Bhubaneswar, Jan. 16: Eminent philosopher and national bestselling author Acharya Prashant has said that the human ego, commonly mistaken as the core of one’s identity, is merely a psychological feeling and not a reality.
Addressing students and faculty members at a special session held at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, the faculty of medicine of SOA Deemed to be University here on Wednesday, Acharya Prashant challenged the widespread assumption that ego was necessary for success or achievement.
The event was jointly organised by the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bhubaneswar. The session marked the culmination of Acharya Prashant’s Bhubaneswar tour, which witnessed large and attentive audiences across academic and public platforms in the city.
“What exactly is this ego? It is a fraudster. It is not needed. Everything can happen very nicely without the ego,” he said.
He explained that modern life was largely structured around goals, success and consumption. “Everyone wants to be successful. Success leads to attainment, attainment leads to consumption, and consumption is supposed to bring happiness. This is what most people spend their entire lives chasing,” he said.
Describing such a pursuit as deeply misleading, he said the real objective of life was to understand the restless sense of ‘I am’ within every soul. This ‘I am’ is another name for inner loneliness and hollowness. It is always incomplete and dissatisfied. No amount of achievement truly fulfils it, he said.
He observed that despite unprecedented material progress, people increasingly live in frustration and dissatisfaction, and noted that most institutions of higher education rarely address fundamental questions of life, purpose, and inner clarity.
Acharya Prashant, author of the national bestseller ‘Truth Without Apology’ and founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation, said that living merely for sensory indulgence defeated the very purpose of human life. “The ego does not actually exist, yet it runs the entire show,” he remarked.
Linking inner psychology with global challenges, he said the ego’s endless hunger for consumption lay at the root of today’s ecological crisis. “There is a limit to what this planet can provide. Our needs, driven by ego, are insatiable.”
This is why the ecological crisis has emerged, he said, adding that the problem could not be solved by technology or policy alone. It is a spiritual problem and it needs a spiritual solution, he said.
“We need to understand that the universe runs on its own. The ego has no role in it,” Acharya Prashant said.
Describing ego as a psychological error, he warned that it condemns individuals to a lifetime of chasing happiness without ever finding it.
“By clinging to the ego, we are holding burning coals in our own hands. They wound us, yet we refuse to let go,” he said.
Acharya Prashant’s visit to Bhubaneswar followed recent addresses at six different IITs, IIM Bangalore, and IISc Bangalore.
He was felicitated on the occasion by Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of IMS and SUM Hospital, along with Prof. Goutam Saha from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bhubaneswar.
