Young people often ask: “Why must we have humility? Is it not enough if we do social good? What need has a social worker or a national leader of humility? Let us remember that the worker is God and man is only His instrument. We would cease to be proud if such consciousness grew upon us that it is God who is the worker, the helper, and the saviour of the nations. Zarathushtra gives a vivid picture of hell, saying that in hell there are numerous souls, as the hairs in the mane of the horse, and they are as close to one another as our ears are to our eyes, and yet everyone feels himself alone! It is this feeling of loneliness which is at the root of misery in our modern world. The richness of life is rooted in the recognition that in our work we are in contact with and dependent on the divine.
Humility is not self-condemnation; it is self-renunciation. The acme of humility is when we regard ourselves as nothing and realize God to be the mighty worker. Thus, for instance, in making a New India, God works through us if we are humble enough. There are young people today who do not believe in conventional God concepts, but they wish to be of service to the nation and feel that what is needed is not humility but the will-to-power, aggressiveness, and hardness. However, humility is a demand even of the deeper spirit of modern life.
The two aspects of modern life are: passion for science or knowledge and love of activity. No doubt, young people can help India by scientific investigations and activities, provided they have a willingness to learn and a humble spirit. Some of them display an unscientific tendency of talking without the discipline of study. Reverence for truth makes the heart humble. The dominant characteristic of the “seers of science” is that which was displayed by Newton, who said that he was as a child picking up pebbles at the shore of knowledge. For the vision of the science is the vision of the Infinite. In that infinite nature, there are worlds upon worlds, and the whole of this earth is but a speck. Likewise, there is the infinity of nature in the tiny grain of sand and “microscopic” beings.
The realm of knowledge is a limitless universe, so the scientist has to become humble; only then can he learn the secrets of nature. “Sit down before facts as a little child and follow humbly wherever nature leads you, or you shall learn nothing,” says Huxley.
Must a man of action be humble? Anyone who works for the society, for his country, or for the cause dear to them will realize that after struggling for years together, they have been able to do so little! The more one acts, the more humble one becomes. The feeling that grows upon every servant of the ideal, after years of work, is: “What can one man do?” Though there are many today who rebel against the spirit of humility, there are groups of people scattered in many lands who believe in the beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “And the daily deepening faith within me is that the poor in spirit will build the new temple of freedom,” writes Sadhu Vaswani. (East and West Series, January 2025) Humility may be considered a form of spiritual modesty, which results when we understand our place in the order of things. It is an indispensable virtue for a spiritual aspirant. Sincere humility, or not thinking of oneself or of one’s personality more highly than one ought to, is a beautiful quality, without which one cannot attain wisdom, says The Voice of the Silence. Someone who wants to apprehend truth must be humble enough to lay aside his preconceptions. If he holds on to his preconceptions, he can never really acquire a new idea or a new point of view.
When one acts for and as the self of all creatures, one becomes truly great, and in such greatness lies true humility. A humble individual is oriented towards others and values the welfare of others, sometimes to the extent of forgetting himself. The mystical book, Light on the Path, teaches that “that power which the disciple shall covet is that which shall make him appear as nothing in the eyes of men.”
We are asked to cultivate higher patience, which is a fine line between pride and humility. How shall we be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so great? In both, we blaspheme. But between these two extremes there is a spot, “neither too high nor too low,” and there we may stand calmly, not overshadowed by any man, however great, because each of us contains potentialities of every other.
Humility is freedom from pride and arrogance. It is said that the two most potent enemies to fight in the spiritual battle and the last to get conquered are sexual desires and Egotism. Between these two, egotism, pride, or the sense of separateness is the most difficult to surmount. Egotism, or pride, has many strongholds. If it is conquered in its gross aspect, it reappears in its subtle aspect. There are many stories of sages and spiritually advanced beings who, even after making great progress, display pride or egotism. It may surface as a “holier than thou” attitude or as pride for one’s intellectual, psychic, or spiritual achievements.
Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, considers “humility” to be an indispensable quality, especially for a leader or a ruler. He says that you can be a leader among men if you can avoid putting yourself before others. He who is great must make humility his base. “The Sage expects no recognition for what he does; he achieves merit but does not take it to himself; he does not wish to display his worth.” Therefore, “though he has his place before them, they do not feel it as an injury. Therefore, all mankind delight to exalt him, and weary of him not.” Once we realize that the SELF shines in all but does not shine forth equally in all, our egotism melts into nothingness.
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This article also appeared in The Theosophical Movement. For more articles published in this excellent magazine follow this link: https://www.ultindia.org/magazines/tm.html