What is the false ego?
What is the false ego? Is there also a true ego?
Srila Prabhupada frequently explains in his teachings that life in this material world is in a sense similar to a dream. We spend time in this dream thinking that we are a man or a woman, that we have this or that position and do on, but because none of it is true in the ultimate sense we need to leave these positions in due time, just like someone awakening from a dream. A dream is illusory, but it is not false. It is real in the sense that someone is experiencing it, but at the same time, it is illusory in nature, since in the dream, we forget our real identity and become absorbed in imaginary situations.
Similarly, this whole material manifestation is not false. We are here experiencing it, as are all the people around us. Things are happening. It is compared to a dream because we become forgetful of our real nature and become absorbed in the different temporary roles we play here. Because they are not connected with our eternal nature, all the roles we play in this material world are temporary. We play for some time, but eventually, we are forced to leave, and this is called death. After that, if one is still not ready to accept one's real nature, a new temporary role is accepted, which we call birth.
We come to this material world to enjoy ourselves. Although this material enjoyment is illusory, we desire it, and the first layer necessary to allow us to enjoy the material experience is the false ego, which leads us to accept false identities in this material world. Although I'm a human being, I may become an Elf or an Orc inside the game. Similarly, although we are all souls, we can become men, women, demigods, or animals inside this material world due to the influence of the false ego.
The false ego connects then with the material intelligence and the mind, and the mind connects with the subtle senses, which in turn connect with the gross senses that are part of the body, in the forms of nerves, limbs, and so on. The combination of the consciousness of the soul with the false ego, intelligence, mind, and the subtle senses forms what we call the subtle body, which is transported from one body to another by the vital air, according to the guidance of the Supersoul.
As explained by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, "unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body." The soul is of a completely different nature and has nothing to do with a material body, either gross or subtle. However, under the influence of the illusory potency, we fall under the spell of the false ego and accept all these coverings. Although I, the soul, have no material body, I accept a certain body as "me" and thus enjoy or suffer in this world.
As explained by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, "That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working." In a dream I can see my head being cut from my body, although this is an impossible situation. This body is the dream is not my real form, and it disappears when the dream is over, but for the time being I despair seeing my had being cut out.
In this way, the false ego is the force that binds the soul to this material world. As long as we are under the false impressions created by the false ego, we have to continue accepting a material body after the other.
Just like there is a "false ego", there is also a "true ego", which is my true identity as a soul. All the souls inside of the material world are in a more or less insane state under the influence of the false ego, believing they are something they are not, while the pure souls residing in the spiritual world live under the influence of the true ego, understanding their eternal identity as eternal servants of the Lord. The main purpose of human life is exactly to gradually progress from the false ego to the true ego.
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Hare Krishna Prabhu ji 🙏 thank you so much for reminding our true ego because how many times we read but after sometime we forget this thing .