Ego is the fourth layer of Circle of NEW YOU represented by green colour in the concentric layer. This comprises I, me, myself.
This is the psychological layer, which manifests the aspects of self-centred behaviour. Ego sometimes acts as a virtue, but in most instances is termed as vice in our lives, which controls and subdues the true power, while inviting unwanted problems in life.
The evolved personalities emphasise their followers to stay detached from ego. The presence of ego not only dilutes the power of Self but also hinders the growth journey.
There are a lot of literary and philosophical interpretation around ego. The presence of ego in transcendentalism concepts has given upliftment to human race, but if we talk about true realms of Circle of NEW YOU, then the absence of ego is more beneficial to know oneself better.
Ego is the fourth layer of Circle of NEW YOU represented by the green colour in the concentric layer. This is the layer which focusses on I, me, myself.
The space between past and future is the word Ego. There is no ego space if we free of past and future and become aware of the present moment.
The ego is psychic apparatus, which manifests an extra layer of self-obsession; the attribute which brings joy when desired outcome is in our favour, and anger when it is not.
Whether ego is a virtue or vice is debatable topic. To some, if there is no ego there is no self-respect and hence the power to build a self-identity loses its grip in the long run. However, for many, ego is that vice, which attracts unwanted problems to our lives.
The literary interpretation and philosophical attributes around the word ego might not be intersecting in all dimensions, but the presence of the ego layer, is definitely a necessity in the eyes of unforeseen creator and hence it exists.
The conversation between Socrates and Immanuel Kant around the word ‘Ego’ is worth reading.
Socrates : we cannot look at the sun directly, but we know it’s there. The same is true for God as far as transcendental Ego. Once again, I have to ask you directly. Is the transcendental ego God, then? And if so, its God of theism or God of pantheism?
Kant : That is a theological question.
Socrates : Of course, it is. And it is a request for a theological answer.
Kant : I don’t have one, Socrates. I don’t know, I believe in the God of Christianity and I don’t claim to know the relationship between this God and the God of Hinduism.
Socrates : Can you tell me the anything between relationship between this God and the transcendental ego?
Kant : No
Yes, the renowned and great Philosophers like Socrates and Immanuel Kant did not conclude on Ego – and it is still a paradox concept in the human engineering.
The regulated ego makes a human more focussed and contented in their lives. Impulsive dogmatic and arbitrary responses are minimised, if the ego layer is not dominant.
Steve Jobs, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of modern times told - “When I was ousted from the Apple, I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me”. It’s a reflection of Ego – positive or negative is subject of interpretation and debate.
I call the word ‘Ego’ as an abbreviation - ‘Edging God Out’.
The higher the Ego, the further you move away from God. And, as they say that God is inside us then it means it that by raising Ego, you move further away from your inner Self!
I conclude this topic by saying - if one replaces ego with curiosity in their behaviour, then isolation is turned into connection.