Asmita: The Ego of the Five Kesha's

In yogic philosophy (see II.6 of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali), the ego is essentially everything that blinds us from seeing our True 'Self.' This includes the false perception of seeing the mind and body as the True Self. The problem with identifying ourselves this way is that the mind and body are constantly changing, whereas the True Self (the purusha) remains constant. The labels that we create for ourselves are just a reflection of what the mind perceives.