Why is not the word "ego" used instead of "spirit"? Man's glance, expression, posture, etc., all speak of his ego, and tell to what extent it is hard and to what extent soft. People seek to disguise the true nature of the ego by diplomatic language and by good manners, but this does not really hide the ego, which is expressing itself in everything they say and do. Every particle of man's body and every atom of man's mind is controlled by this ego. If there is anything that is meant by the word "spirit," as used above, it is this. The least word spoken against it rouses man's anger; praise tickles his vanity and goes to the heart of the ego.

And now the question arises: "If this ego is the chief thing in man's development why should we fight against it?" Is it not the essence of man?" The answer is that there is the spirit of man and the spirit of God. These two are different and yet the same. Think of the sea and of the bubble, how vast the one, how small the other! How dare man claim that he is God! Only the emptiness in which the echo is noise, is found in a heart that can claim such greatness as that. The true emptiness is filled by the divine light, and such a heart it is which in humility is turned to nothingness, so that that light shines out.

Man's ego is a globe, and the spirit of God is the light. "Poor" is said in the sense of thin; and when the ego is poor, or thin, the spirit of God shines out. "Rich in spirit" would mean thick, or dense, in the ego-nature, which would stand as a wall against the divine light hidden in the heart.