Ahamkara
Encyclopedia
Ahaṃkāra a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 term that originated in Vedic philosophy over 3,000 years ago, and was later incorporated into Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...

, particularly Saṃkhyā
Samkhya
Samkhya, also Sankhya, Sāṃkhya, or Sāṅkhya is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy and classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, although no historical verification is possible...

 philosophy.

In the Uttara Mimamsa or vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

 branch of Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...

, even though it is not discussed in great detail in the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

, Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 says to Arjun that ahamkara must be removed - in other words, it should be subordinated to the lord. The reason for this is that the Self is not (cannot be) present when one is in a state of ahamkara.

Definition

Ahaṃkāra (अहंकार) is a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 term that is related to the ego and egoism
Egotism
Egotism is "characterized by an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics" – the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself....

 - that is, the identification or attachment of one's ego. The term "ahamkara" comes from an approximately 3,000 year-old Vedic philosophy, where Ahaṃ refers to the concept of the Self or "I" and kāra refers to the concept of "any created thing" or "to do".
Ahamkara is one of the four parts of the antahkarana
Antahkarana
In Hindu philosophy, the antahkarana refers to the highest, i.e. most abstract, part of the mind, and it may include the concrete part of the mind . In the consciousness level classification karanopadhi it is regarded as separate from the emotional part of the mind, which in another...

 (inner organ) described in Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...

. The other three parts are Buddhi
Buddhi
Buddhi is a feminine Sanskrit noun derived from the same root as the more familiar masculine form Buddha Buddhi is a feminine Sanskrit noun derived from the same root as the more familiar masculine form Buddha Buddhi is a feminine Sanskrit noun derived from the same root as the more familiar...

, Citta
Citta
Citta was one of the chief lay disciples of the Buddha. He was a wealthy merchant from Savatthi. His life and character were so pure that near his death, had he wished to be a chakravartin, it would've been granted. However, he turned down this wish as it was temporal...

 and Manas
Manas (early Buddhism)
Manas is one of three overlapping terms used in the nikayas to refer to the mind, the others being citta and viññāṇa. Each is sometimes used in the generic and non-technical sense of "mind" in general, and the three are sometimes used in sequence to refer to one’s mental processes as a whole...

.

Philosophical implications

To have an understanding of this term means that we have a powerful tool for understanding the nature and behaviour of ourselves and of others. The Vedic philosophy taught that when one's mind was in a state of ahamkara, one was in a state of subjective illusion, where the mind had bound up the concept of one's self with a created thing. The created thing is usually a phenomenon which can be thought of as external to the self. It could be a tangible, concrete (material) thing - e.g., a motor car - or an intangible thing - e.g., such as a concept or idea (as in, for example, the concept of the fight for peace). The ego is involved in constructing the illusion.

Examples of ahaṃkāra in action:
  • Consider how an otherwise sensible young man might feel that his new sports car was a reflection of his true self and this would encourage him to race his car recklessly against another person's car.
  • Similarly, consider how someone who believed in the fight for peace, and who ordinarily might behave in a non-violent manner, might come to blows with someone who threatened or challenged his notions of peace.

In both cases, the mind has created a state of illusion, but it seems very real to the person in that state, and objectivity and reality are obscured. This deeply illusory state is what can often cause people to do the strangest, oddest things, sometimes evil, and often quite out of character. All humans could - and usually do at some time or other in their lives - suffer from this.
  • Consider how an otherwise apparently nice, normal family man in the military - Rudolf Höss, could also happily undertake the role as the Commandant of the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi Germany. Höss' autobiography
    Autobiography
    An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

    , written whilst he was awaiting execution after the trial for war crimes, indicates that was unable to see that he had been doing anything other than just doing his job to the best of his ability.

Ahaṃkāra and spiritual development

  • Ahaṃkāra is the instrument of Ahaṃ (the Spirit), the principle of individuation, acting as an independent conscious entity within the impure reality - yet, it does not have consciousness of its own.
  • It is a receptacle of Cit śakti, its consciousness being a small spark from Cit, the universal consciousness.
  • 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 36 tattvas
    In Kaśmir Śaivism, the 36 tattvas describe the Absolute, its internal aspects and the creation including living beings, down to the physical reality. The addition of 11 supplemental tattvas compared to the allows for a richer, fuller vision of the Absolute...

     in Vedic and Hindu religious philosophy.
  • In ahaṃkāra, a state of rajas guna (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 ahaṃkāra is generally a state of illusion, once in that state, Vak tattva (one of the 36 tattvas) can appear. When it does, then, for the first time, individual will, determination, a sense of morality and ethics come into play - which is the first step on the path to spiritual development/enlightenment. Without a sufficiently harmonious and powerful ahaṃkāra (personality), it is thought to be impossible to exert the level of effort necessary to accede to a higher spiritual level.

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


Example of vak tattva in ahaṃkāra:

Following on from the Höss example above, there is evidence that Höss was able to eventually consciously shatter the illusion and begin his own path to spiritual development when, four days before he was hanged, he sent a message to the state prosecutor, including these comments:

"My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely against humanity. As Commandant of Auschwitz I was responsible for carrying out part of the cruel plans of the "Third Reich" for human destruction. In so doing I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done."

See also

  • Chöd
    Chöd
    Chöd , is a spiritual practice found primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra...

  • Cognitive dissonance
    Cognitive dissonance
    Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...

  • Anatta
    Anatta
    In Buddhism, anattā or anātman refers to the notion of "not-self." In the early texts, the Buddha commonly uses the word in the context of teaching that all things perceived by the senses are not really "I" or "mine," and for this reason one should not cling to them.In the same vein, the Pali...

  • Humility
    Humility
    Humility is the quality of being modest, and respectful. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.-Term:The term "humility"...

  • Mindstream
    Mindstream
    Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...

  • Svabhava
    Svabhava
    Svabhava Pāli: sabhāva; Chinese: 自性 zìxìng; ) is intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence.The concept and term svabhāva are frequently encountered in Dharmic traditions such as Advaita Vedānta , Mahāyāna Buddhism Svabhava (Sanskrit: स्वभाव; IAST: svabhāva) Pāli: sabhāva; Chinese: 自性 zìxìng; )...

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