Guru Granth Sahib on ego

Ego which in Punjabi means Ahankar represents the feeling of excessive pride. An individual may be excessively proud due to many things - one's worldly possessions, beauty or physical appearance, personal talents, material wealth, mental intelligence, superior spirituality, authoritative powers, great charity work, etc. The limit of what can give one a sense of "excessive pride" is almost limitless.

The person can come to feel that some of these quality make him or her superior to others; thus making "other" who are therefore are at a lower worldly level inferior than him or her. This will leads to elevated ego or jealousy depending on whether you are a "winner" or "loser"; a feelings of enmity and restlessness amongst people due to these perceived sense of achievement.

Sikhism requires that a person serves society and community with Nimrata or humility; and that this "Nimrata" or sense of "service to God" is obtained with Sewa and Simran. Where one accepts ones life as a gift from the Creator, Lord and continuous nourishment and survival of the body as God's blessing, the sense of 'Nimrata' takes hold. Where one thinks that he or she has "everything" in their control, that where ego begins to creep in.

Individuals who live by the Sikhi code of conduct will practise Sewa whenever possible; devotees will clean the footwear of the Sangat (congregation) or visitors to a Gurdwara;they will wash the dishes in the Langar; they will clean the floors of the Gurdwara, etc - this will result in the mind of the devout Sikh to become more humble and to accept the Hukam of the Lord.

Ego as a Cardinal Evil is often regarded by Sikhs as the worst of the five evils. Pride makes human beings believe that they are more important than others. It makes them treat others badly and unequally, leading to injustice. Pride makes human beings take personal credit for the successes, good qualities, wealth and talents they have. It makes them forget that God is responsible for many things and this ego leads them away from reunion with Waheguru. Pride leads to Haumai because it makes people believe that they are the most important thing in life and leads to self-centredness. The Guru Granth Sahib speaks against Ego and Ahankar thus:

Everyone is subject to His Command

Right at the beginning of the holy Granth, the Guru tell us in Japji sahib, the first Bani of the sacred Granth, that we are all subject to the Lord's command or Hukam; You may be sailing high, with lots of success in your life, but if your actions do not please the Lord, bang! you will fall down; all will be lost. So, when you have success, remember the blessings of the Lord; don't think it is down to you alone! Obviously, ones efforts do play a part in ones success but we always overlook the contribution of others and of fate! So always remember that the "Will of the Lord" or "Hukam of Waheguru" is the most important thing in life; follow His way of righteousness and then you will never go astray. When you accept the Hukam, you will not have any "Ahankar" or Ego.

Ego pollutes the Manmukh

The person who does not wish to rely on spiritual beings and the Guru is a Manmukh - a Self-Centred ego-centric. Because of the lack of spiritual wisdom, this self-centred ego centric is polluted with ego, wickedness and burdened with uncontrolled desires. The Guru says that without the Shabad or God-driven inspiration, this filth of egotism, wickedness and desires with not be removed from the mind, resulting in the person remaining a state of misery in this continuous cycle of births and deaths.

When there is ego, there is no God

When there is ego, there is no God, when there is God, there is no ego! So if you need to be near God, do not have ego in your mind. Remember it is only with His blessings that you achieve anything in this world!