What is True Humility?
Dear friends,
It has often been said that humility is a mark of spirituality, and this is so. But “humility” may need to be examined a bit to really understand what that means.
Interestingly, Yogananda defined “humility” as “self-honesty.” If we have any conscious awareness, we want to be better than we are. I am sure that is true for everyone reading this. But in our quest, it is quite natural for some people to envision ourselves as perhaps better than they are in fact—or worse! As for the better, this is because we tend to see the world the way we want it to be. That’s also why it is so easy to see everyone else’s foibles and peculiarities and so hard to see our own. We don't want flaws so do not see them in ourselves. (The challenge of seeing your own flaws is not because they are so tiny. Good try!)
We are all here to learn. Being overly self-critical is just as much an error and lack of self-honesty. We all have deep subconscious drives. We just hope our particular “craziness” is not of the self-destructive or societally difficult kind. So when we see someone who is especially challenging in some way, the proper response is compassion—and why would that not be true for ourselves as well? When we see someone who in some area is a bit full of themselves, we see how unattractive that is, and how self-misleading. Does that not apply to us as well?
Self-honesty is to see oneself closer to the reality we actually are. To accept that we incarnate to learn and to overcome our limitations and subconscious urges, but also to know that we must inevitably overcome them. There is no cause for pretending to be a realized saint (to ourselves or others!) when we still have some distance to go. The first step to overcoming a personal quirk is to accept that it is there. The first and coincident step towards true humility is to be self-honest and see ourselves a mere toddler before Spirit.
When someone points out a flaw of yours, consider: if true..."thank you for showing me something I need to work on" is a wonderful response. If false, why does it matter what others think of you? Who are you trying to convince, anyway?
May we each set aside our desires, fears, and critical natures so we can see reality for what it is. That reality includes friends, family, and even (especially?!) ourselves. We are each a child of Spirit and should be respected as such inwardly, regardless of what the world tells us. As students, we also ought to remember how much we still have to learn.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West