The next thing that evolves out of buddhi is called ahamkara—the
I-maker or the ego function. Though essential to establishing form andorganisms in this world, it can become the stem of endless suffering and
loneliness. Within the Samkhya system ahamkara is considered to be a
sacred process that occurs within prakrti. It has been called the cit-acit
granthi, the knot that ties together that which is cit or pure conscious-
ness (purusa) with that which is acit or unconsciousness (prakrti). The
knot forms as a mysterious sense of a subjective “If which continuously
collects images, theories, and beliefs about itself as separate from others
and from its environment. It arises from basic ignorance, the confu-
sion of purusa with prakrti. It causes us to quickly create subject-object
relationships in the sense fields by endowing countless small sections of
prakrti with self, thereby pulling objects out of their backgrounds. The
ahamkara, the ego, then accepts or rejects the objects according to its
perceived need to protect and maintain itself as a separate organism,
blocking the inherent flow of information within the buddhi that
would lead to truer perception and insight. This confusion of ego, this
blocking of the intelligence of interdependence, is still ultimately the
gunas acting on the gunas and is every bit as sacred as any of the other
manifestations of prakrti, any other perception or insight, and any of
the other processes of the buddhi. In fact the ego is essential to life
because it allows us to at least temporarily draw boundaries and iden-
tify particular things—this body, this thought, this object— as separate
from everything else.
To understand the importance of ahamkara, imagine it as a seed.
Generally a seed has a hard outer surface, which keeps it separated from
what is outside of its exterior shell. At a certain point, if it is a lucky
seed, it falls into the ground, and with the presence of moisture, the
outer casing begins to soften until it is suficiently supple and becomes porous. At this point there is communication between the inside of the
seed—which has information—and the external environment. It is that
exchange of information that stimulates the growth of the seed so that
transformation, life itself, can begin to occur. Likewise, we have an ego
that is like a shell that allows our potential, the manifestation of our
with the environment— which are usually points of illumination, trans-
formation, or insight—our ego becomes porous. If we stay present with
the process of change that we are encountering, and if we stay tuned
into the process of the gunas acting on the gunas, then we are carefully
able to let go of those things we identify as ourselves and release the
perceptions that falsely or partially identify others and other things as
separate For us and From each other. In this way we are able to assimi-
late things that lie beyond our immediate system, whether they are out-
side our philosophical system or the physical system of our body. This
assimilation process allows us to experience transformation or growth,
and in witnessing our own process of change there is the possibility of
discovering what we really are deep at the core. Yoga actually makes the
ego Function porous. Periodic letting go of ego positions and images
keeps the Function useful and healthy, allowing insights to occur. Hav-
ing no ego function would mean the death of our physical organism,
but learning to become fluid within our ego system leads to insight. The
ego, the ahamkara, is useful in that it always gives us stuff to let go of. It
is sacred in that when its contracting Function arises in us or in others,
it should be observed as it is.
Another function of the ahamkara is to facilitate a shift offocus away
from pure consciousness by turning the activity of the buddhi outward
in a relentless attempt to create a false self, or a false purusa. This process
is represented in the myth of Rama, in which Rama’s beloved consort
Sita was captured by the demon Ravana, who carried her away to Sri
Lanka. This event set off the yogic cycle of activity that is part of the
ancient epic tale the Ramayana. In the story the demon Ravana is the
ego, the false purusa, who steals the buddhi, or Sita, away from pure
consciousness, Rama, the true purusa. Rama then enlists the son of
the wind god, Hanuman who represents prana, and which cleans and
integrates the buddhi. Hanuman steals Sita back and burns down the
city, which represents the structures around the inflated ego, Ravana.
Ultimately Rama defeats Ravana in an incredible battle, and this defeat
necessitates all of the other events that happen within the story and
which are symbolic of the yoga process. The story should be read by all
students of yoga.
