Egoism is the apparent identification of the power of seeing with the power of what is seen.

Asmitā arises when we confuse dṛk (the seer, puruṣa, pure consciousness) with darśana (the instrument of seeing, the mind and senses).

It is like confusing the spectator with the spectacle, the witness with what is witnessed.

Pure consciousness has no qualities; it simply observes. But when it identifies with the mind, it inherits its fluctuations, limitations, and sufferings.

Ekātmatā-iva means “as if they were one.” They are not really one, but the confusion is so deep that they appear to be.

Dissolving this erroneous identification is one of the central goals of yoga.