Humility and pride

‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’

But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.

because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.

Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Even a Torah scholar should not have any arrogance or any part of arrogance, i.e., not even one-eighth of one-eighth. He explains why arrogance should be avoided entirely by asking: Is it a small matter that it is written with regard to arrogance: “Everyone that is proud of heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5)?

This is to teach you that anyone who humbles himself, the Holy One, Blessed be He, exalts him, and anyone who exalts himself, the Holy One, Blessed be He, humbles him. Anyone who seeks greatness, greatness flees from him, and, conversely, anyone who flees from greatness, greatness seeks him. And anyone who attempts to force the moment and expends great effort to achieve an objective precisely when he desires to do so, the moment forces him too, and he is unsuccessful. And conversely, anyone who is patient and yields to the moment, the moment stands by his side, and he will ultimately be successful.

§ The Gemara previously discussed the impropriety of the trait of arrogance. Now the Gemara discusses the source of its prohibition. From where is the warning derived, i.e., what is the source prohibiting the behavior of the arrogant? Rava says that Ze’eiri says: The source is from the verse: “Hear, you, and give ear, be not proud, for the Lord has spoken” (Jeremiah 13:15). Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said the warning is from here: “Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14), and it is also written in that same passage: “Beware lest you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

Noble and righteous

Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof. Lo! those who garner sin will be awarded that which they have earned

And to be of those who believe and exhort one another to perseverance and exhort one another to pity

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The main source of disbelief is in the east. Pride and arrogance are characteristics of the owners of horses and camels, and those bedouins who are busy with their camels and pay no attention to Religion; while modesty and gentleness are the characteristics of the owners of sheep

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "Pride and arrogance are characteristics of the rural bedouins while calmness is found among the owners of sheep. Belief is Yemenite, and wisdom is also Yemenite i.e. the Yemenites are well-known for their true belief and wisdom)." Abu ʿAbdullah (Al-Bukhari) said, "Yemen was called so because it is situated to the right of the Kaʿba, and Sham was called so because it is situated to the left of the Kaʿba

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three: 1. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. 2. Whenever he promises, he always breaks it (his promise ). 3. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest. (If you keep something as a trust with him, he will not return it) Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up. 1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays. 2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. 3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous. 4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner

Humility, sincerity, harmlessness, forgiveness, rectitude, service to the Master, purity, steadfastness, and self-control;

O Prince! Purity prevails when passion and ignorance are overcome; passion, when purity and ignorance are overcome; and ignorance when it is overcome by purity and passion.

But when a person has no sentiment or ego, when they possess courage and confidence, not caring whether they succeed or fail, then their action arises from purity.

Yama said: The good is one thing and the pleasant another. These two, having different ends, bind a man. It is well with him who chooses the good. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end. The good and the pleasant approach man; the wise examines both and discriminates between them; the wise prefers the good to the pleasant, but the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love of bodily pleasure. O Nachiketas after wise reflection thou hast renounced the pleasant and all pleasing forms. Thou hast not accepted this garland of great value for which many mortals perish. Wide apart are these two,--ignorance and what is known as wisdom, leading in opposite directions. I believe Nachiketas to be one who longs for wisdom, since many tempting objects have not turned thee aside.

O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path. O Lord! Thou knowest all our deeds, remove all evil and delusion from us. To Thee we offer our prostrations and supplications again and again.

The Self is subtler than the subtle, greater than the great; It dwells in the heart of each living being. He who is free from desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the glory of the Atman.

For it is by oneself that evil’s done, one is corrupted by oneself. It’s by oneself that evil’s not done, one is purified by oneself. Purity and impurity are personal matters, no one can purify another.

Advise and instruct; curb wickedness: for you shall be loved by the good, and disliked by the bad.

The fool imagines that evil is sweet, so long as it has not yet ripened. But as soon as that evil ripens, they fall into suffering.

‘Stealing … lying … backbiting … greed and lust … blaming and insulting … anger and distress … Arrogance should be given up, relying on not being arrogant.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? It’s when a noble disciple reflects: ‘I am practicing to give up and cut off the fetters that might cause me to be arrogant. But if I were to be arrogant, because of that I would reprimand myself; sensible people, after examination, would criticize me; and when my body breaks up, after death, I could expect to be reborn in a bad place. And arrogance is itself a fetter and a hindrance. The distressing and feverish defilements that might arise because of arrogance do not occur in someone who is not arrogant.’ ‘Arrogance should be given up by not being arrogant.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.

But if, having declared their doctrine, they are praised there in the midst of the assembly, they laugh and gloat because of it, having got what they wanted. Their pride is their downfall, yet they speak from conceit and arrogance. Seeing this, one ought not dispute, for those who are skilled say this is no way to purity. As a warrior, after feasting on royal food, goes roaring, looking for someone to fight— go off and find an opponent, Sūra, for here, as before, there is no one to combat.

Be truthful, not rude, free of deceit, and rid of slander; without anger, a sage would cross over the evils of greed and avarice. Prevail over sleepiness, sloth, and drowsiness, don’t abide in negligence, A person intent on quenching would not stand for arrogance. Don’t be led into lying, or get caught up in affection for form. Completely understand conceit, and desist from hasty conduct.

Salok: The humble beings abide in peace; subduing egotism, they are meek. The very proud and arrogant persons, O Nanak, are consumed by their own pride. ||1||

The fruit of humility is intuitive peace and pleasure. My True Guru has given me this gift. ||1||Pause|| When he believes others to be bad, then everyone lays traps for him. But when he stops thinking in terms of 'mine' and 'yours', then no one is angry with him. ||2||

Gauree, Fifth Mehl: He is the Eternal King. The Fearless Lord abides with you. So where does this fear come from? ||1||Pause|| In one person, You are arrogant and proud, and in another, You are meek and humble. In one person, You are all by Yourself, and in another, You are poor. ||1||

Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the enjoyment of favour). The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity):—this is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. And what is meant by saying that honour and great calamity are to be (similarly) regarded as personal conditions? What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me? Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it.

When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise. Therefore the sage knows (these things) of himself, but does not parade (his knowledge); loves, but does not (appear to set a) value on, himself. And thus he puts the latter alternative away and makes choice of the former.

He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But When Heaven’s anger smites a man, / Who the cause shall truly scan? On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the former case). It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes; not to speak, and yet it is skilful in (obtaining) a reply; does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape.