What is Ego?

Does the ego need to be destroyed, asks Sadhguru, Isha Foundation

- Sadhguru

“Ego” is not something that you have because you did something well, or because you became rich or beautiful or anything else. When you started kicking in your mother’s womb, the ego was born. The very first mistake of identifying with your physical body means the ego was born.

It is a defense mechanism. You got identified with this little body. This little organism has to survive in this vast existence; one which you have no perception of, to even know where it begins and where it ends. Just to survive, you have to project yourself as a big man. So, the ego is born. It is a false reality you have created just for the sake of survival.

What then is ego? It is like your shadow. The moment you have a physical body, you have a shadow. The shadow itself is neither good nor bad. If the sun is up there, you have a little shadow. If the sun is down there, you have a mile-long shadow. So, whichever way the outside situation demands, that is the kind of shadow you have. That is also the kind of ego you should have.

To handle different kinds of situations in our lives, we need different kinds of identities. If you are fluid about it, if you can change from one to another gracefully, then you can play your role to the hilt and have no problem with it. But right now, the problem is, you get so identified with it, you start believing you are that. Once you believe, “I am the shadow,” what would you do? You would naturally crawl upon the earth.