#267 The Yogic View of the Ego
This is a somewhat comprehensive discussion on the yogic view of the ego, particularly focusing on the concept of false ego (ahaṅkara) in Vedic philosophy. While the term 'ego' is commonly used by people in a derogatory sense (‘big ego’, or ‘inflated ego’ as examples), its Latin root simply means 'I'. The yogic understanding is that the false ego acts as a filter that distorts our consciousness and makes us identify with our material body rather than our true spiritual self (the ātmā). I have used various analogies, including the movie theater experience and spinning around, to illustrate how the false ego creates a distorted perception of reality. We also cover the distinction between the subtle body (consisting of false ego, intelligence, and mind) and the gross physical body, as being distinct from the spirit soul and emphasize how the practice of bhakti yoga can help dissolve the subtle material covering coverings without separate effort.During the talk I mentioned two talks that explain the eternal individuality of the spirit-soul.One with God – Different from God - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TOrOiS42S7cTVEuaEe100?si=zQNcfOLHQyuHz7nxs0DHnw The Nature of the Soul - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yKvBbyTleZLYpJuaRLfeF?si=absoB2b8SU-no9Yw4wdN0g Some of the verses I quoted from:Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies. - Bhagavad-gītā 7.4Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature. Bhagavad-gītā 7.5During the rainy season the moon was prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the clouds, which were themselves illumined by the moon’s rays. Similarly, the living being in material existence is prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the false ego, which is itself illumined by the consciousness of the pure soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.20.19The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature. - Bhagavad-gītā 3.27When the soul is under the spell of material nature and false ego, identifying one’s body as the self, the person becomes absorbed in material activities, and by the influence of false ego one thinks that they are the proprietor of everything. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.27.2Just as a person who is whirling around perceives the ground to be turning, one who is affected by false ego thinks himself the doer, when actually only his mind is acting. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.46.41Lamentation, elation, fear, anger, greed, confusion and hankering, as well as birth and death, are experiences of the false ego and not of the pure soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.28.15As long as the spirit soul is covered by the subtle body, consisting of the mind, intelligence and false ego, he is bound to the results of his fruitive activities. Because of this covering, the spirit soul is connected with the material energy and must accordingly suffer material conditions and reversals, continually, life after life. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.2.47A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping, and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them. - Bhagavad-gītā 5.8-9Bhakti-yoga (the process of loving devotional service) dissolves the subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that we eat. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3:25:33.
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