In der Burg 26, 61169 Friedberg, Germany

*Corresponding author: Helga Fuchs, In der Burg 26, 61169 Friedberg, Germany, Phone +49 173 32 71419 , Website: www.yoga-ayurved.com ; Email: [email protected]

Received Date: September 10, 2024

Publication Date: December 04, 2024

Citation: Fuchs H. (2024). Ego. Traditional Medicine. 5(3):29.

Copyright: Fuchs H. © (2024).

EGO

Ego is important for every person in order to be able to make decisions. Anyone who is dissatisfied with their ego or feels uncomfortable with the ego of other people may find it easier to understand what ego is. Possible misunderstandings about oneself or the nature of other people could be released through this.

The ego develops subtle abilities that enliven our subtle and gross development. Ego is therefore always our powerful servant, whether on the normal path that binds us to the world or the path that separates us from the world.

Basically, we are all required to discipline our mental and physical strength in order to keep our ego healthy. This is a constant effort and shows personal responsibility. We should not be too quick to attribute extreme stress caused by people who cannot control themselves to the ego alone, that would be too easy.

For people who are spiritually oriented and seriously strive for enlightenment (realization), the topic of the ego is of particular interest, as it is defined as the bond to matter that must be left behind in order to experience the realized state. The very deep mental processes required for the solution must be mastered in a normal, conscious manner, just like the tasks of the normal person with little or no interest in spirituality. For this we need the abilities of the ego.

The ego is an extremely important aspect that belongs to every healthy person and that it is not a matter of choice, but rather something intended by the Creator and nature. How can it be that the ego is judged in such a way that people hinder themselves and others in their normal life and everyday life, in their natural way of expression, and/or allow this to happen? Who does this serve? Certainly all those who benefit from putting normal people in unhealthy closets.

Such people have no problems with their behavior, while people who lack the courage to stand up for their needs can be manipulated with the term "ego." A little clear thinking could quickly put an end to this bad habit, but the question still arises as to why even perfectly normal people who are very conscious of themselves don't want to have anything to do with their ego. If I know that ego helps me to function as a human being, why should I reject it?

In our modern and enlightened times, ego seems to be the epitome of something that is neither desirable nor presentable. To have ego means to be destructive, selfish and difficult, but is it so? What is ego anyway? What is responsible for people showing tendencies that are not at all pleasant? Is it really ego or is there perhaps more to consider?

To better understand Ego, it is helpful to have read at least the following description. In order not to bore you, I will limit myself to a few Points of development up to the point where ego appears in the development of man and we can recognize the connection with the gunas, the qualities that shape our mind.

Description of the individual steps of evolution according to the philosophy of Samkhya, according to Sushruta

• Purush, the pure being, that which is our real existence and Prakr`ti,¹⁵  the power that makes the perceptible manifestation of the Purusha in the form of development, creation possible. We find Prakrti in two forms as

• Astha Prakrti with the eight primary foundations: Avyakta (First Unmanifest), Mahat (state of concentration of the faculties), Ahamkara (state of individualization, ego) and five Tanmatra (subtle elements); These factors are considered to be original and pure basic phenomena and have the designation Prakrti and

Vikara (Sodhasha Vikara), Vikrti, as sixteen mixed forms: Pancha Mahabutha (five elements, these are brought into action by the five Tanmatra), five Jnanendrias (sense organs), five Karmendriyas (motor organs), Manas (mind). These sixteen factors are considered as mixed forms.

Avyakta (Moola Prakrti)

practitioner literally means the first active force. As the primary substance of creation, in its beginning, it is also called Pradhana , primordial matter - or the first substance of the universe. In this state it is without movement but with content.

Avyakta is the name of the state of the first basic nature, shortly before movement occurs. Prakrti's content is Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and this is fully developed, but still diffuse. Only through the law of transformation - Parinamavada, does the practice reach the state of movement, connection (contact) and creation. Now a series of activities starts that lead to the creation of matter.

The first acting force is not tangible or visible, but has the quality to enable all existence. Prakrti itself is eternal and unproductive and eternally active.

To understand Prakrti in everything, the example of sugar in a liquid is mentioned. After it is dissolved, it spreads so finely that it is everywhere.

The expression of existence is the action of Prakrti and the forces within it, known as Guna ¹⁶ , Sattva, Rajas and Tamas . The action of the Guna occurs after the Mahat (Buddhi, intellect) and the Ahamkaara (ego).

Mahat Tattva (Intellect, Buddhi)

Knowledge arises, but without judgment. Something that represents the subtle and gross substance in the beginning and is the basis for forming it. The diffuse state (Avyakta) changes to the concentrated state of Mahat. The concentration of the Gunas arises, they make war on each other. From this, difference (duality) can develop and now it shows itself.

Ahamkara (sense of the ego)

The distinction between mine and yours, this way and that way, emerges¹⁷ , the individuality. This happens through the individualization of the gunas.

Ego has the tendency to perceive difference and through its differentiated perception, the ego-making, the birth of the ego occurs . Nevertheless, the ego is not to be understood as a tangible, independently existing entity, but as the : Power of division , which is part of nature.

From now on, the three aspects inherent in Prakrti, the Guna, appear.

• Sattva¹⁸ , consciousness or clear knowledge, the mental imagination, creative intelligence, Sattva is illuminating for Rajas and Tamas.

• Rajas , movement, change, action, dynamics, transformation, activity. Rajas has a stimulating effect and releases excessive inertia.

• Tamas , the inertia and mass that resists them. The hindrance, the brake, for the action of Sattva and Rajas, through heaviness, immobility, illusion. Tamas has a balancing effect in the case of excessive movement.

The characters of Sattva (Vaijarika), Rajas (Tejas) and Buthadi (Tamas) now become active.

• These three forces act through their own direct quality (force) of different active processes. Their effectiveness is only active in combination.

Ego ) forms the

Five Tanmatras (subtle elements) and Indryas, etc., etc.

The development and formation of the human being continues, but you see that the ignition and development of the ego has a key value. Only now is the human being formed in his subtle and gross material form. Please also note Manas (spirit), the force that evaluates.

• Buthadi Ahamkara (Tamas) and Tejas Ahamkara (Rajas) affect five Tanmatras (subtle elements). These are sound, touch, light, taste and connection and

• Vaikarika Ahamkara (Sattva) and Tejas Ahamkara (Rajas) transform into mind and create the Indriyas as

• Five Jnaanendryas (sense organs like ear, skin, eyes, tongue, nose and

• Five Karmendriyas (motor organs) such as hands, legs, tongue, anus and genitals.

Manas (mind) is also called an organ and is noted after the Jnaanendryas (sense organs) and before the Karmendriyas (action organs) in the development process. Manas as an addition to the Indriyas is regular. Manas is the force that evaluates. Here the evolutionary history according to Samkhya goes further, but the most important basics are presented in relation to the ego.

Esotericism is on everyone's lips, especially modern esotericism, which has little in common with the deep knowledge of genuine esotericism. Superficial knowledge therefore creates a false and mostly one-sided picture of existence worldwide and leads people astray in a painful way.

Misinformation causes serious people to suffer from misbehavior because they are guided by something that is not beneficial. Misinformation is not beneficial to superficial people either, but it does them far less harm because they lack perseverance. Superficial people are quick to get excited, but just as quick to forget or give up when there is no immediate result of their efforts. They enjoy trends and form the mass of a movement, but the mass knows no stability. It is attracted by ever new temporary phenomena, to the great happiness of all our designers and creative minds.

The minds and senses of the masses are hungry for variety and constant new excitement. Spirituality and esoteric themes are also attracting more and more attention, as they offer a lot of scope for meaningless interpretations that can be very exciting. The mental dramas provide pleasant stimulation of the senses, but real esoteric knowledge and spirituality are not suitable for temporary entertainment.

The personality of man

Everything that comes from the personality is connected to ego? This is a true statement, but it should not be viewed negatively. Ego is also called the "voice of the little self" and the incomprehensible rejection of the "self" should no longer find a place in your mind, but the disciplining of the "self" should.

Understanding what it means to stop being dominated by the ego will help you to discern and decide which path you choose in life. Whether you want to use your ego to live a joyful and interesting life or to make your life's dream come true, you will need the ego to a certain extent for the realization of that as a possible chosen goal.

The inner fire of the call for immaterial experience and development can only be felt by those who are ready to walk this path sincerely. Enthusiasm and/or interest in the mysterious is not enough. For people who seek sensory experiences, the first steps are very inspiring and a direction becomes apparent, but only when silence and truthfulness conquer their consciousness can the inner boundaries expand and their ego turn to the higher. Until then, a good way is to familiarize yourself with at least the first three stages of yoga in order to continue to grow when the moment comes.

mnemonic

Ego is important, ego is healthy and what is often and inconsiderately criticized about the ego - the ability to be self-aware - is its actual and natural task of being able to perceive boundaries and differences. But this is an important aspect in making the personality - the human being - viable and capable of orientation. As stated in the Samkhya theory of development, we should be aware of the immense movements in the infinite that are required to develop a perceiving consciousness at all.

The Triguna , the quality of the mind and thereby the way a person expresses themselves, should receive more attention from you.

This is because our senses are affected when there is an imbalance in the Triguna, which influences our actions. There is also the misuse of the senses through excessive/wrong thinking and/or other activities such as lying, cheating and/or unclear expression. This excessive dominance of Rajas and Tamas naturally leads to misconduct and wrong decisions and brings with it other unpleasant experiences that are therefore not very beneficial.

A healthy mind is characterized by natural activity and the ability to relax. It works clearly and systematic thinking and considered actions come easily.

People must feel and recognise the natural limits and needs of their constitution, as they support and protect their personality. They should stand up for them calmly and consciously and live them actively. Using their healthy senses, they will choose food and behaviour that is good for their constitution and not for the marketing of an economy. Making decisions that benefit them and not just for their entertainment. This has nothing to do with selfishness, which is repulsive, but with self-protection, which does not arise from fear, but from conscious choice. A smart person does what needs to be done; less stable people only do what they feel like doing. Healthy behaviour is not boring, but a beneficial expression of reason, coupled with expertise and knowledge. From this, health and joy in life arise as natural factors.

People who are too impressed and overwhelmed by sensory perceptions and emotions, who have never learned to let go of senseless desires, hardly feel their limits. The result is that they constantly exceed them and in doing so harm themselves and others, mentally and sometimes physically. We know what happens when we ignore our natural limits. Anyone who has made it a habit to drink more coffee when they are tired instead of resting is playing with their health. Regularly ignoring your natural needs in terms of food, sleep, activity and silence has a noticeably unpleasant effect. Seen from a higher level, this is not important, but it causes physical and mental impairments that are unnecessary.

Overcoming social rules is also a risk. You could change your partner, country and environment and go somewhere where the rules are more to your liking, but changing your body and mind is not so easy. We would also do well not to strain our senses and tissues too much. This helps to nurture our gunas and thus our mind, so that the ability of our ego works in a healthy way.

If your behavior corresponds to your basic constitution, you will feel good and maintain your health largely without great effort. Respecting your own abilities means appreciating them and using them purposefully for life.

Anyone who is willing to train their mind can learn what inner silence is. Everyone understands the value of inner peace and peace on the outside. Who does not appreciate the peace in the body that comes when it is neither hungry nor thirsty, nor exhausted, and is not tormented by heat and cold? Anyone who is awake appreciates being surrounded by friendly and well-meaning people who have their gunas under control and know how to behave. They will also appreciate the peace and quiet when they can enjoy external security and are not affected by noise or war. When body and mind are content, life is simpler and happier. It is worth eating, exercising and behaving in a way that is compatible with body and mind.

Anyone who has enjoyed a good upbringing has already undergone training that helps them not to give in to every impulse of their personality without thinking. They have enjoyed a certain level of discipline that enables them to create a healthy balance in their behavior that serves their own well-being as well as the well-being of other people. Those who do not know how to behave, do not meet social and private expectations and/or appear unpleasantly stubborn are often hastily labeled as egoists.

Ayurveda and yoga are aware of these interactions, which is why both sciences serve to promote knowledge and behavior through which people can ensure their own balance through their own efforts. Every cell is useful in this regard, and of course their senses too. Healthy tissue, physical and mental, will work well according to their functions and their gunas will underline their personality and not allow it to be excessive.

Ayurveda focuses on the physiological knowledge of maintaining the health of the body, the development of diseases and the connection between body and mind. The teaching of the subtle and gross elements, which are considered the basis of all material things and are animated by a higher energy, also gives us interesting insights into higher areas.

Yoga teaches us techniques for recognizing the natural limits of body and mind and how to leave these behind. The physiology of yoga deals with the physical structures of the body to a certain extent, but the focus is on the subtle aspects, which include the qualities of the mind (guna). Yoga teaches us to know the qualities of the mind, to distinguish between them and to use them in such a way that they strengthen us. The personality with its self-awareness does this very deliberately; it makes this choice. As spiritual practice progresses, the guna gradually lose their pressing dominance and thus their guiding function over the stirrings of the mind. This means inner freedom and lack of commitment. This dissolves the individual personalization, the ego. All physical and mental functions remain capable of maintaining the body and mind.

What is superficially and generally called the ego is merely the expression of the personality, which is naturally associated with its dispositions. Influenced by this, it will behave accordingly and experience its expression as the only determining factor.

Notice

The healthy expression of a personality is self-determined and clear, but not everyone likes that. Being self-determined and clear does not mean that the person is caught up in selfishness. Perhaps they simply know what is beneficial and/or more compatible for them and are able to meet healthy conditions.

Unfortunately, most people see ego as a sticky and reprehensible, rather unpleasant side of people. Whether in themselves and/or in another person. Ego has a bad reputation, is not wanted and does not bring about any good. The ego is therefore often used by calculating and/or unstable people as a means of pressure to force their own ideas through.

The fact that everything is subject to transience is also comforting in unpleasant situations. Many a fighter for their reasonable, healthy standards falls by the wayside, because being selfish is still a major flaw for many people.

The misunderstanding of the value of the ego leads to rejection of the ego. This is a fatal matter, because this attitude has a disruptive effect on the ability to distinguish and decide and causes a diffuse feeling in the consciousness.

People feel as if they are in a fog and are becoming increasingly insecure because they do not use and value their own senses. They do not absorb and/or trust their information. This also deprives them of the opportunity to develop a personal view and opinion on a situation.

Anyone who has no opinion cannot differentiate and/or decide. One's own ability to make decisions is definitely based on the ability to think things through; anyone who avoids thinking will hardly be able to make good decisions.

Considering the importance of the ego in humans, as abilities endowed by nature, the Creator himself, to make conscious and considered actions possible in the first place, it borders on self-abuse if these abilities and thus the ego are negated.

It is precisely through the recognition of limits that the ego can create and the resulting perceived, individual form creates the perception of one's own form. Only in this way can our senses recognize diversity, which ultimately allows us to experience the beauty and magic, but also the difficult facets of this world.

Ego and Spirituality

Unfortunately, because the ego is misinterpreted and rarely clearly defined spiritually, it has also become a tool for spiritual abuse. Spirituality is not tangible and/or visible, and so it is ideal for self-deception and/or suppression.

Rejecting the ego is a central focus, especially for people who are spiritually oriented. Is this misunderstood or wrongly conveyed esotericism? Recognizing the difference between connection and attachment is particularly important at this point. Being connected to something is a healthy and human characteristic and promotes exchange; attaching yourself to something is limiting.

In “spiritual” circles, every personal regulation and even a legitimate claim is often seen as the liability of the ego. A purely intellectual understanding of existence abuses the ego just as much as the usual emotional bias.

Well-meaning gurus (teachers) are sometimes very clever in their explanations that students must demonstrate absolute acceptance of the teachings that have been taught so little . They do this by fulfilling everything that is said, expected and even demanded, unconditionally and without question, and by binding themselves to what is prescribed. Entering into an interested relationship with instructions allows for closeness, but also the freedom to examine and reflect. There is no room for binding yourself to instructions.

For ages, the declared goal has been to break free from the ego in order to generate a higher consciousness in order to recognize one's own true existence. In fact, there is nothing to generate; it is about reducing restlessness and overactivity in the mind in order to gain knowledge of what is the basis of one's own being.

It is not the abandonment of one's own personality that is required, but only the recognition of what life is. Turning to this life will never harm the personality, but it recognizes the transience of matter and thus its illusion. In this process, the personality is also recognized as transient.

Every development process is neither stimulated nor promoted by denying facts and/or disregarding one's own thinking, but rather suppressed. Whether this process concerns the normal human development process of the personality or the cognitive process leading to the perception of "true" being, both are experiential processes. Every cognitive process will always only develop and continue from the current real knowledge that is formed from the perception of what is.

The direct path to knowledge is Jnana Yoga, as it involves giving no special significance to all experiences, however high-vibrating they may be, because in the state of unity there is no significance and this is how it is practiced in normal consciousness. The difficulty is that all existence is labelled as fiction and the necessary actions of everyday life can thus be avoided.

Since it is always and exclusively about inner awareness and not about freedom on the outside, understanding can only happen through inner perception. You can sit alone in a cave in the Himalayas, but when you return to everyday life after forty years nothing will have changed if you have not taken this inner step. In the Tao it is defined as "non-action", but there too the inner solution is meant. Inner freedom despite activity on the outside. This inner freedom enables people to no longer see themselves as the acting person. The power works through them according to their abilities.

Spiritual seekers are often characterized by an excessive devotion to rules and regulations, which is why they are so vulnerable to spiritual abuse. There are nonsensical rules, but there are also very effective ones and the final training is necessary to discipline the senses and strengthen the mind so that the outside world loses its appeal for you.

Notice

Living in seclusion in asceticism does not mean being realized. Enduring everything like a saint does not mean being realized. The ascetic overcomes the needs of the body and the saint practices devotion to everything without counteracting it. He learns to endure pain and joy equally and detaches himself from desires, thereby making his consciousness light and carefree. The ego is used to master selected yogic techniques and to acquire skills that show how matter is made and how it can be manipulated.

The yogi, the ascetic and the saint, each lives his life as he pleases, according to his interests, striving for more than the average life could ever offer .

They all use the ego to get their way.

Every insight is anchored in the mind through experience. Physically, life must continue to be mastered as karma (action) and constitution dictate.

Anyone who learns to maintain the balance of the senses in everyday life and continually enjoys inner silence learns to distinguish the processes of the world from those of being.

But that doesn't mean accepting and approving of unpleasant things without complaint. For people who live in the world but don't want to actively contribute to improving the world, it's a good idea to practice not making the same mistakes as others. Anyone who wants to leave the world behind for good can do so in an Ashrama. This is a protected place where it is possible to train one's mind and gain knowledge without disturbing influences from the outside world.

Moreover, a realized teacher will not demand anything, he will only show the way of his teaching.

Normal consciousness and awareness

People who tend to lack self-discipline and/or do not even strive for it often behave unpleasantly. They prefer to follow their senses and are completely emotionally inferior to them. They are only concerned with themselves. They find adaptation to the behavior required by their normal environment repugnant and/or they lack wisdom about what it means to work together.

Anyone who has never learned to discipline themselves will not see any point in it. They do not have a sense of order for their own excessive behavior, but they are fully aware of themselves as a personality.

He still has a long way to go to become familiar with his own abilities and to cultivate them. He may already be able to use a knife and fork, but that is not enough to be human.

Consciousness personalizes its perception. Consciousness does not know the meaning of I and/or you and/or teacher and student. These distinctions are empty concepts for consciousness, which the realized "teacher" represents. The "student" is still subject to ideas about what he represents as a person, while the "teacher" has left his self-awareness (ego) behind, but certainly not his mind. He now uses this to point to the truth. He has not lost his ego and his abilities through realization, but the effect of the guna no longer has any influence on what he has recognized himself as. He no longer identifies himself as an independent personality, even if it may still seem that way on the outside. He consciously animates his body, but it is not his body. He willingly allows these tasks and expressions to be fulfilled. The fact that the body is there does not bother him, as it is there to fulfill existing tasks. Whatever happens in the life of a realized person, it is only "bodily affairs".

Any comparison between a realized person and a normal person is futile, even if both have a clear perception of their being. The person recognizes himself and another as different, while the realized person knows no other, since he has realized the consciousness of unity. He is aware that everyone is only the one that he is, even if the physical appearance is different.

The first person remains in his self-consciousness as a person, with a functioning ego that makes a healthy distinction between himself and the other person. Even if the other person had not learned to control his senses and to accept himself as unpleasant, calling him an egoist would be a misjudgement. He is just a person who is subject to an imbalance of his gunas; he does not have more ego than the friendly person, it is just that his way of expressing himself is rather unpleasant.

The realized person no longer recognizes himself as an I, as a person. Since the ego is exclusively a factor that belongs to the person, he has left his ego behind along with the person. Since he identifies with the unity and there is no second thing in it, every impulse for his action comes directly. He does what has to be done, free from any identification. The senses work purely and the intelligence of the body works according to its abilities. The realized person has no fear for "himself" because "he" no longer exists. He knows that whatever happens, it only affects his material expression and that applies to others too. Everyone is just this consciousness, even if he does not realize it.

This reminds me of a touching incident that occurred around 1998 in Mumbai, India.

We were with our teacher Shri Ranjit Maharaj. His body was already very old and a little frail at that time and Mangala, a student of his, often massaged his feet when he was in pain. That day, during the massage, he still looked at her and said, "Mangala, it feels so good when you massage your feet." That moment brought a deep understanding of what it means to be pure awareness.

self-image

Recognizing one's own needs and the needs of the other person allows for community and/or friendly separation.

A healthy ego, the ability to think and discern, ethics and inner security naturally protect you from difficult situations or help you get out of them quickly. Understanding the meaning of ego, " ego-ist " and using it only in the right context is life-enhancing. This means that the word "egoist" can no longer hurt or offend.

Basically, the term "ego" should only be recognized as an inherent ability of every human being, which enables him to recognize boundaries and thus differences. This allows him to be a personality and to live and develop this in a healthy way.

Ego also enables the realization that one’s own personality is one’s own beloved object, which could arise and become evident through the grace of life and is animated exclusively by the grace of Being. Being, that is behind everything. As soon as the inner realization arises that everything is this energy despite different forms and their different possibilities of expression, the boundaries in consciousness that the ego can recognize do not dissolve, but Buddhi, the mind, changes its view of being.

Knowledge is taken over into experience and pure consciousness.

The difference that continues to be perceived is only an empty form without meaning for consciousness . The meaning of the boundary that consciousness needed to find its way is thus dissolved forever, although it still exists.

Ways to Understanding

Don't believe anything, not even what I write. Check, think, give yourself space and have your own experiences, because only that is your real knowledge and determines the value of your life. Feel free to doubt, but keep researching. The doubt of a serious person is an immensely important and very healthy way of expressing yourself, as well as very beneficial for your own development. Doubts expressed by contentious, superficial and/or disinterested people say little.

In Ayurveda, the primal energy of being, as well as the individual nature of man, is referred to as the basic constitution (Prakrti). It represents the form and nature of the body and mind with its specific functions. This is animated by something that goes far beyond the subtle and gross material elements that form the body and make it functional, and this is considered to be "truth". Man is not what he thought he was, he is what created him.

You may understand it better if I describe it as my teacher does. "You are not your arm, you only have one arm." You are not your body, you only have one body. You are not your name either, you only have one name"... Everything you seem to be is what you own, you name it as such. "My arm hurts," "I could feed my body better"...

Feel free to think about it.

With realization, consciousness also separates from God. They know that in unity there is no second. Contact with the highest instance of matter, with God, is part of the personality. That which is behind everything, that which God also brought forth, has never been made visible. Only what this grace has created is visible. The inability to make this instance visible leads people to call it pure love. But is pure love and pure being the same? Who knows? Grace itself names nothing.

To distinguish the person from something that is often referred to as the origin of everything , through which this living and changing body-mind-soul being can arise, which, so to speak, interweaves it, is a pure process of cognition and finds its final confirmation in the mind. The process of perception and acceptance finds its conclusion there as understanding, after having passed through all the necessary instances from Buddhi (intelligence) to Manas (mind).

In this process of cognition, the personality releases itself, so to speak. This is never a purely voluntary process. Will is the first step towards wanting to understand. Ability is more of a grace that shows itself as a result. From this point on, the mind, as a vessel of the conscious spirit, finds its confirmation, leaves behind the identification as a person and with it its ego.

The pink elephant is dead. Our physical and mental abilities and skills are now only means to the end of life. Consciousness is free In pure being, free from a second and thus also free from interpretation. Things are as they are, they are no longer personalized.

This is the state of having no ego.

What do you do with your ego? Do you use it to live your life with power and joy or to leave the world behind?

Are you looking for a miracle?

In the future, don't think so much about WHAT is, but rather think about THE FACT THAT SOMETHING CAN BE AT ALL. That is the only miracle!

©Helga Fuchs