The author of this best-seller who brutally condemns ‘ego’ tells me, “I minted money by saying that it’s your enemy but I need ego to define myself, otherwise who will care for my identity?”
His statement, which I believe, is certainly polemic by nature but it’s true that mankind cannot survive without ego or immediate gratification. Ego; the conscious power over self, consciously or unconsciously, differentiates between your existence and a dead body. Only a dead body does not think and we can do anything to it.
If you do not have the ‘ego’, irrespective of its size, you will be unable to define your rational boundaries or self-respect. The ego is also a reaction to balance between your impulses and social conventions. It’s the ego that helps you justify the act of self-expression, otherwise, you would experience suppression from others.
“The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone.” ― Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism
Even the spiritual gurus scorn ego, which is occasionally sensible since it acts as a psychological barrier towards emancipation, but they hardly live in the caves. On the contrary, their spiritual ego (the feeling that they’re the best than the rest) offers them VIP+ treatment and other privileges while the Average Joe is gaslighted to give up their ego to attain salvation.
In the path towards self-actualization, when needs or desires are not fulfilled, it’s the ego that boosts your eustress. The ego may be the real eye that helps you realize the real lies. It’s also the art to appreciate yourself, against what others cannot see.
King Ravana defends his egoistical case, coherently:
Yes, it can be stressful when ego is not checked but the price of selflessness is high, when the takers around you do not have the limit over expropriating you. Yes, unbalanced ego is the cause of conflicts and wars, but nevertheless, without ego, the value of peace is unattainable.
“Freedom” awakens your rage against everything that is not you; “egoism” calls you to joy over yourselves, to self-enjoyment. — Max Stirner
