Is Ego the Root of All Evil?

In the previous article we looked at a simple but useful definition of ego.  That Ego is attachment to a wrong image of belief about myself.  This may look like an innocent mistake, but the implications are not so innocent.  In fact, all human evil may come down to this phenomenon of identifying ourselves with what we are not.

In this article we will dive deeper into how all our personal and collective woes come back to not knowing who we really are, and therefore creating attaching to false images of ourselves based on anything and everything. 

Knowing who am I?   This is a deep psychological and spiritual need for all humans.  If we look at Abraham Maslow’s Heirachy of Needs, after the basic material considerations are fulfilled, the individual looks to validate who they are.   And not just a casual interest, we focus all our energy on fulfilling these needs.

When instead of knowing the true spiritual nature of the self, we form mental attachments to wrong images or beliefs about ourselves, based on 1000’s of factors, we call this mechanism ego.

The ego can form an identity out of anything. But let’s take the example of our physical appearances.  Most of us are attached to our looks.  We like when we people complement them, and get offended at criticism.  In common language we might say, I’m overweight or I’ve lost weight, or I’m beautiful, you are ugly,  We generally don’t say, I the soul am weightless, formless, concentrated energy but this body has a few extra kilos.  But this use of the word “I’ when referring to our bodies, actually reveals the heart of the issue.  We do identify with our looks.  It is so much part of our identity, that loss of a positive body image, feels like a loss of self and leads to self-hate, depression, and obsessive behaviours to fix the issue and gain back good feelings about myself.  But there is no self in this picture.  The ego has hijacked the conscious, convinces you that your appearance has something to do with the real you, and has you full of fear, desire, sorrow, excitement.  All over an avatar in a matrix like game. 

And appearance is just one factor of our identities.  Multiple that by a thousand.

So each of us is walking around with a made up self-identity, like the castle mentioned in the previous article.  We strive to make our castle as big and secure as possible, but deep down we know that it is all a big show, and the next wave might take it all away.  We see people around us, getting old, getting sick, getting divorced, becoming bankrupt, being discredited, but we pray that it won’t happen to us.  But we know this world is totally unpredictable.  And this creates a deep insecurity towards life.  And it’s not just the big losses that we fear, all day long, our ego castle is in danger of being damaged.  From a simple comment, a look, a rejection, a reflection. 

Wherever there is ego, there will be fear and insecurity.   As sure as spring follows winter.   And since all of us have egos, as substitute for true self-realisation, we are all deeply insecure. Your ego will be made of different things, and on the surface you may even appear to be quite humble and unassuming.  But guaranteed, this ego mechanism is ticking away all day, defending the castle and on the look out for more bricks.

This insecurity will then manifest in our behaviours.  If we look at any negative behaviour, we can always trace it back to have its origins as fear, and then behind the fear, attachment to wrong image or belief of ourselves, i.e. our egos.

Let’s take a look at the example of arguing.  When we having an argument, we feel the tension in our bodies, our heart races, our voices become raised.  Our bodies are responding to this disagreement, as if we are in literal danger of losing our lives.  And this is a very important point.  It is just an opinion, an idea, a perspective.  But the ego, always looking to build itself up, will make it my opinion, my idea, and then a story about how I’m clever, educated, or I know what is best.   I am my idea.  So when you question or reject my idea, I feel it myself being rejected.  I take it personally.  And my body will behave as if my life is under threat.  Because I am my idea.  Two people fighting for their lives, have no chance of listening to each other. 

Then take that to a societal level.  It’s our idea, our ideals, our beliefs, and you over there are a threat to that.  Now the fear is multipled, and the behaviour moves from arguing to violence. I will destroy your castle before you destroy mine. 

That is why, we are all capable of evil.  As we all have this ego, fear mechanism operating within our consciousness.  Today you are fighting for your opinion in the comments section, tomorrow it’s on the street.

Another seemingly harmless example is gossip.  When we gossip with a friend about a third person, the ego is licking its lips.  It loves to feed on the comparison which is always the bottom line of gossip.  Look at what they did, we would never do that!  That’s why celebrity gossip is so seductive.  She may look like she has it all, but even she can’t keep her husband from straying.  There must be something wrong with her.  Suddenly I feel a bit better about myself.

If you explore any negative behaviour in yourself and others, you can always track them back to some insecurity or fear.  And behind that, some attempt to build up my ego or defend it.

Arguing, blaming, criticizing, complaining, controlling, manipulating, misleading, competing, demanding, avoiding, gossiping, lying, comparing, boasting, bossing, shouting, demanding, cheating, worrying, pretending, possessing, sabotaging, self-limiting, favoritism, discriminating, insulting, rejecting, judging, obsessing, humiliating.

I show this list to groups of people everywhere.  And they all admit they are guilty of some level of this.  But when I ask them if they believe they are good people.  They all do.  We admit that we are lying, gossiping, boasting, pretending, judging, and yet still believe we are good.  This is because, we do all know that the souls are ‘good’ but we get hijacked by fear.  We even say, I wasn’t myself when we get angry.   Even if we are habitually doing it.  We still feel that is not our true selves. 

The ego’s favourite trick is to make you argue and then make being angry part of yourself image, and then to be ashamed of that image. 

So next time you notice any of these behaviours in yourself and others.  Instead of judging yourself.  If you notice yourself beginning to defend yourself or attack someone else, even in your minds.  Try and observe how you feel.  That feeling of being disturbed, restless, anxious, uncomfortable is always there underneath, even if it is very subtle.

That is the fear, and the behaviour is the poor attempt to remove the cause of the fear.   Don’t try to let it go.  When you see clearly what is happening in your consciousness, automatically that will happen.  It will reach the point, when you observe yourself, because of habit, getting offended about some comment, and you will laugh at your mind, trying to own an opinion and now fighting for it, as if the ego is a tiny tyrant in your head, fighting off invisible threats to your sandcastle. 

This state of fear, can be very subtle and almost constant.  Like a feeling that something is not right in the back of the mind always.  This can then lead to habitually behaviours to relieve that tension, such as smoking or overeating.  So, don’t just think of ego, as being the basis of obvious negative behaviours like boasting and arguing.  It’s that underlying sense of not feeling deeply safe and secure in my eternal timeless loving essence, that leads to a general subtle restlessness that can pervade our consciousness and lead to all sorts of attempts to feel better.  So, yes, even overeating, has its basis in ego, being attached to a wrong image or belief about myself. 

For, now take an attitude of a curious scientist or Sherlock Holmes of the consciousness, and observe this mechanism operating.  See the negative behaviours, notice the tension, try to recognize which particular image or belief your ego is trying to defend.  In the next article we will look more deeply in some of the factors that the ego likes to identify itself with. 

Of course, the more you meditate and actually experience the true self, the more the constrast between this little ego tyrant and its fake castle and the divine light of the soul will be easier to recognize.  When I mentioned in a previous article about overcoming stage fright, with just one thought, that Jillian needs praise but real I behind this character needs nothing; this is because in meditation you can experience this reality.  So, there is two things happening.  We are disarming the ego by revealing its pallor tricks but also by reaffirming our true identity as a soul, whose essence is divine, and who is ultimately untouched unharmable, by anything related to the physical dimension. 

Thanks for reading!

Om shanti