Humility

(by R. M. Duraisamy)

Humility is a great virtue! Indeed we hear just this one virtue extolled far above all others, even above the virtue of love in some cases. It is good to be humble, they say, for humility is what increases one's respectability in the society. Of course it has to be tempered with a certain level of aggressiveness, for one should not be so humble that others can tread on oneself, thereby trampling on one's own fundamental rights.

Humility is touted as the most important virtue in the family. Children must be humble before their elders, even when they have grown up and have families of their own. The expressions, "mother is God" or "parents are next to God", which can be found in so many different forms in the Indian community, are held up as the ultimate responsibility of every child.

But, while humility is certainly a great virtue, its interpretation according to today's concepts has become so distorted that very often it is a curse to be "humble". For the simple reason that many children, having grown up, are still unable to fulfill that which resonates within their spirits, and instead have to obey every whim and caprice of the parents.

It is true that this is changing in many parts of India, and especially in the numerous Indian settlements around the world. But in what direction is this change headed? The change is only that children, who are supposedly able to think for themselves, strive solely after Western values. The pendulum has thereby swung only to the other extreme!

The freedom that children today want to have is solely the consequence of having endured centuries of rules, regulations, traditions and other restrictions, to which they clearly see that children in the Western world are not subject. The freedom of decision appeals to them, as well as the thoughtless material goals of the West. Thus no one should really complain about the state of affairs today, when many Indian children only get entangled in the Western way of life. It is all so sad, but only because our people have not - in the more recent times - made any genuine effort to recognise the Laws of Creation as they really are.

Yes, it is good to be humble. Humility brings about a certain refinement in character, a state of being permeated by nobility, as well as honesty, for humility and honesty go hand in hand. With the onset of humility, genuine love and compassion for one's fellow man can also arise. But humility does not mean accepting whatever is imposed on oneself, whether by state, community or even family! In this regard, the various Indian proverbs that extol the family, and especially the parental, authority, placing such authority as next to, or even one with, God are completely false!

Humility before other people, therefore, is best expressed only through the quality of "modesty". Modesty in all aspects of life, in one's material wealth and reputation, as well as in one's spiritual standing. Modesty precludes all ostentatiousness, but at the same time, it ensures the development and genuine beautification of everything in one's surroundings.

However, he who is modest will not unconditionally bow down before any other human being! Modesty does not imply subservience. And those who require slavery, or even submission, from others should not complain when their actions stir up protests and non-co-operation. The independence of India from the British empire, for instance, was not obtained via passive submission, but through active, yet peaceful, non-co-operation, despite all the violence that certain antagonists had tried to stir up. Had the Indian people demonstrated mere passive humility without any kind of resistance, we would still be under the iron rule of the British empire. Resistance and peaceful aggressiveness (which has nothing to do with violent activity), tempered with humility and modesty, are fundamental to survival on this planet where both good and evil dwell because of the failure of man.

This same attitude is required throughout one's earth-life, at least for this time, until all the evil collapses of itself in the Final World Judgment. It does not matter whether one encounters such controlling behaviour in the family or in the community. Man has to stand up for his own beliefs and convictions, so that he can institute positive, upbuilding changes. Once a child has grown up, and is still prevented from unfolding his wings by a member of his family, all under the aegis of a traditional interpretation of the word "humility", he simply must stand up and let his convictions be made known. Contrary to popular opinion, the child does have a choice once it is old enough to think for itself.

Until that time, when it can make its own decisions, it must be shown, through example, how to live in accordance with the Eternal Laws of Creation. But if this parental example is lacking, there can be no grounds for complaint if the child cannot learn to honour his father or mother. Unfortunately, these Laws are ignored, and in place of them, only religious traditions have been imposed. Thus, when the spirit of the child comes to maturity, either rebellion or passive submission develops, depending on the strength of the spirit incarnated in the child. Were parents to set an example for their children, however, neither of these developments would take place. Instead, strong human beings of great, inestimable value would emerge and transform this world into one of peace and immense beauty!

But true humility, in the sense of absolute and most genuine, loving submission, man must develop in approaching his God! For there really should be no need of humility before another human being, but only modesty as such. Only before the Creator, before the Light, is there such a thing as true humility, complete and total acceptance of His Will above all else! For the Eternal Laws of Creation comprise His Will, and everything in Creation has come into being and is maintained for all eternity only through and within the operation of these Laws of God.

Humility forms the basis for the purest worship of God. Devotion, submission, loyalty, and other similar words merely express the same concept. Thus it is in our interest to think in terms of the concept itself, and not the actual word, which is subject to interpretation.

Therein lies the key - in the interpretation! We must learn to interpret aright, and in that lies discernment and naturally also true understanding. But all interpreting has to take place in accordance with the Perfect Laws of Creation. If any interpretation exceeds the natural bounds established by the Laws or, worse still, stands in direct opposition to them, it is clearly a wrong interpretation.

Free will implies responsibility! Consequently God would not will that one human being with free will should have to submit to the free will of another! At least not unless the one has made a conscious decision to submit to the other, in which case he is bound to the other, as in the days of slavery and as it takes place during hypnotism.

The animal, on the other hand, does not possess the true "free will" in its all-embracing sense, and possesses the weakest life-force in Creation, since it originates from the boundary between the Animistic Realm and the Material Worlds, below which everything is completely lifeless and needs to be animated through "incarnations" of beings and creatures from the higher spheres.

For this reason, it has no choice but to submit to the higher will of the human being, since it could not, and can never, develop the free will. Its inherent weakness allows it to develop only to part-consciousness, or day-consciousness, through which it can help ennoble the ecosystem in which it is compelled to survive, but it can never become conscious of itself.

On the other hand, the human being has the power to will, to make decisions of such far-reaching significance, that he has to bear the responsibility for everything he decides. Therefore, for one human being to submit to the other, he thereby declares his intention to forfeit his free will, which he cannot do in any case, because the free will is part and parcel of his spirit. He merely chooses, through his free will, to submit to the free will of another!

This is not humility, but spiritual indolence! Without independent thinking, we perish under the yoke of alien ideas, thoughts that we ourselves have not worked out, but which have been developed and experienced by others. Alas, the old saying is only too true, that one man's meat is another man's poison, and we simply cannot adopt any other person's conviction for ourselves without our independent, personal and intuitive experiencing.

But all of us have to beware of false humility. For this kind of humility before God is nothing but hypocrisy. Man can bow his head in submission all he likes, but if, in his preconceived notion of being humble, he ignores a genuine responsibility for a task that is given to him by God, he burdens himself with guilt. Such a problem is very common in many religious and spiritual movements, which hold their adherents under this grip of a false humility. The notion is held, "Oh no, we must not state what we believe or perceive, because that would not be humility". And as a result, much that is of genuine benefit is lost, as he who may have perceived something that could have helped hundreds or thousands chose not to share it, all because of false humility.

The Indian culture has much to answer for in all of this. For even in those Indian communities that have joyfully embraced Western ideals, there is still this tenacious grip that simply does not want to let go. There is no true genuine spiritual love which is not solely concerned with earthly matters and welfare but primarily with the spiritual welfare. This kind of love willingly lets go at the right hour, without any emotional sentimentality. When families stop demanding submissive humility from their members, but instead remain content with pure modesty, while on the other hand offering only genuine humility to the Creator of the Universe, much will change for the better!