Ego is a sense of individuality, an identity that you assume by identifying with any object, quality, person or situation. For example, when you identify with your son, you call yourself a father, and with relation to you he calls himself a son. Similarly, wife, husband, manager, CEO, mother, brother, these are all “upadhi” by which you describe yourself.
Ego is of two kinds, it can be benign or malignant. A malignant ego will surely bring sorrow. When the ego takes on a sense of superiority, it is bloated up and becomes arrogant, the person starts getting a sense of “pujya bhav”. He thinks that he is Mr “I know all”.
His arrogance doesn’t allow him to listen to any good advice. A good example of such an ego is Ravan from the Ram Charit Manas. Many close relatives and well-wishers advised him to return Sita Mata to Shri Ramji. Hanumanji, Vibhishan, Marich, Angad, even his own wife Mandodari, Malyawant, his own grandfather, but Ravan is blinded by his own ego and only listens to flatterers and yes men.
He thinks he is perfect and the wisest. Such an egoistic person develops a centrifugal force and repels even close friends and family who start leaving him. His ego stinks.
The other sign of the malignant ego is the ignorance of your true nature. The strong belief that I am this body creates a sense of doership and enjoyership, a “karta bhokta bhav”.
As the body, you live your life serving the needs and desires of the body. These are shackles, “bandhan” from which you constantly try to free yourself. You keep trying brainstorming, then claim-storming, and then blame-storming. There is no escape.
*Prarthna Saran, President, Chinmaya Mission Delhi.
