June 2025 | Ahankara/Ego

There are different words for ego in Sanskrit. Patanjali references ‘asmita’, as ‘false ego’ or ego which leads to false identification with mind and intelligence. We also find the word ‘ahankara’ used for egoism, leading to identification with ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Swami Sivananda has used the word ‘ahankara’ extensively, so we are focusing on it as our theme this month. We all have experience with ego, and we each have our own ego. It seems easy to recognise ego in the actions of other people, but considerably more difficult to recognise ego in our own thoughts, words, and interactions. We tend to justify ourselves far too often. We create reasons why we have behaved with ego; why we’re ‘right’. We know that, on the path of yoga, ego may be our biggest challenge and our biggest stumbling block. In our process of evolution, ego enters into the mind, only because of the presence of buddhi, the intellect. The intellect is a necessary instrument of seeing, and ego and intellect, together, are the two higher parts of the mind. They perform important positive functions. A healthy ego helps to remind us who we are, where we stand, and what qualities and strengths we have to offer to the world. However, egoism and conceit are indeed great obstacles.

The antidote is humility. Maintaining a humility about our own practice helps us to be humble in our everyday interactions as well. In fact, it is often said that the most troubling ego of all is the spiritual ego, the belief that I am a better and more serious practitioner than you. I am a more spiritual person. I am more advanced, more sincere. In general, those who speak about their practice are often not so practiced and those who remain quiet have often experienced greater depths of understanding and experience. We can forgive ego from other types of professionals, from those with name and fame, but not from those who walk the spiritual path.

Balancing asanas can teach us quite a bit about riding the line in-between things: ego and humility, making an effort and surrendering, accepting and resisting. A complex asana like Vrischikasana, the Scorpion asks us to examine how we see, how we observe ourselves and the world around us, while the “body becomes all eyes”. In this issue of Sivananda Yoga Sandesha we look at how to find balance in Vrischikasana, we share both Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda’s words on the kleshas and ahankara. We discover the importance of the pelvic floor for women’s health, hear the story of Krishna’s final teaching for Arjuna, on confidence, discover the intricate Hoysaleswara Temple in Karnataka and how it helps dissolve the ego, and examine the energetic qualities of food.

We hope you enjoy the newsletter and take time to reflect on your practice. As usual, please feel free to reach out to us with your thoughts and feedback at: [email protected]

Inauguration pujas at the cave in Gangotri, a new wheelchair-accessible pathway to the Health Hut in Neyyar Dam, and construction of a new dining hall and thatched-roofed huts for outdoor seating in the Madurai Ashram.

Atman in conjunction with the Buddhi is Ahankara. The basis of Ahankara is Buddhi. As the Buddhi (Bheda Buddhi) is the cause for this differentiation (this little “I”), Buddhi is the cause or seed for Ahankara. Ahamta and Mamata (‘I’-ness and ‘mine’-ness) are Jivasrishti. It is Jivasrishti that binds a man to the world. Isvarasrishti (God’s creation) helps man in his God-realisation.

The seed of mind is Ahankara. Ahankara is development through the thoughts of the mind. As the first thought is the ‘I’ thought and as this ‘I’ thought is at the base of all other thoughts, Ahankara is the seed for the mind. This idea of ‘I’ will bring in its train, the idea of time, space and other potencies. With these environments, the name Jiva accrues to it. Contemporaneously with it, there arise Buddhi, memory, Manas which is the seed of the tree of Sankalpa.

The seed of mind is Ahankara. Ahankara is development through the thoughts of the mind. As the first thought is the ‘I’ thought and as this ‘I’ thought is at the base of all other thoughts, Ahankara is the seed for the mind. This idea of ‘I’ will bring in its train, the idea of time, space and other potencies. With these environments, the name Jiva accrues to it. Contemporaneously with it, there arise Buddhi, memory, Manas which is the seed of the tree of Sankalpa.

When you are a boy, the Ahankara is not very potent. It is like a shadow in a glass. It gets developed and firm-rooted during your adolescence after you marry and entangle yourself in the achievement of various worldly desires. You are fearless in your boyhood. The moment this little ‘I’ becomes stronger in your, side by side, various sorts of fears, various sorts of desires, a host of delusions take firm hold of you. The world appears to you more real, too.

Ahankara is, after all, nothing. But, tremendous is its influence! Maya means Ahankara. Mind is another name for Ahankara. World means Ahankara. The sprout of Ahankara ramifies here and there with its long branches of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’. It is inveterate. Ahankara wants to live in flesh (Abhinivesa or clinging to life), to eat flesh and to embrace flesh. This is pure Ajnana (ignorance) only. Look at Maya’s deception and wholesale swindling! Beware! Awake! Get Jnana.

Just as the cloud screens the sun, so also this cloud of Ahankara screens the ‘Jnana Surya’, the Infinite Sun of Knowledge, Brahman. You cannot realise God, if you have the least tinge of egoism, if you have the slightest attachment to name and form, if you have the least tinge of Vasana or if you have the least trace of worldly desire in the mind.

When you assert ‘Aham Brahma Asmi’ (I am Brahman), it is Sattvic Ahankara. It is Moksha Ahankara. It will not bind you in any way. It will help you realise Brahman. The fire in a picture will not burn anything. A light in the presence of midday sun will not shine and shed its light. Even so, the Ahankara of a Sattvic person cannot do any harm to any person.

Ch. 2, v. 6
Drg-darsana-saktyor ekatmatevasmita

Egoism is the identification of the Seer with the instrument of seeing.

The instrument of seeing in this case refers not only to the eyes but also to all the senses. Egoism is manifest when the individual cannot distinguish his Self from his senses and mind. He sees himself as separate from the rest of mankind, reacting to others with a sense of competition rather than cooperation.

Food in Ayurveda is not just physical nutrition, it is the energy (prana) that fuels every thought, feeling & emotion that we experience. Ayurveda classifies food energetics according to taste, effect on body & mind, effect on dosha type & energetic quality.

• Sweet Tasting Foods (Madhura): The effect of such foods are considered to be grounding, nourishing, comforting & stabilizing in nature. While such foods help balance vata & pitta dosha, over-consumption of such foods can aggravate kapha. People with high mucus, stagnation & weight/fat related conditions must avoid too much consumption of sweet foods. Such foods include all natural & artificially sweet foods including fruits & refined products.
• Sour Tasting Foods (Amla): The effect of such foods is stimulating on digestion. They possess an awakening & energizing energy. While such foods help balance vata conditions, they can increase pitta & kapha tendencies in the body. People with conditions like ulcers, skin rashes, high mucus & other heat & stagnation related conditions must avoid too much consumption of sour foods. Such foods include ginger, garlic, mustard & fermented foods.
• Salty Tasting Foods (Lavana): The effect of such foods is hydrating, grounding & heavy for the body. While such foods help balance vata conditions, they can increase pitta & kapha tendencies in the body. People with conditions like ulcers, skin rashes, high mucus & other heat & stagnation related conditions must avoid too much consumption of salty foods. Such foods include all salty foods & foods rich in sodium content.
• Bitter Tasting Foods (Tikta): The effect of such foods is detoxifying, clarifying, purifying & cooling in nature. While such foods help balance pitta & kapha conditions, high consumption of such foods can take vata energy up. People with gastric, bloating & anxiety prone conditions must consume bitter foods in balance.

• Pungent Tasting Foods (Katu): The effect of such foods is stimulating, warming and sharp. Such foods enhance metabolism. While such foods help balance kapha conditions, high consumption of such foods can take vata & pitta energy up. People with gastric, bloating, heat related conditions & anxiety prone conditions must consume pungent foods in balance. Such foods include herbs like neem & vegetables like bitter gourd.
• Astringent Tasting Foods (Kashaya): The effect of such foods is drying, absorbing, contracting & cleaning on the body. Such foods help balance pitta & kapha tendencies, high consumption of such foods can take the vata energy up. People with gastric, bloating & anxiety prone conditions must consume pungent foods in balance. Such foods include cranberries, pomegranates & grapes.

Virya (Potency or Heating/Cooling Energy)

Every food has either a heating (ushna) or cooling (shita) effect, influencing how it affects digestion and doshic balance.

• Heating foods: ginger, garlic, mustard (stimulate digestion, increase Pitta).
• Cooling foods: cucumber, coconut, dairy (soothe inflammation, reduce Pitta).

Vipaka (Post-Digestive Effect)

After digestion, the food leaves a residual effect that can be:

• Sweet – nourishing, anabolic
• Sour – slightly stimulating
• Pungent – catabolic, drying

This reflects how food influences long-term health, tissue formation, and elimination.

Mental Energetics (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas)

Ayurveda categorizes foods by how they affect the mind and consciousness:

Seasonal, Personal & Environmental Energetics

• Ayurveda emphasizes ritucharya (seasonal eating) and personal constitution (prakriti) when choosing foods.
• What’s energizing in winter (warming soups) may be too heating in summer.
• Energetics help us stay in rhythm with nature and our own inner cycles.

Why Energetics Matter in Practice

• A cooling cucumber salad may seem healthy, but if eaten in winter by a Vata-type person, it may cause imbalance.
• A heating chili curry may invigorate a Kapha constitution but aggravate Pitta in summer.
• Conscious cooking and eating allows food to nourish body, mind, and soul holistically.

Food as Energy (Prana)

• Food is valued for its life force (prana)—fresh, seasonal, and natural foods carry more prana.
• Processed, stale, canned, microwaved, or frozen foods are considered to be devoid of prana and lead to physical and mental dullness.

As the saying goes, ‘You are not just what you eat, but what you digest, absorb, and assimilate.’