The Ego - Mankinds worst enemy or adversary???

I have had this debate on the necessity of ego many times with my spiritual teachers, and I have not really come to a conclusion yet on whether the ego is a good thing or a bad thing. I think I am tending towards it is a bad thing.

As others have argued we need the ego to survive and that we are the ego. I know what it is like to be underconfident and have low self-esteem, because I have had these issues in the past and it is not good. Having a bit of ego is a good antidote to this.

But then I look around me and find most people in the world adopt this strategy of creating egos and it does not do a lot of good, it just creates very self-centered, spoiled and narcissistic people. And they make the world an unpleasent place to live in.

An ego is also something we rely on and without it we feel naked and vulnerable. I am sure you have heard the popular public speaking advice, pretend everybody is naked or pretend they are all idiots. It often works, you can go in giving a presentation pretending everybody is a moron, but can you do it without the ego? This is the problem I have with egos, they are things we must depend upon and without them we are crippled. In that sense they are a huge limitation.

I am sure you have met people who define themselves by some label, "I am an Oxford/Harvard graduate", "I am a 30 year old adult" they start to behave like their labels and their identity becomes limited to that only. This is probably why Hindus and Buddhists who believe we are infinite are so vehemently against the egos. I mean if we are really infinite, why do we need any label to feel secure?

I think we need to start living our live without being limited to an ego. To simply let go and BE and trust ourselves. I am increasingly trying to live my life like that and it is very liberating because I no longer feel the sense of limitation as I did before. It is not an easy thing to do though, because you allow yourself to be vulnerable and exposed to everybody else. You let them see the real you. Sometimes you don't want that.

star for you. I think what you are saying is very true.

people do rely on their egos because they fear that what they say and do is not percieved by others as having conviction. When we get really egotisticle and start shouting at injustices and start raising our voices and fists in protest that is just the ego acting first emotionally and then later logically. If we are to mend the world we can not do it through being egotisticle and shouting we must remove emotion and deal with the issues logically as in what is the best soloution and whats stoping us from getting there. Usually it would be something ego related i assure you. But the sad thing is that people feel they need an ego to get their points across. Yet if this is done calmly and logically then you will still get your point across. it is when we no longer fear and no longer have the need to view our audiences as naked or dumb that we transcend. When we view each other as brothers and sisters and part of the same whole we no longer need the ego. We realise that we are in fact one and the same. Im really sorry but the ego has got to go!

If you are considering the "I" aspect of ego as opposed to "conceit", I am inclined to think that it is not a bad thing.

I recently read Ayn Rand's novel "Anthem" in which a totalitarian world leadership had created a society devoid of a sense of self. Several characters in this novel were able to re-discover this latent sense of individuality, freedom and reason -- much to my relief as a reader.

In light of the signs that our present day world is heading in the direction of Rand's totalitarian society, I think even the worst of ego is probably better than none at all.

Originally posted by Redge
You cannot eradicate the ego, because you need it for survival here on Earth. It is a tool, nothing more. Just remember that your are not your ego.

Education is the key.

The urge to survive is a product of the ego?

So, without the ego, we wouldn't strive to survive. We would give our life for others.

Without the ego, we wouldn't even reproduce.

The human race would cease to exist.

Originally posted by concernedcitizan
The ego and a healthy dose of narcissism are necessary for survival. If there is one thing I can't stand are low self esteem cases. And I'm tired of people confusing confidence with arrogance. The people that usually do have low self esteem.

low self esteem is just as much feeding the ego as being self-serving*. maybe more so actually.

i see the ego as something we should LEARN to master ourselves so we do not continue being a slave to it.
though when i'm in a better state of mind i can see it more as a neutral tool as mentioned above.
though, it doesn't always seem that way.

[edit on 12/15/2009 by double_frick]

reply to post by spirit777child


Idealism makes us feel better, warm and fuzzy, here is an example:

Rather than nitpicking at the different angles i think we need to focus more on the ego itself and ways to overcome it. The ego is responsible for every conspiracy every wrong everythig negative about us and our world. its time to say goodbye to it and work on ways to take ego out of the equation. many masters have done this now we have to evolve and do it also...or we are all doomed!

many masters have done this

There is the key! You, me and the masters have done it (maybe). You expect the rest of mankind to become enlightened? In a thousand years! That would be like trying to teach a cat not to chase mice or like weaning a horse off of grass! It ain' gonna happen because it is firmly in the genes!

It would be like trying to trying to teach someone not to be afraid when the tiger attacks, or not to be emotional when you lost a friend or to forget the sex drive, hehe!

In a thousand years, in the mean time, life goes on.... :LOL:

There is the key! You, me and the masters have done it (maybe). You expect the rest of mankind to become enlightened?

In a thousand years! That would be like trying to teach a cat not to chase mice or like weaning a horse off of grass! It ain' gonna happen because it is firmly in the genes!

It would be like trying to trying to teach someone not to be afraid when the tiger attacks, or not to be emotional when you lost a friend or to forget the sex drive, hehe!

In a thousand years, in the mean time, life goes on.... :LOL:

Ironically, your insistance that things like being afraid when a tiger attacks, being emotional when losing a frield or having no sex drive is an ego itself - a limiting belief. In fact there are counter examples where one can be attacked by a tiger and not be afraid, tiger wrestlers - which would wrestle a tiger just for kicks. You can lose a friend and not be emotional if you are not attached to your friend. I have lost friends before and not been emotional, especially when I know it was inevitable. There are countless cases of people who adopt celibacy and people who are asexual and have no sexual drive or sexual interest at all.

I think what you have illustrated is why the ego is actually quite a bad thing because it creates limiting beliefs about what you can and cannot do.
I think we have all heard the story of Bruce Lee and how his physical handicap in his legs initially proven to be a huge obstacle in him learning martial arts. In fact I am sure the people around him wrote him off from the moment he started training. If Bruce Lee had listened to this ego, he never would have become the amazing martial artist we all know today.

reply to post by Indigo_Child

I think what you have illustrated is why the ego is actually quite a bad thing because it creates limiting beliefs about what you can and cannot do

Many of us can go on to do great things for humanity. That is my goal shared by many on ATS.

If you think the rest of humanity is in on this, well, I have my doubts! They seem to be out there expressing their personal emotions vis a vis the world. Very human, very understandable and very uninspiring!

reply to post by spirit777child


Read the book "The Disappearance of the Universe" then read "A Course in Miracles" ... You are exactly right

You're right. Ego is pretty much the human nature which we need to control, otherwise it will get the best of us and bring us down.

The Ego - Mankinds worst enemy - this is just true, but an normal ego will not allow to admit that! Specially the most posters on ATS must have a huge ego. so don't be disappointed if nobody here seems to understand what you are talking about. This is not the place to find the truth, this is a dreamers place with a lot of very ignorant people. They just wan't Burgers and IPads and Stars on ATS for their egos, so.....leave them alone.