Two Types of Ego

Traditions of yoga and meditation have long been interested in investigating the nature of the self. This is what has been labeled in traditional texts of South Asian philosophy as ahamkara or asmita. This refers to the sense of self we create and hold in the mind, or what we can think about as our "I-ness". 

​As Western psychology progressed in the twentieth century (and certainly drew some influence from South Asian philosophies) this became known more and more as the "ego". 

Presently, discussions of ego have led us to think about "two types". They are as follows:

Type 1 Ego — Thinking that the way you see the world is obviously the way that everyone sees it, and even the way that the world truly is.

Type 2 Ego — Thinking that the way you see the world is profoundly different from how everyone else sees it. 

​These are entirely different on the surface level, but have the same root problem.

​Type 1 believes that because we see the world in specific ways, it only makes sense that everyone else shares those ideas. This leaves no room for different perspectives or experiences. Instead, a Type 1 ego believes there is just simply how the world is, and that that version of reality is the one that we have created in our own mind. Reality is not how the world is, but rather, reality is how the world is in our mind. 

Type 2 believes that we are the only ones who see and understand reality. We can see the truth but no one else can. This again places us in a unique position where we hold the singular key to reality. Only this time, we believe that no one else is capable or has yet realized the truth we think we can see clearly. 

These are both born of the same problem. Of course we do have a sense of self and it is actually useful in the world. However traditions of yoga and meditation believe we must recognize that we hold a sense of self and not mistake that sense for reality. We may recognize that we think we are unique like in Type 2, but that is not the same as believing it to be true and basing our understanding of reality around it. The problem with the two types of ego is not that they exist, but that we tend to accept them for reality. 

The practice becomes recognizing the ego for what it is: the sense of self. Not for what it is not: singular reality.