The Gathas, Morals 2:5
Humility
Humility is the principal thing that must be learnt in the path of training the ego. Itis the constant effort of effacing the ego that prepares one for the greater journey. This principle of humility can be practiced by forgetting one’s personality in every thought and action and in every dealing with another. No doubt it is difficult and may not seem very practicable in everyday life, though in the end it will prove to be the successful way, not only in one’s spiritual life but in one’s everyday affairs.
The general tendency is to bring one’s personality forward, which builds a wall between two souls whose destiny and happiness lies in unity. In business, in profession, in all aspects of life it is necessary that one should unite with the other in this unity, in which the purpose of life is fulfilled.
There are two forms of effacing the self, which in other words may be called giving in. One way is by weakness, the other is by willingness, the former being a defect, the latter a virtue. One comes by lack of will, the other by charity of heart.
Therefore, in training the ego, one must take care that one is not developing a weakness, presuming it to be a virtue. The best way of dealing with the question is to let life take its natural course, and at the same time to allow the conscience to keep before it the highest ideal. On one side life taking its natural course, on the other side the conscience holding its highest ideal, balancing it, will make the journey easy.
The words of Christ, which teach one to walk with another two miles if the other wanted them to walk one, prove the great importance of harmony in life. And his words, ”Resist not evil,” show still more the importance of harmony in life, namely that if you can avoid evil, in other words keep it away, that is better than to want to fight it. And the idea of Christ’s teaching of giving in is also expressive of harmonizing with the wishes of another person.
No doubt in this discrimination is necessary. That harmony is advisable which develops into harmony and culminates in a greater harmony, not that which may seem in the beginning to be harmony and would result in greater in harmony. In training the ego balance must be taken as the most important principle.
This teaching is from the Sufi mystic and musician, Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927).
We have edited the original version to include gender-inclusive language.
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