THE POWER OF HUMILITY

Sathya Sai Baba often reminds us that humility is one of the most essential character strengths which every spiritual aspirant must develop in order to progress.  Humility is the virtue that removes the obstacles to faith, like pride and ego, and makes us fit to receive God’s grace. Yet, how many of us really understand the true meaning of the word ‘humility’?

In English, the word "humility" comes from the Latin root word humilis; from the word ‘humus’ which means "ground." Webster's 1913 dictionary uses terms such as "modest", "not high or lofty" and "not pretentious or magnificent" to define humility.

Humility often gets confused with being weak-willed, timid, or feeling bad about ourselves. Humility - true humility - is one of the most expansive and life-enhancing of all virtues as it reflects strength of character, not weakness of character. It does not mean undervaluing yourself, rather it means valuing other people. Without humility, we can learn all knowledge, we can dazzle audiences with our wit, but we cannot go forward towards our goal of Truth.  Humility in fact opens us to the Truth; by going beyond the ego which keeps us from seeing the Truth. Humility signals an openness to life's grandeur and the willingness to be surprised and uplifted by goodness wherever one finds it.

Humility, or being humble, means that one is modest, submissive and respectful, not proud and arrogant. Too many of us believe that in order to be humble we must put ourselves down; see ourselves as worse than everyone else. Humility does not mean mere bending of the head; only an attitude of mind free from egoism, ostentation and attachment can be called humility.

True humility recognises that all of our talents, virtues, and gifts come from God. We are merely instruments in the hands of a far greater power and intelligence who is moving us at will like a puppet.  Humility is in awe of God and those around it, an attitude that transcends our attachment to the body and is unafraid.

Genuine humility is all about truthfulness; we acknowledge both our talents and our failings. We need to be honest in evaluating our strengths and weaknesses. The humble recognise and rejoice in their particular gifts, develop and share them, and give the credit to God, the Giver of all gifts. Humble people also admit and take responsibility for their particular weaknesses. When they make mistakes, they seek God’s forgiveness and help in overcoming them. Whatever successes they may enjoy in life, however well the world might think of them, the humble are ever mindful of their frailty.

The Scriptures tell us that all is the Lord and that each person is the Lord’s creation. Therefore, how can we say someone is better than the other?

It is our ego, the biggest ‘block’ that creates Maya, the world of illusion in which we dwell. Our world is coloured by our likes and dislikes, perceived through the filter of ‘I’ along with all our prejudices, pre-concepts, ideas and opinions, and borne through habits and past experiences. The ego does not let us live in the truth. It tells us that we are superior and more deserving and greater than the other. Therefore, we start living only for ‘me and mine.’ What could be further from living in the truth? Even when we learn from the Scriptures that we are a part of the Lord, our ego takes pride in that knowledge!

This egoism denies true spirituality, makes us selfish and creates a world of lies which we then inhabit. So how can we overcome this Maya when our mind and emotions do not want us to see the truth and our intellect is only a slave to this mind? Sathya Sai Baba in most of His discourses tells us that the only way to overcome ego is by developing humility.  It is all about ‘letting go and letting God’!

Mistakes are made because we do not see the truth, due to our attachment to this body. When our hearts are saturated with love, our attachment to our body, mind and intellect unit is cleansed and we cease making egoistic mistakes. It is only by being vigilant in monitoring all our actions so that we are not too harsh or judgmental; that we learn to feel love and compassion in our hearts. We must purify ourselves enough so that humility inundates our mind.

If we see our place in the universe, we can only be amazed and grateful. All there is, all we have, has been given to us, the universe, life itself, our families, friends, status, education etc. Each person we meet and each situation we face can contribute to our knowledge and help mould our characteristics into beautiful qualities. The truth is that someone produces our food, makes our clothes, and contributes to the millions of details which make up our daily lives. When we see that we have received so much from everyone, we can only bow in humility that we have been allowed to see this Truth.

As we learn to live in humility and gratitude, loving and serving all; accepting all as the Lord’s Will; we will eventually reap the harvest of love, peace and bliss!

 Madhvi   Lamba