What is Ego?

To understand ego, first one must understand a little bit about the mind. Mind has three different states. When you contemplate on some subject matter, when you think with concentration then this state of mind is called the Intellect. The most beautiful state of mind, most pure state of mind is the Intellect.

Nevertheless, most of the time, it is caught up in thoughts. In addition, you do not have any control over it. There are some or the other waves rising and falling all the time. In fact, during your waking hours, there are always some or the other thoughts going on in your mind over which you have no control. This is the ordinary state of the mind and you can call it Mind stuff.

There is a third state of mind. When you consider yourself to be separate from the Existence, this state arises in presence of other person. Intellect does not have any specific relation with another person. Even the Mind Stuff does not have anything specific to do with the other. However, the third state arises only in the presence of the other. You start protecting yourself. You start keeping yourself aloof and feel different from the other. This state of mind is called Ego. Therefore, ego is not an independent state. It is just like the shadow, which does not have its independent state. When there is light, there is shadow. Similarly, whenever there is presence of the other, there is ego. For instance, when you are alone in a room, there is no ego. When you are in your bathroom, at that time there is no ego. You are natural

Ego means your pretentious state, unnatural state, affected state, a state caused by the other. You ask that why does God create it? Ego is necessary, that is why God creates it. If God has designed something then it is almost certain that it would have been of some requirement.

Once, a thought came in my mind. If God grants me right to make some alterations in His design, I would like to eliminate the institution of death. Then I began to see what the world would look like if people do not die. I imagined and visualized the world 20 years, 40 years later and saw that the world is full of old people. Wherever one looked, there were only old people, wrinkles. I was distressed with the sight and said, “Oh God! Your design is absolutely fine. I withdraw the proposal for making alterations in your design.”

Therefore, if God has given us ego then there would be some use of it for sure.
Moreover, there is utility of ego. Through it you can protect yourself from exploitation by others. If there were no ego then anybody could exploit you.

What is the meaning of ego? The ability to say no is known as ego! When you say no to something, most of the times you say it because of ego, and fewer times out of necessity. You must know to say no when required so that you can protect yourself from exploitation. A base level is necessary. However, when the matter goes to extremity, it becomes unpleasant. For instance, if one has to say no in order to protect himself from exploitation, then it is acceptable. However, if you start to say no to every thing then it would be extreme and it would be because of ego. Therefore, ego is necessary so that you can protect yourself from exploitation. Nevertheless, when one begins to feel insecure, begins to feel frightened, begins to feel afraid that someone might trouble him in someway, then it is an unhealthy state. If anybody says anything and you feel hurt. If you begin to feel hurt at everything then in all certainty it is a matter of extreme ego. For instance, you get an infection in your tonsil. Now you might say that why does God give tonsils. No, tonsils are necessary because when you get infection, when germs of the disease emerge at that point, tonsils act as guard and seize the infection so that the germs cannot reach your lungs and other vital organs. It is the duty of a guard to stop and tell off a thief or a miscreant outside the entrance itself. However, if someone is going on the road and the guard starts bothering everyone and ask where they are coming from and where are they going, then it is like when our tonsils get infected they also start behaving in the same manner. Then what is it that we do? We remove the guard. We remove the tonsils. However, it is not a pleasant situation because now the germs can directly reach the vital organs. Similar to tonsils is our ego for protecting ourselves in presence of the other. However, when this sense of protection changes to a state of extreme fear, then it is not welcome. Hence, ego is a specific state of mind and because of it, you think yourself to be separate from the Existence.