy, this ego is called another way upadhi - designation
F
- First the total material energy is manifested, and from this arise the three types of egotism, which are the original sources from which all demigods (controlling deities), senses and material elements expand
- For the impersonalist, pure egotism is aham brahmasmi - "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." But in its actual position, the spirit soul has devotional activities to perform
I
- I have no difficulty in becoming the greatest scientist because I take the knowledge from the greatest scientist (Krsna). - This earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego - they are My eight separated energies
- If a human being tries to exist without ego, desire, feelings, dislikes, and so on, he will be converted into inert matter. This is not spiritual elevation
- In material existence one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because of the mind's ego which desires to lord it over material nature. BG 1972 purports
- In respect to the ego, the total material energy is sundered in two parts - one agitated by the mode of ignorance and the other agitated by the modes of passion and goodness. Due to agitation by the mode of ignorance, the five gross elements are created
- In this verse (SB 4.11.25) the word anahankara means "without ego." The conditioned soul has a false ego, and as a result of his karma he gets different types of bodies in this material world
- It is understood from this verse that by agitation of the element of egoism in ignorance, the first thing produced was sound, which is the subtle form of ether
M
- Material body, or the material manifestation, is covered by seven layers: skin, flesh, blood, marrow, bone, fat and semen. The branches of the tree are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego
- Mind is the product of ego in goodness and that the function of the mind is acceptance and rejection according to desire. But here (in SB 3.26.31) intelligence is said to be the product of ego in passion
- My dear Lord, by Your own potencies You are the original cause of the material elements, as well as the performing instruments (the senses), the workers of the senses (the controlling demigods), the intelligence and the ego, as well as everything else
- My dear Lord, You are the supreme controller of the worker, sense activities and results of sense activities (karma). Therefore You are the controller of the body, mind and senses. You are also the supreme controller of egotism, known as Rudra
O
- O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight. BG 3.30 - 1972
- O great personality Kamsa, only by the influence of ignorance does one accept the material body and bodily ego. What you have said about this philosophy is correct - SB 10.4.26
- Of these three types of egotism (vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa), Lord Sankarsana is the predominating Deity
- One should know definitely that the Absolute Truth is never realized by the philosophical speculations of the imperfect egoistic person
S
- Sankaracarya says that unless the devotees can show how ego and the means of knowledge can generate from a person, such an explanation of the Vedanta-sutra cannot be accepted, for no other philosophers accept the sutras in that way
- Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are, respectively, the predominating Deities of all living entities, the total mind and the total ego
- Since Siva, or Rudra, is himself the controller of egotism, he indirectly wants to be purified by the mercy of the Lord so that his real egotism can be awakened. Of course, Rudra is always spiritually awake, but for our benefit he is praying in this way
T
- That is the distinction between mind and intelligence; mind is a product of egoism in goodness, and intelligence is a product of egoism in passion. The desire to accept something and reject something is a very important factor of the mind
- The beauty of Sankarsana is greater than that of innumerable full moons radiating light beams. He is worshipable as the principle of ego
- The conditioned soul thinks, "I am this body," but a liberated soul thinks, "I am not this body. I am spirit soul." This "I am" is called ego, or identification of the self
- The designation of Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha as ‘jiva,’ ‘mind’ and ‘ego’ are never contradictory to the statements of the scriptures
- The devotee, thus surpassing the gross and the subtle forms of coverings, enters the plane of egoism. And in that status he merges the material modes of nature (ignorance and passion) in this point of neutralization and thus reaches egoism in goodness
- The dimensions of the universe are estimated here (in SB 3.26.52). The outer covering is made of layers of water, air, fire, sky, ego and mahat-tattva, and each layer is ten times greater than the one previous
- The Earth personified continued, 'You Krsna) are always transcendental to all these material activities. My dear Lord, I know that earth, water, fire, air, sky, the five sense objects, mind, the senses, their deities, egotism & the total material energy"
- The ego produces the five objects of sense perception, which produce the ten senses (five for acquiring knowledge and five for working), the mind and the five gross elements
- The egocentric attitude is a manifestation of the Rudra principle in the heart, wherein krodha (anger) is generated. This anger develops in the heart and is further manifested through various senses, like the eyes, hands and legs
- The elements of nature - earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego - all belong to the Lord's inferior, material energy (apara prakrti),whereas the living being, the organic energy, is His superior energy (para prakrti)
- The false sense of egoism (namely myself and mine) has become overly prominent in the world, and there is a hard struggle for existence in human society
- The froggish calculator may raise the objection that if the Absolute is unknowable even by the controlling deities of speech, mind and ego, then why should the devotees be so interested in this unknown object
- The heart is covered by the three modes of material nature and the nine material elements (material nature, the total material energy, the ego, the mind and the five objects of sense gratification), and also by the five material elements & the ten senses
- The living entity acquires a particular nature packed up in a subtle body and gross body formed by the life air, the ego, the ten sense organs, the mind and the five gross elements
- The living entity can vividly feel his existence as the seer but because of the disappearance of the ego during the state of deep sleep he falsely takes himself to be lost like a man who has lost his fortune & feels distressed thinking himself to be lost
- The living entity, the soul, is within the material covering of the mahat-tattva, ego and panca-tanmatra, the five objects of sense gratification. When these seven are in proper order, the living entity is in a mood of pleasure
- The mahat-tattva is transformed into three divisions: (1) vaikarika, egotism in goodness (sattvika-ahankara), from which is manifested the eleventh sense organ, the mind, whose predominating Deity is Aniruddha - SB 3.26.27-28
- The mahat-tattva is transformed into three divisions: (2) taijasa, or egotism in passion (rajasa-ahankara), from which are manifested the active and knowledge-acquiring senses, along with the intelligence, whose predominating Deity is Lord Pradyumna
- The mahat-tattva is transformed into three divisions: (3) tamasa, or egotism in ignorance, from which sound vibration expands. From sound vibration, the sky is manifested, and then the senses, beginning with the sense of hearing, are also manifested
- The material energy is working. This cosmic manifestation made of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego are the eight ingredients of this material manifestation. So these eight material elements, they are energies, separated energy
- The mental speculator tries to conquer the influence of time by future speculations of becoming Vasudeva or the Supreme Lord himself by means of culturing knowledge and conquering over ego
- The mind does not dissolve, it changes its quality, or rather, it becomes purified. No, thoughts of feelings of love for Krishna is not ego-projected, or emotional, provided it is confirmed by Spiritual Master
- The Moksa-dharma Vedic scripture indicates that Pradyumna is the Deity of the total mind, whereas Aniruddha is the Deity of the total ego
- The objects of material enjoyment (sound, form, taste, touch and smell), the activities of the senses, the controllers of sensory activities (the demigods), the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy
- The self-realized soul is thus reflected first in the threefold ego and then in the body, senses and mind
- The sky is a product of sound, and sound is the transformation of egoistic passion. In other words, the sky is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Soul
- The soul is covered by the underwear, mind, intelligence, and ego, and the underwear is covered by the gross coat, this body
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates this material world, maintains it, and annihilates it in due course of time, but because He is transcendental to such activities, He is never affected by ego in such action or by the modes of material nature
- The three material qualities are set into motion, and the material energy is manifested first in the form of the mahat-tattva, then egotism, then ether, then air, fire, water and earth
- The three types of egotism (ahankara) are technically known as vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa. The mahat-tattva is situated within the heart, or citta, and the predominating Deity of the mahat-tattva is Lord Vasudeva - SB 3.26.21
- The truth about Lord Siva is that he is always covered with three material coverings - vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa. Because of these three modes of material nature, he always associates with the external energy and egotism itself
- The universes are each covered by sevenfold material coverings of water, fire, air, sky, ego, noumenon and material nature, just like a huge football, pumped and covered, floating on the water of the Causal Ocean, wherein the Lord is lying as Maha-visnu
- There are eight material principles which are described as inferior energies, and they are: (1) earth, (2) water, (3) fire, (4) air, (5) ether, (6) mind, (7) intelligence and (8) ego
- There are some philosophers who say we should give up our ego, but we cannot give up our ego because ego means identity. We ought, of course, to give up the false identification with the body. BG 1972 purports
- These (life air, the ego, the ten sense organs, the mind & the five gross elements) then create the type of body which later becomes the root cause of various other bodies, which are acquired one after another by means of the transmigration of the soul
- These dreams are on the mental platform, the egoistic platform, and the bodily platform. But I am not the body. The gross body and subtle body are different from my actual self
- These terms (jiva, mind and ego) identify these Deities (Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha), just as the terms ‘sky’ and ‘light’ sometimes identify the Absolute Brahman
- They (universes) are each covered by sevenfold material coverings of water, fire, air, sky, ego, noumenon & material nature, just like a huge football, pumped and covered, floating on the water of the Causal Ocean, wherein the Lord is lying as Maha-Visnu
- This sense of "I am" is ego, but when the sense of "I am" is applied to this false body it is false ego. When the sense of self is applied to reality, that is real ego
- This sense of "I am" is ego, but when the sense of "I am" is applied to this false body, it is false ego. When the sense of self is applied to reality, that is real ego. BG 1972 purports
- This universal egg, or the universe in the shape of an egg, is called the manifestation of material energy. Its layers of water, air, fire, sky, ego and mahat-tattva increase in thickness one after another
- Those who are egoistic in passion and ignorance cannot conceive of the Personality of Godhead. For them the sky is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Soul
- Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, are to be known as demons
- Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body are known to be demons
- Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride, egotism, lust and attachment are to be known as demons. BG 17.5-6 - 1972
- Thoughts of feelings of love for Krishna is not ego-projected, or emotional, provided it is conformed by Spiritual Master
- Transcendental ego
V
- Vasudeva said, "You (Krsna and Balarama) are the egoistic principle of ignorance, which is the cause of this material world"
- Vasudeva said, "You (Krsna and Balarama) are the egoistic principle of passion, which is the cause of the senses, and the egoistic principle of goodness, which is the origin of the different controlling deities of this material world"
W
- We forget this material nonsense. That's all. But don't forget ourself. Our identity is there. We are all servants of God, Krsna dasa. And this is real ego. So ego is not dissolved. Ego is there, but it is purified
- We have heard of such egoistic pride in Satyabhama and the gopis of Vrndavana, but what we see in the goddess of fortune here at Jagannatha Puri is completely different. She becomes very angry with her husband and attacks Him with her great opulence
- We know that we possess a mind, although we cannot see it. Nor can we see the intelligence, the ego or the soul
- When a woman is neglected and disappointed, out of egoistic pride she gives up her ornaments and morosely sits down on the ground, marking lines on it with her nails
- When all these (buildings, children, friends, relatives and wealth) are acquired, the conditioned soul becomes overwhelmed by such entanglements, and the false sense of egoism, or the sense of "myself" and "mine," becomes prominent
- When egoism in ignorance is agitated by the sex energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the subtle element sound is manifested, and from sound come the ethereal sky and the sense of hearing
- When it is said that Sankarsana is jiva, this indicates that He is the predominating Deity of the living entities. Similarly, Pradyumna is the predominating Deity of the mind, and Aniruddha is the predominating Deity of the ego
- When the seven properties of material nature (the total material energy, the ego and the five objects of sense gratification) are in proper order, the living entity within the material elements is happy. Without these seven elements one cannot exist
- When we say that we give up our ego, this means that we give up our false ego, but real ego is always present
- When Your material energy is agitated, the three qualities - namely goodness, passion and ignorance - act, and as a result the total material energy - egotism, ether, air, fire, water, earth & all the various demigods & saintly persons - becomes manifest
- Words, mind and ego, with their respective controlling demigods, have failed to achieve success in knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, we simply have to offer our respectful obeisances unto Him as a matter of sanity
Y
- Yasoda saw in Krsna's mouth the total ego and its products, namely the senses, the controllers of the senses, all the demigods and the objects of the senses like sound and smell. Within His mouth she also saw the three qualities of material nature
- You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Krsna), the controller of everything. The body, life, ego and senses of every living entity are Your own self. You are the Supreme Person, Visnu, the imperishable controller - SB 10.10.30-31
- You cannot say that these things (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego) are different from Krsna, because without Krsna they have no existence. At the same time, you cannot say, - Then let me worship water. Why Krsna
- You should be egoistic in right way, as your position is. If you falsely think that, "I am this," so what is the use of such increasing that ego? It is psychologically wrong