For the person who walks in the path of God the only struggle is a constant battle with the ego. It is the ego which forms the cover on the light of the soul, and the light hidden under the ego is the "Light hidden under a bushel." Man's sense of justice, his logic, his reason, his intelligence, his affection, all is covered by the ego.

If he judges anyone it is from the point of view of his own interest,
if he reasons his selfish mind produces the result,
in his affections he puts self first,
his intelligence is darkened by self.

And this is the condition of the average man. In proportion as man takes away the covering from the soul, so much juster, truer, more sincere, more loving does he become. Selfishness develops the sense of self-interest, and very often a person may gain earthly prosperity because of it. But as all things in the world are subject to change, death and decay, he remains in the end empty-handed, while the unselfish man, who has perhaps been debarred from earthly good by his lack of self-interest, at least remains possessed of his sense of reason and is rich in the qualities of love, justice, and intelligence.

The whole tragedy of life is in losing sight of one's natural self, and the greatest gain in life is coming into touch with one's real self. The real self is covered by many covers of ego; those which preponderate above all others are hunger and passion, beneath these are pride and vanity.

One must learn to discriminate between what is natural and what is unnatural,
what is necessary and what is not necessary,
what brings happiness and what brings sorrow.

No doubt it is difficult for many to discriminate between right and wrong, but by standing face to face with one's ego and recognizing it as someone who is ready to make war against us, and by keeping one's strength of will as an unsheathed sword, one protects oneself from one's greatest enemy, which is one's own ego, and a time comes in life when one can say, "My worst enemy has been within myself."