EGO – OUR ENEMY OR FRIEND? Gejza M. Timčák Received September 28 2015 - Revised October 31 2015 - Accepted November 1 2015 ABSTRACT The ego is a concept that in yogic contexts is having a low value as something that has to be get rid of as soon as possible. Still, the ego or ahamkāra is a part of human structure, which has a determinative importance in our life. The paper aims at giving some thoughts to this question, since it may point to possible misconceptions. Key words Ego, ahamkāra, yoga-darśana, sāmkhya darśana, jñāna 1 Introduction The ego – ahamkāra has a noble position in the sāmkhya model of the manifested world. It is born in theMahat, the great principle that appeared as the result of the reflection or creative throb of Purusa and of the form giving processes belonging toPrakrti. The literature on yoga sometimes mis-assesses the ahamkāra and shakes off this concept like the physicians used to do with the appendix, which they considered as “useless” and fit for removal. 2 The history and role of ahamkāra The ego in general can be defined as the organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. In yoga ego is termed as “ahamkāra”. Ahamkāra is an entity that in practical yoga is usually taken as an entity to be “eliminated”, “conquered”, etc. In fact ahamkāra is one of theantahkaranas, together with buddhi, chitta and manas. Ahamkāra, as we know it, “evolves” fromMahat (termed also as Buddhi). Ahamkāra gives rise also to the five tanmatras, which then give rise to the five bhutas (Hariharananda 1984). The appearance of the ahamkāra is linked to a two-fold process. A “creative” reSpirituality Studies 1 (2) Fall 2015 63 (1)
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