Questioner (Q): How is personality related to ego and how does individuality relate with both personality and ego?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Personality is what is visible to others. Personality is your behaviour. Personality is your way you look, walk, talk. Personality is the attitude that you display. Are you getting it? Personality is what is visible to others. Personality is that which can be easily seen.
If I am silent, then it is easily visible. If I talk too much that too is easily visible. Getting it? I am, what you call as an extrovert, that too is easily visible. My voice quality, the way I look at somebody, the opinions, and attitudes that I carry. All these are easily visible. Getting it? They form a part of the personality. They form what is called our personality.
Ego is something more subtle. What is the ego—understand this—ego is your sense of who you are. When you say, “I am something.” This is ego. Ego means ‘I’. Ego is your sense of who you are. Are you getting it?
Depending on what you think of yourself you display a particular kind of behaviour. If you start thinking that you are very very brave, then you will display one kind of behaviour. Just because of the thought that you are brave. Right? If I continuously start thinking that I am very brave, then my behaviour will take one particular form. So out of the ego statement—what is the ego statement? — “I am brave.” A particular personality trait will be displayed. The ego statement is, “I am brave.” So, what will be the behaviour? I will become daring, I will take a few risks, I will shy away from adventures. Getting it? And why will that behaviour be displayed? Because I would be thinking of myself in a particular way. What am I thinking about myself? That I am brave, and because I think that I am brave. What behaviour do I display? “I love thrills, can we go on an adventure trip?” I will not shy away from a fight. Are you getting it?
