The spiritual ego (or magnified ego) develops when one gets excited by powerful spiritual experiences and begins to take pride in one’s success. Here are some excerpts from Sri Aurobindo & The Mother on this matter:
The dangers of the spiritual ego:
“To get over our ego is not an easy task.
“Even after overcoming it in the material consciousness, we meet it once more – magnified – in the spiritual.”
Words of the Mother, MCW Vol. 14, p. 278
How can one meet one’s ego in the spiritual consciousness?
There is a spiritual ego even as there is a physical, vital and mental ego. There are people who have made a great effort to overcome all their egoism and all their limitations, and attained a spiritual consciousness; and there, they have all the vanity and the sense of their importance and contempt for those who are not in the same condition as they. Indeed, all that is ridiculous and bad in the ego, they find there once again. There are many, many like that. They have overcome what was there in the physical or vital consciousness but the very effort they have made to master themselves and this victory they have gained give them the sense of their extreme importance. So they become puffed up and assert their authority.
This happens so frequently that it is not even noticed.
Still, the spiritual ego is better than the ordinary ego, isn’t it?
It is much more dangerous than the ordinary one! For one is not aware that it is the ego. Outwardly, when one is egoistic, not only does one know it oneself but others make you realize it still more, and circumstances prove it to you every moment. But there, as unfortunately you meet people who respect you highly, you are not even aware that you are terribly egoistic.
Very dangerous. Spiritual vanity is much more serious than physical vanity.
Then, can one realize the Divine with the ego?
Not at the moment one unites with Him. It is evident that at that moment the ego disappears. But that state does not last. Or in any case we can put it in another way: those who have brought along their ego with them cannot keep the consciousness for long. They become aware of themselves again whilst having the experience. It is that which is most terrible. They look at themselves having the experience and admire themselves. And they feel they are exceptional beings, much higher than others, and then that becomes deplorable.
[Collected Works of the Mother, Questions and Answers, Vol 5, 9 December, 1953]
Sri Aurobindo discusses the spiritual ego in letters exchanged with various disciples
Although there is no ego in the spiritual planes, yet by the spiritual experience the ego on the lower planes may get aggrandized through the pride and wrong reception of the experience. Also one may by entering into the larger mental and vital planes aggrandize the ego. These things are always possible so long as the higher consciousness and the lower are not harmonized in the being and the lower transformed into the nature of the higher.
Ego is not so easy to get rid of. It remains not only in spite of work but in spite of knowledge or bhakti. The disappearance of ego means complete Mukti. Even the yogi who feels his separate being swallowed up in cosmic consciousness or some kind of Transcendent consciousness, yet when he comes to outward action and reaction finds the superficial ego still there. That is why the ascetic has a horror of action and says that without ego it can’t be done. It can, but it is fully done only when these outermost things are fully taken up by the higher consciousness in their entirety.
The sense of ego can disappear into that of the Self or the Purusha but that of itself does not bring about the disappearance of the old ego-reactions in the Prakriti. The Purusha has to get rid of these by a process of constant rejection and remolding. The remolding consists in throwing everything into a consecration to the Mother and doing all for her without regard to oneself, one’s desires, opinions, vital reactions as if they were the things to be fulfilled. This is most easily done if the psychic being becomes quite awake.
Without persistent rejection it [liberation from the ego] cannot be done. Going up into the Self liberates the higher parts, but the ego remains in the lower parts. The most effective force for this liberation is the psychic control along with steady rejection.
A true spiritual experience must be free from the claim of the ego. What the ego can do, however, is to get proud of having the experience and think: “What a great one am I?” Or it may think, “I am the Self, the Divine. So let me go and do what I will, for it is the Divine who wills in me.” It is only if the experience of Self imposes silence on the other parts and frees the psychic that the ego disappears. Even if not ego itself, numerous fragments and survivals of ego-habit can remain and have to be eliminated.
The egoism of the instrument can be as dangerous or more dangerous to spiritual progress than the egoism of the doer. The ego-sense is contrary to spiritual realization, so how can any kind of ego be a thing to be encouraged? As for the magnified ego, it is one of the most perilous obstacles to release and perfection. There should be no big "I", not even a small one.
What is meant by the magnified ego is that when the limits of the ordinary mind and vital are broken, one feels a far vaster and more powerful consciousness and unlimited possibilities, but if one ties all that to the tail of one’s own ego, then one becomes a thousand times more egoistic than the ordinary man. The greatness of the Divine becomes an excuse and a support for one’s own greatness and the big “I” swells itself to fill not only the earth but the heavens. That magnification of the ego is a thing to be guarded against with a watchful care.
[Sri Aurobindo. Letters on Yoga, Transformation of the Vital]
Replies
ApotheosisRising555
Hi Hellen,
i am constantly telling myself to remember the beginning to 'ground myself' ... meaning don't want to clip my wings, but at the same time don't want to be like the Icarus who "soared too high" and the sun melted his wings. Everything in moderation is good for you ... ;))
Love, Light & Respect to ALL Ashtar Massive!...
Stand Strong in the 'Knowing' that you are ALL 'Emissaries of the Most High'...
Regardless of the 'roles' you agreed to 'play' before descending through the veils of duality.
Always an Honor to 'Be Here Now' with You... again ;-)
~In Lak'ech Ala K'in
“Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.”... “Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering its a feather bed.” ~Terence McKenna
( ( ( ApotheisisCalling247 ) ) )
... ;) you can also have clarity after a good sleep ... that why the revelations comes when we relaxed ;)
Ego:
1. The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.
2. A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
3. In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is most in touch with external reality.
Great discussion Ara. 'Spiritual Ego' is a profound & complex topic when it comes to examining some of the 'perceived' shadows that often enter New-Agey circles. The simple fact remains that Spiritual-'one'-upmanship is as common in 'New Age' communities & forums as the words 'Love & Light'. Oftentimes, the word 'ego' is used as a kind of Spiritual counter punch to put our fellows in their proper place... which of course is merely a projected illusion. The profound power of 'The Art of Navigation' requires that each of us has to have our own experience. From a Toltec perspective, it ties in with the notion of 'reality' as a collective Illusion/Dream... & the discipline of Honoring our fellows birthrights to effectively 'dream the dream' as they see fit. It goes without saying that this can be beyond challenging at times. Nonetheless, that's the nature of the Earth-School... of duality. Hence terms like STS are commonly used to diminish what can actually be meaningful information for the 'individual'. We don't stumble into actions in cyberspace or in our daily affairs that aren't loaded with lessons to bring us closer to Self-Real'eyes'ation. There are no coincidences. We are ALL in the throes of a Multidimensional Game... with very 'serious' stakes when it comes to Humanities current state of Consciousness... or Un-Consciousness, depending on 'one's perspective. So when we get our 'feelings' hurt (which comes with the territory of trying synthesize the massive amounts of 'Spiritual' data) it's best to remember not to take anything personally. This doesn't mean don't react or engage. Far from it! For me it means to temper my reactions to whatever the situation is through the lens of Co-Creation. 'Ego' is a tool... not something to be demonized. ~Jesus was one of many 'Christed' Yogis to have Graced the Gaian Matrix... & while there has been far too much of a hyper focus on just Him... it's interesting to contemplate how Jeshua navigated through some of the Spiritual discord in his inner circle. Do Christed Beings also struggle with 'identity'?... with 'ego'?... with 'fear & doubt'? You know the answer... & it's what inspires us to move through some of our greatest challenges... & again... 'perceived' differences. Faith Without Works Is Dead! ~InLight555
Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?
Morpheus: You've never used them before.
( ( ( Temet Nosce Ashtar Massive ) ) )
I'm thoroughly impressed Stick! And not just with you brother.. All of you are truly getting it!
Seeing that you are all truly speaking from each your own hearts, questioning all things and then trusting in the discernment of each your own intuition is all inspiring!
Sitting here in discussion with Sananda, he is adding that... "While the Ego is simply the personality, it is the difference between a self-serving ego/personality and a selfless ego/personality that sets us apart as spiritual beings."
In all humility my lovely brothers and sisters, I am honored to share this discussion with all of you all. <3 Jacob
n i c e .... Stick ... thanks ... as you have said we have tool in our possession ... half of them we don't even fully know ... like our mind (as there is two hemispheres) to let go of the mind i think we should learn the full capacity of 'goods and bads' ... like our 'ego', like our emotions ... (negative and positive) - it's like having a power within and be afraid of it because of ignorance to what 'IF' ... hope i am making some sense.
Thanks again ;)
Good post. Spiritual vanity can also be defined by publicly exerting one's denial of their ego at the worst times possible.
... ;) Malcolm ... it seems that we find ourselves at the worst times possible all the time ... ;)
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