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Ahaṁkāra (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: अहंकार), 'I-making' is a
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
term in Saṃkhyā philosophy that refers to the identification of
Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...
or Being with 'Nature' or any impermanent 'thing'.


Reference in Bhagavad Gita

Ahaṁkāra is one of the four parts of the
Antahkarana Antaḥkaraṇa (Sanskrit: अन्तःकरण) is a concept in Hindu philosophy, referring to the totality of the mind, including the thinking faculty, the sense of I-ness, and the discriminating faculty. Antaḥ means 'inner' and karaṇa me ...
(inner organ) described in
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...
; the other three parts include
Buddhi :''In Hindu mythology, Buddhi is one of the wives of Ganesha.'' Buddhi (Sanskrit: बुद्धि) refers to the intellectual faculty and the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand". Etymology ''Bud ...
,
Citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...
, and Manas. In the
Uttara Mimamsa ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
or Vedanta branch of
Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson ( ...
, though not extensively discussed in the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' ( ...
,
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
informs
Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
that Ahaṁkāra, be removed. Krishna mentions that "Air, water, earth, fire, sky, mind, intelligence and ahankara (ego) together constitute the nature created by me." In other words, Ahaṁkāra must subordinate to the Lord. The reasoning provided was that since the self is not (cannot be) perceived when one is in a state of Ahaṁkāra, effaced, it should be.


Philosophical implications

Vedic philosophy also teaches that when one's mind is in a state of Ahaṁkāra, one is in a state of subjective illusion where the psyche is bound to the concept of one's self with an external thing. This thing can be tangible and material, or it can be a concept, such as the concept of the fight for peace. Here, the ego is involved in constructing the illusion. Examples of Ahaṃkāra in action: Consider how an otherwise sensible young man might feel if his new sports car was a reflection of his true self. It would encourage him to race against another person recklessly. Similarly, consider how someone who believed in the fight for peace and ordinarily behaved in a non-violent manner fought against someone who threatened or challenged their notions of peace. In both cases, the mind has averred a state of illusion, appearing real to the person who blurs the line between subjectivity and reality. This illusory state often causes people to do things that can be categorized as "out of character" for them.


Ahaṁkāra and Spiritual Development

* Ahaṁkāra is the instrument of Ahaṃ (the Spirit), the principle of individuation, acting as an independent conscious entity within the impure reality which does not have consciousness of its own. * Ahaṁkāra is (actually soul/ego-soul) the instrument of the spirit (made by thought-material—dark energy' and 'dark material') for the individual development of the ego-soul, like DEHA (material-body/mold), which is the instrument for solitary evolution of the ego-soul/mind. * It is a receptacle of Cit śakti, its consciousness, a diminutive spark from Cit, the universal consciousness. * It manifests itself by assuming authorship of all the actions of buddhi, manas, the senses, and organs of action. * It is believed to exist in the sphere of duality—in a state of identification with the physical body, its needs and desires. * It is related to ''Vak tattva'', one of
the 36 tattvas The tattvas in Indian philosophy are elements or principles of reality. Tattvas are the basic concepts to understand the nature of absolute, the souls and the universe in Samkhya and Shaivite philosophies. Samkhya philosophy lists 25 tattvas while ...
in Vedic and Hindu philosophy. * In Ahaṁkāra, a state of ''rajas guṇa'' (agitation) predominates. This is because it identifies only with a small part of the creation (the body) and rejects everything else as "not me"; it becomes subject to a series of afflictions such as pride, egoism, competitiveness, hate, and jealousy.
Though Ahaṁkāra is generally a state of illusion, ''Vak tattva'' (one of the 36 tattvas) can appear when one does not succumb to it. In Vak tattva, the individual’s will, determination, sense of morality and ethics come into play, which is the first step on the path to spiritual development or even, enlightenment. However, a person who is sufficiently harmonious but has a powerful Ahaṁkāra (personality) is thought to be impossible to exert the level of effort necessary to accede to a higher spiritual level.


Ahaṁkāra and Buddhi

The position of Ahaṁkāra and buddhi are sometimes presented in a reversed order because, as the principle of "I-ness", the Ahaṁkāra is allowed control over the manas (sensorial mind) and buddhi (superior intellect, intuition). Yet, buddhi is a superior tattva, and Ahaṁkāra is thus only able to be in a superior position to buddhi from a functional point of view. From an absolute point of view, Ahaṁkāra is created by buddhi and thus subordinate to it.


See also

* Antahkarana (Inner Cause) * Chod (To Sever) *
Cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environmen ...
* Anatta *
Ego death Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psych ...
*
Egolessness Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psych ...
*
Humility Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...
*
Mindstream Mindstream (''citta-santāna'') in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment continuum (Sanskrit: ''saṃtāna'') of sense impressions and mental phenomena, which is also described as continuing from one life to another. Definition ' (Sanskr ...
* Shadripu *
Svabhava Svabhava ( sa, स्वभाव, svabhāva; pi, सभाव, sabhāva; ; ) literally means "own-being" or "own-becoming". It is the intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence of beings. The concept and term ''svabhāva'' are frequently enco ...
*
Ramana Maharshi Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and '' jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, T ...
*
I Am a Strange Loop ''I Am a Strange Loop'' is a 2007 book by Douglas Hofstadter, examining in depth the concept of a ''strange loop'' to explain the sense of "I". The concept of a ''strange loop'' was originally developed in his 1979 book ''Gödel, Escher, Bach''. ...
*
Self-concept In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I ...
''Jainism'' * Ahankar (Pride)


References


External links


The Knot of the Heart
{{Indian Philosophy Hindu philosophical concepts