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Material ego

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 2

SB 2.5.24, Translation:

The self-centered materialistic ego, thus being transformed into three features, becomes known as the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance in three divisions, namely the powers that evolve matter, knowledge of material creations, and the intelligence that guides such materialistic activities. Nārada, you are quite competent to understand this.

SB 2.5.24, Purport:

Materialistic ego, or the sense of identification with matter, is grossly self-centered, devoid of clear knowledge of the existence of God. And this self-centered egoism of the materialistic living entities is the cause of their being conditioned by the other paraphernalia and continuing their bondage of material existence. In the Bhagavad-gītā this self-centered egoism is very nicely explained in the Seventh Chapter (verses 24 through 27). The self-centered impersonalist, without a clear conception of the Personality of Godhead, concludes in his own way that the Personality of Godhead takes a material shape from His original impersonal spiritual existence for a particular mission. And this misleading conception of the Supreme Lord by the self-centered impersonalist continues, even though he is seen to be very interested in the Vedic literatures such as the Brahma-sūtras and other highly intellectual sources of knowledge.

SB 2.6.42, Translation:

Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.

SB 2.10.3, Purport:

In order to explain the ten divisional symptoms of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are seven continuous verses. The first of these under reference pertains to the sixteen elementary manifestations of earth, water, etc., with material ego composed of material intelligence and mind. The subsequent creation is a result of the reactions of the above-mentioned sixteen energies of the first puruṣa, the Mahā-Viṣṇu incarnation of Govinda, as later explained by Brahmā in his treatise Brahma-saṁhitā (5.47) as follows:

yaḥ kāraṇārṇava-jale bhajati sma yoga-
nidrām ananta-jagad-aṇḍa-sa-roma-kūpaḥ
ādhāra-śaktim avalambya parāṁ sva-mūrtiṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The first puruṣa incarnation of Govinda, Lord Kṛṣṇa, known as the Mahā-Viṣṇu, goes into a yoga-nidrā mystic sleep, and the innumerable universes are situated in potency in each and every hair hole of His transcendental body.

SB 2.10.46, Purport:

There are three different types of creation, called mahā-kalpa, vikalpa and kalpa. In the mahā-kalpa the Lord assumes the first puruṣa incarnation as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu with all the potencies of the mahat-tattva and the sixteen principles of creative matter and instruments. The creative instruments are eleven, the ingredients are five, and all of them are products of mahat, or materialistic ego. These creations by the Lord in His feature of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are called mahā-kalpa. The creation of Brahmā and dispersion of the material ingredients are called vikalpa, and the creation by Brahmā in each day of his life is called kalpa. Therefore each day of Brahmā is called a kalpa, and there are thirty kalpas in terms of Brahmā's days.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.6.25, Translation:

Thereafter the materialistic ego of the gigantic form separately manifested itself, and into it entered Rudra, the controller of false ego, with his own partial activities, by which the living entity transacts his objective actions.

SB 3.26.20, Purport:

Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is ever existing, all-blissful and full of knowledge, His different energies are also ever existing in the dormant stage. Thus when the mahat-tattva was created, it manifested the material ego and swallowed up the darkness which covered the cosmic manifestation at the time of dissolution. This idea can be further explained. A person at night remains inactive, covered by the darkness of night, but when he is awakened in the morning, the covering of night, or the forgetfulness of the sleeping state, disappears. Similarly, when the mahat-tattva appears after the night of dissolution, the effulgence is manifested to exhibit the variegatedness of this material world.

SB 3.26.21, Purport:

In order to get release from the false ego, one has to worship Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa is also worshiped through Lord Śiva; the snakes which cover the body of Lord Śiva are representations of Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Lord Śiva is always absorbed in meditation upon Saṅkarṣaṇa. One who is actually a worshiper of Lord Śiva as a devotee of Saṅkarṣaṇa can be released from false, material ego.

SB 3.26.23-24, Translation:

The material ego springs up from the mahat-tattva, which evolved from the Lord's own energy. The material ego is endowed predominantly with active power of three kinds—good, passionate and ignorant. It is from these three types of material ego that the mind, the senses of perception, the organs of action, and the gross elements evolve.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.23.17, Translation:

He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.88.3, Translation:

Śrī Śukadeva said: Lord Śiva is always united with his personal energy, the material nature. Manifesting himself in three features in response to the entreaties of nature's three modes, he thus embodies the threefold principle of material ego in goodness, passion and ignorance.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 20.267, Translation:

"'Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu (Mahā-Viṣṇu) is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, the mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.'"

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 36, Purport:

Progress in cultivating the human spirit entails the gradual disappearance of the materialistic ego. Covered by ignorance, passion, and so-called goodness, the spirit soul thinks himself all in all and is covered by a false sense of ego. Thus he falsely identifies the soul with the body, and his bodily relations with material things become the objects of his attraction. This false identification and attraction for matter gradually dry up and fade away by success in the cultivation of the human spirit. That is the effect of such higher cultivation. Progress in spiritual culture brings about the disintegration of false ego and material attraction.

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.9.11 -- Montreal, August 17, 1968:

Mālatī: When they go back to Godhead, some people can remember their past lives.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mālatī: In the mind.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mālatī: I thought the mind was left behind.

Prabhupāda: No. Actually mind carries you to the next body. So mind goes with you. The material mind, material ego, material intelligence become nil when you are completely liberated. But at that time your spiritual mind acts. It is not very difficult to understand. Somebody is acting under the impression... Just like one of our students, he was acting under the impression that he is Frenchman and doing something subversive, and now he is thinking that "I am Kṛṣṇa's." (chuckles) He has stopped all those nonsense. (break) When he was thinking that he's a Frenchman, that mind was there. And now he's thinking that "I am Kṛṣṇa's," the mind is there. So where is the chance of losing the mind?

Conversations and Morning Walks

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Karandhara: Their point is they come... Zen Buddhism or Buddhism goes as far as trying to obliterate the material ego.

Prabhupāda: No, it is clear as you said, as you said that unless he becomes desireless. That desire means material desire.

Karandhara: Yes. That's actually what they're speaking about when they say desire.

Prabhupāda: So they are not so advanced that there is spiritual desire. That they do not understand. But so far the material desirelessness, that is accepted by us also.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This is not the completely manifested yet, but then it says by the contamination of pure goodness by ahaṅkāra, then starts material ego. From there, everything is going to manifest. So once we come to material ego then it seems clear.

Prabhupāda: That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Find out, puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi...

Page Title:Material ego
Compiler:Labangalatika
Created:19 of Jun, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=11, CC=1, OB=1, Lec=1, Con=2, Let=0
No. of Quotes:16