What is Ego?

If you want to understand what is ego, initially you have to understand something about the mind. There are different conditions of the mind. When you work on a particular subject, when you are doing certain calculations; at that time you have focused your mind on a particular subject and this condition is known as Intellect or Buddhi. The most beautiful condition of mind is intellect.But most of the time there are certain thoughts going on in your mind and you have no control on them. Certain waves of thoughts go on rising and falling. It means all the time that you are awake, certain thoughts keep on moving in your mind without any control. This is most common condition of mind called as Chit or you may call it the accumulated mind stuff. There is a third condition of mind, in which you consider yourself separate from the existence. In somebody's presence this condition of mind arises. The intellect or Buddhi and Chit are not much associated with the presence of other. But in the third condition of mind, when somebody else exists, you start protecting yourself, you start making your different existence from others. This condition of mind when you start considering yourself as different is known as ego. The condition of ego does not have its independent existence. As the shadow cannot exist individually without light, similar is the case with ego. At the time when you are alone in your room or when you are in the bathroom where there is nobody else at that time, ego does not exist. In those moments you are very simple or casual. Thus, ego means an artificially created condition, which is unnatural, which is created by presence of others.


God's design is Perfect

You are saying: WHY DOES GOD CREATE EGO?

Ego is essential, that's why he creates it. If God has designed certain thing, it must be necessary. That is why he has made it. Once I had thought if God gave me the power to re-design or make certain changes in His design - I wished there should be no institution of death. I would wish that death happened to none. And just imagining the situationof Earth 20 years later of this wish being granted, I saw how this world would look like. I could foresee that Earth would be full of old men and women. What I could see everywhere would be just wrinkles. Looking at this scene, I was tensed. I said - God, your design is correct, the design of the world is perfect the way it is. The option or wish that I wished should never come true. As such, if God has given us ego, it is utterly important. There must be some use of it. It has a use of protecting oneself from the exploitation done by others. If there was no ego then anyone could come and exploit you.
What does ego mean? Ego simply is the power to say 'No.' But remember one thing. When you say 'no', mostly it is just for the sake of ego. It does not have any use for the existing situation. You must know to say 'No' only when it is of need; this shall protect you from exploitation done by others. Everything is good at a base level. But when something goes to its extremes it becomes harmful. I mean to say if you say 'No' due to need till then it is fine. But when you start to say 'No' in every situation, then it would be an extreme; it will not be tolerable. Thus, ego is necessary for self-protection from exploitation. But when you always start feeling insecure, when you are always caught up in a fear of somebody trying to hurt you, then it's the situation of being mentally sick. In such case, anyone will say anything and that would be enough for you to be hurt. You should have ego to a certain extent, which is not harmful. Till the time you do not enjoy saying 'No' to others is acceptable. But after that it is sheer game of ego.


Extremes are Harmful

For an example: When you have a tonsil infection, your throat may become sore and there can be cough. You can say that why does God give us tonsils. No, it is essential because when the germs attack you at that time, tonsil acts as a safeguard; it tries to protect your throat. It catches hold of those germs so that they do not enter into your lungs and do not cause any harm to some vital organs of your body. It is the duty of a guard to keep a check on the visitors or stop the thieves to enter and cause any harm. But it is not right on his part to stop all the people who come into the house. In a similar way, when tonsils grow up they start working more than their job, which in turn becomes harmful. In such situation, we remove the guard. But this is not a good situation because now the germs have directly a free entry to our vital organs, which can be more dangerous. Just like the guard and tonsils is our ego. Ego is essential to the extent that it safeguards us from the attacks of others. But when it overgrows it is never welcomed.
So, I would conclude it in one line that ego is that condition of mind where you start considering yourself distinct from the existence.