Creating a spiritual EGO 

Spirituality does not mean becoming someone special; it means being one with everything. Anyone who adopts a "spiritual ego" makes a fundamental error in thinking and uses the spiritual process merely as a tool for self-deception.

When people try to deliberately shed their ego or elevate themselves above others through spiritual knowledge, they often simply create a new, more subtle form of ego. This is the ultimate ego trip; taking pride in one’s humility or spiritual knowledge merely shifts one’s identity rather than dissolving it. The ego clings to spiritual concepts to regain a sense of being special or superior to others.

A person with a spiritual ego remains sensitive to the ego rather than sensitive to life itself.

Ego-sensitive: One reacts sensitively to criticism, is easily hurt, and remains self-absorbed. People who develop spiritual pride often use spiritual concepts as a shield (e.g., "What is ugly about me is my ego, and what is beautiful is my Atman/soul"). This is a convenient way to shift the blame instead of taking full responsibility for one’s own behavior.

Sensitive to life: True spirituality makes one sensitive to the life around them. One views all life as equal and acts with sensitivity, rather than trampling over others.

Accumulating spiritual knowledge creates only barriers; I warn against using *sadhana* (spiritual practice) or sacred scriptures to build a mental structure within the mind. If you try to construct divinity or spirituality within yourself, you end up constructing nothing but an inflated ego. True spirituality is a process of letting go and dissolving, not of accumulating titles or identities.

There is no such thing as a "spiritual ego", there is only you. The ego, as an independent entity, does not exist at all; it is merely a false identification with the body and the mind. When you behave in a wonderful way, it is you. And when you behave in an ugly or arrogant way, that, too, is you. Attributing your behavior to an "ego" or a "spiritual ego" prevents genuine transformation. Only when you realize that everything within you, whether beautiful or ugly, is, in fact, you, can real change take place.