by Sean M.Clarke

Created on: March 17, 2009

Types of Ego (Aham)

We will discuss various kinds of ego in this article. There are two broad types of ego; The Lord's ego and the man's ego.

The Lord's ego
This is a state of no ego, i.e. the ego of the person is literally 0. This state is found in Saints of 100% spiritual level when They are in a completely thoughtless state, merged with God. Hence all tasks that happen through such a person are mere acts (kriyaa) not actions (karma) as they happen totally as per God's wish. The hallmark of such Saints is their perpetual state of Bliss even in the face of extreme adversity in Their worldly lives.

Man's ego
Man's ego is again broadly divided into 2 subtypes:

Pure ego
This is a state of traces of ego seen in Saints of the highest order when They are not in complete communion with God. These Saints have just a mere awareness of one's existence. This trace ego is required for the sustenance of the body functions.

Pure ego can be understood as having the following attitudes:

Considering oneself to be distinct or separate from Brahman (God principle), that is harboring awareness of the self through duality.
Having awareness of one's existence.
Harboring the spiritual emotion (bhaav) that I belong to others and all are mine'.
Even this ego persists only as long as there is existence of the physical body. It ceases to exist with the cessation of the bodily existence of such Saints.

Impure ego

This type of ego is what most of us experience. Almost all of us identify with our physical body, or feelings and emotions and feel pride in our intellect. This is due to various impressions in the centers of the subtle body like temperamental characteristics, desires, likes and dislikes, etc. Depending on thoughts and emotions, this ego can be either saattvik (sattva predominant), raajasik (raja predominant) or taamasik (tama predominant).

Taamasik ego: Ego which is subtle basic tama predominant is called taamasik ego, e.g. believing only in one's own capability.

Raajasik ego: Subtle basic raja predominant ego is called raajasik ego, e.g. constantly striving for happiness.

Saattvik ego: Ego which is predominant in the subtle basic sattva component is called saattvik ego, e.g. ego about sacrifice is saattvik in nature.

Types according to the proportion of ego

On a scale of 0-100%, the ego of God or the Saints at 100% spiritual level when in a state of complete communion with God is 0%. The ego of the subtle sorcerer (mantrik) of the highest strength from the 7th region of Hell (Paataal) is 100%. On this scale, the ego of an average individual is 30%. Adolf Hitler's ego was 60%.

(Please note that by average individual' we mean a person who is average spiritually. In his worldly life this individual could be a billionaire, a head of state or a celebrity from show business.)

Depending on the proportion of ego on a scale of 0-100 it can be classified as follows:

Ego related to medium to higher-level ghost: 30 100%

High ego: 20-30%

Medium ego: 15-20%

Low ego: 10-15%

Highest order Saints: 0-5%

Learn more about this author, Sean M.Clarke.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.