In the early stages, a fairly common situation is that many people misunderstand "selfishness" as the essence of spirituality. This is simply because the ego is grasping at freedom within the illusion of the self, and because they are not truly understanding the oneness that spirituality speaks of, but rather grasping at a limited freedom based on a divided self, and mistaking that for absolute freedom, and thus simply misunderstanding selfishness as freedom, and mistaking that for spirituality.
And when you point this out or say something moral or ethical, they say things like, "In the future, there will be no leaders, and everyone will grow freely," which has some truth to it, but it doesn't apply to the situation where they are simply acting freely and recklessly. They do this to self-affirm themselves and to assert superiority over others. Furthermore, they may take actions that seem to mock others, as if they knew it all along, and take away the right to speak for others. In this way, they try to prevent others from engaging in moral or mission-driven actions, arguing that such actions are not free and should not be done by others, thereby preventing moral involvement and mission-driven involvement, and essentially hindering others. They mislead others into believing that each individual living freely is the true essence of spirituality, thereby promoting confusion, and because the people around them are also mostly the same kind of people, they reinforce each other, and defend themselves by claiming that securing their own freedom through implicit conformity to others is the true essence of spirituality. It is like a village society, where people act selfishly without allowing others to interfere, and the members of the village society cannot openly deny it, and eventually, they begin to think that it is normal. What is free about that? The reason why spirituality is disliked is because there are still people who, borrowing the words of spirituality, act selfishly and try to assert superiority.
If things become like that, it would be much more beneficial for spiritual growth to simply live a normal life in society and experience hardships. Instead of making such efforts, some trivial forms of spirituality are seen, where people satisfy their own egos by asserting superiority and looking down on others.
Some people who guide me explain that, even if some people were initially in a state similar to slavery, and that "freedom" might be a misunderstanding, it is sometimes necessary to free them from that state. However, this can lead to misunderstandings of spirituality and spread harmful values that continue to mislead people.
Before the "freedom" of spirituality, there is moral action. People who misunderstand spirituality ignore or do not value morality. There must be morality and order, and then there is freedom. It is not that there is freedom from the beginning without understanding, morality, or order. This is quite common, but there are many people who use this excuse to justify themselves and engage in selfish behavior, claiming to be spiritual. Furthermore, there are cases where they use not only words but also violence or pressure to manipulate others. There are even cults that exhibit such aggressive behavior, which seems unspiritual.
Even if you understand spirituality correctly, there is a high possibility of becoming a spiritual slave if you get involved with cults that use spirituality to satisfy or deceive their egos. I do not recommend this. It is much better for spiritual growth to live a normal life and fulfill your duties.
Such a misunderstood freedom is not very beneficial, except for temporarily occurring in the early stages of spirituality to free people from a state of spiritual slavery. Some people strongly advocate for true spirituality or morality to those who need this misunderstood freedom, but they explain that it is like trying to teach morality or the truth to a child who does not have the mental capacity to understand it. In such cases, it is better to promote simple freedom in the early stages, as it can promote growth in the long run.
If a person is in a state similar to that of a child and seeks freedom and liberation from a state of slavery, then preaching morality or principles to such a person is simply beyond their level of understanding. Such a criticism would rather hinder growth or be seen as meddling. If this misunderstood freedom in the early stages of spirituality is sometimes necessary for liberation, then perhaps it is a mature attitude to watch over them with warmth.
According to the guide who is leading me, it is important to remain calm and observe even if such things happen. He says that we should not view others as being superior or inferior, but rather understand that everyone is at a different stage, and that each situation is a learning experience. Even if something is called a cult, it may have been necessary for that person. Therefore, it is important to observe with a very calm and equal perspective.