Premanand Maharaj Ji
Why is the ego that comes from spiritual practice so hard to remove?
Subtle ego of bhakti needs guru's grace
Worldly ego is seen as a fault and can be dropped, but the ego of bhakti is counted as a virtue ('I did this'). Only the guru's grace destroys this subtle ego.
We see worldly ego as a fault, so it goes away. But we see the ego of bhakti as a virtue, thinking 'I did this.'