There are many people who, under an apparent display of humility,harbor the most immoderate pride. Every day we mix with them, and every day they speak emphatically about humility. Without truly realizing it, they struggle against their own nature, concealing with their words and deeds a thirst for honors, a desire for power, and a conviction of being superior to others. But as soon as their guard is let down, as soon as their desire to noticed weaken, as soon as their true personality is revealed by unexpected circumstances, they then shed their mask, and the pride it conceals comes to light in all their world and actions. But prouder yet is the person who blames or judge them, for many who see wrong in others are among those who commit it, have committed it, or will commit. In this matter more than any other, may each of you remember that we will be judge to the same degree as we judge others.
To be humble in spirit and practice does not involve pointing a finger at those who show pride, for that is useless. Rather, as children of the greater light we should shun the temptation to yield to the most negative impulse of our own ego. In the final analysis, people who do not feign humility are the ones who take the time to analyse themselves and to recognize, before the mirror of their conscience, that there is still a lot to do and to learn to avoid resembling the very individuals they would be tempted to condemn. Recognizing their own imperfections, they understand and accept the fact that others are also imperfect. People who assume the right to judge others give evidence of their own pride because in so doing, they consider themselves superior to the individual they judge and invest themselves with the power to think so and to say so. Only the wise ones have the right to impart a permanent character to their judgement, for they themselves live in permanence and have acquired true humility. Yet, the wise ones, far removed from the folly of simple mortals, forgot long ago what the term "judgement' means. They observe, listen, feel, and have compassion for the suffering that human beings impose upon themselves because of their ignorance and their need to dominate.
The ego is a distinctive feature of human individuality, and as long as Soul manifests through the physical body, it can only act through the soul personality which it forms with the body. It is therefore useless to fight the ego in the hope of gaining and manifesting humility of heart. We must instead love the ego as it is and learn to master and sublimate it, so that it may become the purest reflection of the spark which animates our being and without which we cannot evolve on the earthly plane. We humans must not act against our own nature, because if we do, we will lose our life in the attempt of running counter to our nature. Rather, let us reflect on the cause of our weakness, and without ever becoming discourage, let us try to gain the strength which we lack and whose source is found in the deepest recesses of the soul personality. Let us also realize that the ego is neither inherently good or bad. It is only what we allow it to become. Each of us is therefore responsible for what happens to us. Who would blame the bowl for being badly made? Only the potter is to blame, for it is he who worked the clay and shaped it as he pleased .
If pride is the negative expression of the ego,ambition can be considered its positive counterpart, for ambition, when made to serve the purest ideals, is the driving force of positive action and the medium of evolution itself. It is natural and proper for us to be happy in what we do, and especially in what we do well. If this were not the case, we would have no pleasure in doing things and would yield to extreme passivity, the source of vices, trials, and suffering. Those, therefore, who feel no joy when contemplating the fruits of their labor are indeed deeply mistaken, since it is the joy of the work accomplished or of the service rendered which motivate us to perform good deeds and to perform them well. Natural, joyous ambition is therefore an ally of choice in human life. Yet it is difficult to mast, since people who do not understand these laws irresistibly slip from ambition to pride, thus causing their won downfall and falling prey to all the weaknesses inherent to the ego.
Jealousy is the companion of pride, or more exactly, its child; for people who are imbued with self look upon their brothers and sisters with contempt, while feigning an interest in their problems and circumstances. People who entertain the conviction of being superior to others cannot accept being their inferior or letting others think so. Proud individuals seek the light that will best emphasize the physical, moral, intellectual, or spiritual superiority which they, and only they, imagine themselves to have. That is why any individual who comes between this light and those who are supposed to contemplate it is seen as a rival or, worse still, as an enemy. People who revel in pride, wanting to be the best known, the most appreciated, and often for qualities they do not possess, cannot tolerate the virtues of others. Consequently, they become jealous of the success and happiness of all who cross their path. And this jealousy makes them even more proud, because their desire to be known is fed by the most extreme bad faith and make them conceited before those who are much better than they are. When this happens, other people discover them for what they truly are.
We the children of the light must beware of selfishness, for it destroys the Light. Human beings, by their nature, want to relate everything to themselves and tend to behave as though they are the center of the world, whereas they are only one of the countless points which constitute the circle of the world. The non-mastery of negative aspect of the ego is the source of egoism; and egoism, when it ignores the desires and needs of others, manifests itself in the most destructive selfishness. The only way to avoid the trappings of pride and selfishness is to realize once and for all that what makes the greatness of human beings is not the greatness which they claim before their brothers and sisters. Let them think of themselves rather as but one of billions of grains of sand making up the most beautiful beach. The infinite understands that each of these grains plays an identical role. It does not measure their value according to the size, for even the largest grain of sand could be swept from the beach and really, what difference would it make to the beach? Therefore, let each of us learn to regularly lift our gaze towards the infinite and try to understand that the more we make ourselves small in the eyes of human beings, the more the Very High will grant us the blessings reserved for Greatest .
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