<BI> - One can only truly grow, when Ego has been acknowledged.

My apologies - I had organised a response, and had planned to reply on Saturday, however unexpected responsibilities appeared that had to be dealt with first - Again apologies for the inconvenience, though I had little choice in the matter. Okay, I will back-track to where we left off, as that is a good place to start off again as any. I absolutely agree that each of those vices would hamper a person's personal growth - however you appear to be missing the point - This is not blocking people from developing. Someone may be gluttonous, however if you discuss this with them correctly, they can be made to see a better way, and change their life habits to improve. Wrath - Teach the person to calm themselves, and apart from the worst of cases, that will be the end of that wrathful person. Greed, Envy, Pride, lust, Sloth - Each of these problems can be discussed openly and can be resolved with words and little else, barring difficult subjects (Which to be honest, is most of them) - however once the issue is discussed and confronted by the offending party - the issue is usually resolved. Ego on the other hand, is much harder to keep 'under-wraps' - Tell a man he is simply being egotistic, and his predictable response is negative (either he will defend himself, or will start getting agitated). Tell a man he is being egotistic, he MAY accede that he is guilty of this, however this will never guarantee that each time it happens, he will notice this. Teach a man to Acknowledge his ego with his decisions and responses, and that will build them towards improving every aspect of that person's life - each facet. *Note : For the sake of simplicity, I have referred to each example as 'He' or 'Man' - however please include 'She' and 'Woman' as well* I can provide a personal example, I noticed that you seemed to be missing the point I am putting through to you - Which is regarding Ego itself (So I am actively thinking about it) - Still I felt irrational anger, nothing severe, over the fact that my side is not being acknowledged. My initial response to you would have been dripped in sarcasm, and I may have made a personal 'dig' at you to try and goad you to my line of thinking (I do not do this, however when I was younger, this was my way of manipulating others to my opinion, an act that I now look back on as deplorable, but hey - I was the youngest of 3 boisterous boys , I had to take whatever I could get!). This is the poison that Ego can push one too. Obviously I have been practicing changing this behaviour, by analyzing each of my actions before I do it (It is really now a .5 second thing now, "Will this be perceived as me being as a**?" - however it took me a long time to figure out how to think about it correctly). But the reason I used this as an example, is to show you that I - who is actively attempting to acknowledge my Ego - still encounters issues with egotism as much as the next guy; I just don't let it block me anymore. And that is my point exactly - EGO is the biggest blocker we have for progressing forward - and not just in a single line of problems (Egotism) - but for pretty much each any decision that is made by anyone is tainted by Ego, even those that appear most pure and unaffected by such petty things as Man's Ego. Become a world leader? That seems pretty pure, people made this to represent freedom, and to ensure future generations are better than the previous. How many candidate vie for this position, simply to get the position now - with little regard to what it entails, what their responsibilities are, and the sacrifice required to give oneself to their people? Churches, Institutions and Religious organisations? God seems pretty pure, and the concept is nothing short of Miraculous. How many people have taken positions in these institutes, to abuse their power, and get whatever they can for it - Ignoring the fact that the majority of them are there for the people, to help them through traumatic times (Such as loosing loved ones). I saw a Priest marry a friend of mine, and needed the book the whole time to pronounce them married! His entire purpose is to know the book, and to use it in practice (One of the people responsible to actually use the book and its scriptures to encapsulate what they are there for) - It felt more like he was just reading what he knows he had to read, and was waiting for the next pay-check to come through! The above examples show not what happens when one person is full of Ego, but what happens when the poison that ego causes, seeps into previously honest and private institutions.