# False Ego and Real Ego *On the difference between false identification and real spiritual identity* --- ### Real Ego Is Servant of Kṛṣṇa > So from this false ego, when we come to real ego. What is that real ego? That "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." *Gopī-bhartur pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ*. That is real ego. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to come to the real ego, real constitutional position. The Māyāvādī philosophy, they are also trying to do that, but they're another false ego: *ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi*—"I am Brahman"—that is a fact, but I am not Supreme Brahman, Para-brahman. The Māyāvādī, they take it: "Because I am Brahman, I am Supreme Brahman." No. Suppose you are all coming from America. You can claim that you are American, but that does not mean you are Mr. Ford, the President. — [[spoken/1976/760311sb.may|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.33, Māyāpur, March 11, 1976]] --- ### Crazy Fellows Thinking "I Am God" > So similarly, this is false ego. If somebody thinks, "Because I am American, therefore I am equal to Mr. Ford," that is false. That is not. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to bring back these, I mean to say, insane, crazy fellows to their real consciousness. These crazy fellows, they are thinking, "I am God," "I am master," "I am this," "I am that," "I am prime minister," "I am president." This is false ego. The real ego is, "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." That is the beginning of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. — [[spoken/1976/760311sb.may|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.33, Māyāpur, March 11, 1976]] --- ### Falsely Thinking I Am the Enjoyer > We are *prakṛti. Prakṛti* means under the control of the *puruṣa.* That is natural. We cannot conceive equal rights of *puruṣa* and *prakṛti.* That is not Vedic conception. Vedic conception is *puruṣa,* the superior, Supreme; and *prakṛti* means subordinate. *Puruṣa* is predominator, and *prakṛti* is predominated. So we living entities, we are *prakṛti.* Falsely if we try to become *puruṣa,* that is *māyā.* We should remain *prakṛti,* subservient, predominated. That is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Because generally the people are misled, thinking himself as *puruṣa:* "I am the enjoyer." But that is not the fact. That false ego, that "I am enjoyer," that is false ego. And real ego is "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." So there is no necessity of giving up egotism or egoism, but it must be real. — [[spoken/1976/760311sb.may|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.33, Māyāpur, March 11, 1976]] --- ### This Is the Whole Material World > At the present moment we are falsely thinking, "I am this body," every one of us. There is no argument. The whole material world is going on on the basis of this false conception that "I am this body." And because I am this body, therefore "I am American," "I am Indian." So this is false ego. — [[spoken/1976/760311sb.may|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.33, Māyāpur, March 11, 1976]] --- ### Do Not Know What Is Their Future > But there is next life. This body is now old enough. It will be finished, everyone knows. "As sure as death." Then after finishing the body, what will be your next body? Who will answer this? Where is the scientist? Where is the philosopher? Where is the learned man? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Therefore he is blind. He does not know what is his future. But there is future. You cannot say no. The example is here. And besides that, Kṛṣṇa says, *tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ.*. Kṛṣṇa, the most superior authority, He says, and it is accepted by all the *ācāryas* and all persons who have attained perfection. So we should learn it, that "What is my next life?" And if I prepare for the next life, that is called *siddhi.* That is called *siddhi.* If we don't prepare for the next life, if we remain just like cats and dogs. — [[spoken/1975/750311bg.lon|Bhagavad-gītā 7.3, London, March 11, 1975]] --- *5 verified verbatim quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on false ego and real ego*