The Spiritual Role of Ego

Ego is a part of the individualization of spirit into form. It is integral to the development of higher consciousness through the self. Spiritually speaking, the ego is commonly denigrated through misunderstanding its role. A misunderstanding that lends itself to disassociation. Disassociation strengthens duality and misappropriates the integral role of ego in self-realization and unification within higher consciousness. To know thyself must occur through the ego in order to transcend its mental limitations within the states of consciousness. Ego is the mode but not the means of liberation. It is through its integration and exaltation that higher states of consciousness and liberation are known. 

The Development of Ego

Ego is best understood as self-awareness from the ‘me’ consciousness. This is developed from Ahamkara. Ahamkara is the ‘I’ maker. The individuation of consciousness into the person. It is the aspect that processes higher intellect, memories, and experiences through the unique personality and attributes of the individuated self. Ahamkara is 1 of the 4 aspects of mental faculties within consciousness. (Buddhi-higher intellect/intuition, Ahamkara-Individuation/ego, manas-thought analysis, chitta-memory/collective unconscious). The 4 aspects of Mentalization within consciousness are the inner instruments of the mind through the mental body of the ALL. The ALL being the all-pervading consciousness in which manifested reality both occurs through and IS an aspect of the divine.  (Hermetic: Law of Mentality) Together these 4 aspects (Buddhi-higher intellect, Ahamkara-Ego/Individuation, Manas-Analysis, Chitta-memory) are known as the Antahkarana, or the mental faculties within the states of consciousness (Conscious, Subconscious, Unconscious, Transcendental) that is apart of divine/cosmic interplay-Lila. Each of these faculties are intertwined working through cosmic play of the self through divine. The Ahamkara is where the ego will work to establish itself and its interactions and perceptions within time/space reality. It will go through life-cycles: life, death, rebirth, in order to know itself and evolve its internal and external reality through subject/object relations. 

Egos Role within the States of Consciousness

Manifestation and evolution of higher consciousness occurs through the presence of ego, ‘I’ self. The ego plays an integral role, without it humans would live within the animal and plant kingdom lacking the use of higher-consciousness into higher mental faculties. The role of ego is to develop and to be developed. To awaken higher mental faculties that shift subject/object relation and therefore transform the ‘me’ into ‘I AM’. Ahamkara aspects the Conscious and Subconscious, while having influence from the Unconscious states. Its role is to create individuation. A knowing distinction between ‘me’ and ‘you’, ‘me’ and ‘this’ therefore, integral in individual development and co-creation. It is consciousness into individuated formation, the germ for existence. It is the interlink of causation within self in time/space reality. Ahamkara, the ego maker is designed as the mental capacity to know thyself, and higher divinity through itself and outside itself. Without ego, discernment-buddhi would have no context or framework from the ‘me’ to create from within. It creates the primary mental faculty for objective and subjective reality towards unification. 

Ego Goes Awry

Ego is essential in co-creation and discernment. It is the dual nature that seeks to exemplify itself and to relate to the external and internal nature of consciousness. It is integral in development and self understanding. But, due to its dualistic nature and connection to the conscious and subconscious realms it has a higher propensity to create division-duality, and distinctions from the ‘me’. This egoic operation is what translates the sensory body to perceive the physical world through ‘me’, which uses consciousness of interaction, or action and reaction to process the self through the external world. This is when ego development goes awry. The individuated self perceives separateness to act and react from sensorial physical world and to define the persona based off of self relating to the external environment. When personification and action reaction dominate the consciousness the input from Buddhi-higher intellect is dulled out. The mind becomes ‘dense’, more animalistic and ego becomes attached. This attachment is illusory, as stated before the ego must go through the processes of life, death, rebirth in order to translate the subject/object experiences within the self to unification. It is the return to center, by relinquishing that which was, into that which may be. This is also a switch between subject/object relation, or to be the ‘witnesser’ within the perception of self-created ‘reality’. To know thyself, is therefore to know the self outside the sensory or precepts of experience and distinctions. 

Conclusion

“...ego binds you to the plane of objective experience, and on the other it exists as the nucleus which has to be exploded to awaken.” - Swami Satyasangananda

In essence the ego is paramount for self to create through divine. However, it gets lost within identification. IT IS THE PARADOX. To know self within and without, but in order to traverse this process, the self must continue becoming, whilst becoming undone. This is why the ego creates views of separation. It is the subject/object relation created in order to know one’s capacity and creative components within one’s own created ‘reality’. Without the ego, or Ahamkara-’mental component of ego creation’, no manifestation, evolution, or variations within the self and external world could exist. It is the goal to unify the ego in order to awaken the higher faculties of the mental consciousness. When all distinction has been forgone, when definition unifies into an experience of a limitless expression within the mental realm of the all pervading consciousness, then ego implodes. It becomes unique while being unified into the ALL. It will begin to know itself within all experiences and beyond what is perceived, reacted to, and created within its own ‘reality’. It joins the higher consciousness of eternal. Therefore being elevated, unified, and integral as the bridge to creation and to source.