The other day, someone asked me, ‘What is the purpose of the ego?’ At the time, I gave my standard explanation, about how the ego is the center of our attachments, the home of resistance and identity. I explained that duality resides in the ego, and that all emotions rise from challenging the ego and its power. To read the full explanation, check out this post.

But after the conversation ended, I felt frustrated.

The explanation I gave didn’t satisfy me, or even the person I was talking to. As I cleaned up the kitchen, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the ego than I originally defined, and if there was a greater purpose than what I could see.

Cut to me scavenging the internet, looking at various descriptions of what the ego is and why it exists.

This quote from Deepak Chopra really got me thinking:

The Indian term for ego in Sanskrit is ahamkara and its function is to give a sense of unity or singularity to human experience—the feeling that experience is happening to some person, not just abstractly in the cosmic mind. It’s like the focal point of a lens that gathers all light and converges it into one point.  Ahamkara is what allows us to say, “I am eating an apple” rather than “an apple is being eaten.”

So the ego performs an essential function.

The problem arises when the inner self, or Atman, is not fully awake. In this weakened state, instead of knowing our true status as unlimited, non-local pure consciousness, our sense of identity becomes overshadowed by our external experience. This is object referral instead of self-referral. Our sense of “I” is then defined by our body, our relationships, our possessions, our fears and desires. This unawakened version of the ego does generate distractions and obstacles to spiritual growth just by virtue of this self-perpetuating object referral pattern. The ego in itself is not the villain. Once self-realization occurs, the ego’s misappropriation of identity dissolves and its simple function of providing individuality to experience will remain even after enlightenment.

-Deepak Chopra

As I read this quote, I remembered a conversation I had with my mom about a year ago. I was raised in a Christian household, and my mom and I have had some fascinating conversations about the Eastern teachings of the Orthodox church and their implications for Christianity as a religion.

We started talking about the purpose of life, and I explained that I think there are two overarching reasons for life on earth. The first is your soul purpose, the evolution of the Divine in you. The second is your life purpose. I suggested that Earth itself has a plan, a path through time for its own development, a purpose in the Universe that it stands to fulfill. As humans, we walk the earth to help fulfill this plan.

Because of this, perhaps there are humans, and then there are souls, existing as separate entities.

For this to make sense, you have to understand the idea that time exists, ‘on the head of a pin’, meaning that time itself is an illusion. Because of this, all the humans that will walk the earth, and all the souls that will ever be, already exist. I think that humans and souls are mis-matched, if you will, at the time of incarnation.

Souls ‘choose’ the human that will experience the things that soul needs to evolve.

These experiences can serve to balance karmic load, teach you lessons, or ‘wake up’ your human. At the same time, souls connect with humans so that their purpose on Earth may be fulfilled and imbibed with meaningful, Divine energy. Although this theory perhaps deserves an entire book to clearly explain, I hope you get the point.

I promise we are getting to the purpose of the Ego.

In this theory, the souls serve to fulfill the Divine purpose, and the humans function to fulfill the Earth’s purpose. The uniting of these two parts is what creates you, the spark of awareness. Read more about that here.

So, if the soul powers Divine connection and the overall ‘consciousness’ that fills a human, what powers the human itself?

I believe that this is the purpose of the ego. As stated by Deepak Chopra, the ego serves to provide singularity to the experiences on Earth. Without the ego, our souls would all experience the same Earth, the same life. The ego is what fuels the human, what gives them identity and attachments and singularity.

It is the ego that allows for human evolution.

The ego creates problems that need to be solved and furthers the plan of Earth by remaining connected to its energies in an inconceivable way.

If you are thinking of this in terms of energy, consider this: Souls resonate at the vibration of the Divine, of God, of Source, of whatever Deity you choose to believe in. Because it resonates at such a pure and loving energy, the soul cannot operate on the level of Earth. Earth’s energy is more, shockingly, earthy, full, and dense. The Earth requires its own energy to fulfill its purpose, and this is where the ego comes in.

Thus, the true purpose of the ego is not do drive us crazy, as many people think, but to fulfill our ‘life’ purpose on earth in synchrony with our Divine soul purpose. The soul is the master of our higher selves, the part of us that is part of God, Source, the Divine. The ego is the master of our human selves, the beings who are here to live a life that furthers the purpose of the earth.

The ego must exist in order for us to fulfill our soul purpose, and the soul must exist for us to fulfill our life purpose. They have separate goals and separate realms of operation, but both work together to achieve these goals.

While this is, of course, just a theory, and can be developed more, it rings true for me right now.

I would love to know, what do you think? What is the purpose of the ego? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below!

Lots of love,

Izzy