Ahamkara

Ahamkara

अहंकार, ahaṃkāra

Ahamkara or ahankara – self, ego, the idea of ​​separateness of being, the feeling of "I" as a separate personality. Ahamkara is an integral part of antahkaran, the inner psychic instrument of man. Ahamkara is what a person self-identifies with in the reality. It carries the ability of self-identification, telling the individual: “I do this and that, I act this way,” “I am this,” etc. This ability of ahamkara lies at the root of the law of karma. It also has three gunas (qualities, attributes) – these are sattva, rajas and tamas.

"Siddha-siddhanta paddhati" (I.47) gives the following qualities of ahamkara:

"Pride, possessiveness, the feeling that happiness belongs to "me", the feeling that suffering belongs to 'me', the feeling that it is 'mine' – this is the five-quality ego."

The properties of the ego, according to Gorakshanath, are:

• Abhimana (pride) – a sense of self-importance or arrogance
• Madiya (possessiveness) – feeling of "mine", or awareness of the body, feelings, mental or intellectual functions, etc. as their own
• Mama-sukha – the feeling that happiness belongs to “me”
• Mama-dukha – the feeling that the grief is mine
• Mama-idam – the feeling "this is mine", in the sense of possession and monopoly

According to Nath teaching, yogi must take control of ahamkara, which implies the control of his image in the world. It means that ahamkara should be an instrument of yogi, and not vice versa.