About Pridefulness

Atharkhat to his followers

Greetings and good wishes.

1. I am writing these words as a warning to you and as an admonition. There are many evils in the world that one should beware of, some threatening a man from the outside and others from the inside. The latter are often so intricately intertwined with the former that it is impossible to separate them. One of the inner evils is pridefulness; I want to tell you about it now. These words are addressed to all of you equally; let none of you think that some bad deeds of his have induced me to write these words. Pridefulness is equally dangerous for everyone and everyone should know what it is, remember it, and beware of it. It was before you and will be after you, even your great-grandchildren will die and it will be as dangerous for people as a disease that cannot be eradicated at its roots. Therefore, I speak not only for you but also for those who will come after. And let none of the faithful disregard my instructions – for pridefulness can blossom in any of them. Either a young or an old man, a man or a woman, a man who is just beginning his path in the Teaching, or a man who has studied much and has succeeded in it. And if someone says: “Pridefulness cannot blossom in me,” it is a sure sign that it has not only blossomed in him but is already fructifying. Let every one of you, then, present and future, take my words as addressed to him personally. If you don’t take them as such, they will not accomplish what they are meant to accomplish.
2. Have any of you thought about what pridefulness is, and tried to understand it? And Pridefulness is this: it is the preference of self for others. That is its very essence. It is not as simple as it may seem and its roots go deeper than you may think. Pridefulness is commonly understood as the exaltation of oneself above others, but this is only the part of it that catches the eye most clearly. Not every proud person elevates himself consciously, though many do not even think of elevating themselves and do not even notice it, still they sin through it. This is because it springs from the depths of the human soul, and does not need a mind for its growth and flourishing. Conscious pridefulness people are those who have reached an extreme degree of pridefulness. They are like the mentally ill whose disease has reached its highest force and has clouded their mind. But I will talk about them later. Now I want to answer those of you who are surprised that pridefulness nests in the depths of the soul. Many people think that the soul is always good and pure and that nothing bad can lurk there and that the bad living in a person is outside of it, not a part of the soul. It is not so. Each person’s soul is what it is. And you know that there are no perfect people who do not have anything bad in themselves. When a person becomes like that, he/she ceases to be human, loses not only the flesh of matter but also the flesh of energy, and goes to the world of Spirit. All of us have to do this, but first, each of us has to walk the right path. Until then we have in our souls what we have: both good and bad. The soul is the human gut, the totality of feelings, thoughts, qualities, virtues, vices, desires, skills, aspirations, and much more. It is the seat of human personality, – and it is perfected by the work of the same person. I compare it to a heap of good grains mixed with chaff. And it is a task of a man to pick up and throw out the chaff, and accumulate more good grains. But as soon as they are not all removed, there is no wonder when something bad comes from the soul. So it is with pridefulness.
3. In truth it is one of the worst vices and many other vices grow from it, as from one root and feed on it, getting their force from it. And it is very strong in itself. This is because it is not only a vice, but a deeper quality of the direct vice, the conscious elevation of oneself above others, which has only its supreme manifestation. This quality, as I said, is the preference of self to others. In its origin this quality is not yet a direct evil; it is but a part of the instinct which drives us to survive, and which Nature itself has given us. To survive, it is necessary to prefer oneself to someone or something. Our ancestors, when they fought a predatory beast or killed an animal for their food, preferred themselves to it and as if they said: let this creature die so that I can live. It is the same in the fight against the enemy man: without preferring oneself to him one cannot win; and defeat very often meant death. So, preferring oneself to others helped one to survive. Is it any different now? People still attack people and infringe on each other’s lives and freedom. And this preference of oneself for others, which helps to resist aggression, is not pridefulness, but a part of a healthy instinct that helps to survive. But the one who attacks, who for the sake of his benefit wants to deprive the other of life or forcefully subdue him, is also moved by this preference: he prefers himself to the one whom he attacks. This is pridefulness, a vice that generates evil. You see, a healthy preference is also necessary to protect us from those in whom it has been transformed into a vice. But I will tell you that sometimes it is not so easy to distinguish between healthy preference and pridefulness; the border that separates them is very thin and porous. Sometimes they merge into one and that is when it is not possible to decide what is more just to prefer oneself or the other person. In this case, it is better to prefer the other to yourself. It is better to deprive oneself than to have pridefulness in oneself. It is better to deprive oneself than to be eaten by pridefulness. If we lose something, we will become rich in our souls. This is true: to distinguish healthy preference from pridefulness, one must be able to see justice. And this skill is one of the best human qualities, and it is attained through hard and self-sacrificing work in oneself. Not everyone has it, and it is often because of the lack of this skill that people cross the line between healthy preference and arrogance.
4 Thus a sense of justice is a sure remedy for pridefulness. Justice itself is one of the greatest manifestations of the principle of naturalness. Healthy preference is natural; therefore, it goes well with justice. But you know that naturally tends to turn into unnatural if the measure of naturalness is lost. Then instead of good, evil is born. Nature has defined the proper measure for everything and it is not difficult to understand the principle that exceeding measure turns good and useful into bad and dangerous. So, the fire, which warms a cold man, will cause a scald, if approached more than necessary; so, the kindest food, if abused, will become a misfortune for the stomach. So it is with pridefulness: it is a healthy preference that has lost its natural measure. It is true that in its simplest expression, this preference is also peculiar to animals. For them, too, it is a part of the instinct that helps them to survive. Without it, a predator would not hunt, and a herbivore would not flee and defend himself in despair; and males would not vie for females and food. You see that a healthy preference is also important for evolution itself. But with animals, everything is much simpler in this respect, because they are not required to understand what is happening. For people, with their intellect, free will, and multifariousness, another measure of naturalness is appointed. A human being can understand how precious any other human being is; in addition, human life and human affairs are very diversified. I liken the life of an animal to a straight line; I liken the life of a human being to a complex picture with a profusion of images, forms, and colors. Therefore the justice of man is different, and much more complicated than the simple justice of an animal. What is natural for an animal may be unnatural for a human being. Here, by the way, I will warn you against one of the dangerous mistakes. Some people urge to live and act as simply and naturally as animals do. They consider this simplicity to be noble and do not question its naturalness for a human being. In reality, a man may not and must not live and act like an animal with its simple measure and justice. Sometimes, however, this may be appropriate, as there are principles common to humans and animals. But one must know when it is appropriate and when it is not. And to understand this one has to know a lot about life and human nature. If the principles of animal life were suitable for man in everything, he would not be a man. Do not be seduced by the thoughtless likeness of man to an animal. Simplicity in itself is not a measure of naturalness; and simplicity in man is different from that in the beast.
5. A healthy preference for man is necessary, just as for an animal, but the principle of its manifestation is different in man. An animal, first of all, cares for himself, then for his cubs, and only after that for his whole breed. For a man, naturally, it is different. First, he cares for the entire human race and other people as such, and only then he cares for himself. This is natural for him. Many people will say that this is very difficult and perhaps even impossible. I say it is possible. And if it is difficult, it is really difficult to be human. It is much easier to be a mindless, uncreative animal. And those who call for animal simplicity do so because they are afraid of the great work of being and remaining human. They are willing to accept the thoughtlessness of animal existence because they do not want to toil their mind and their conscience; they are willing to accept the cruelty of the animal world because they are afraid of the labor that is needed to make the world of men better. And they, like beasts, put their good, often together with the good of their offspring, above all else. This is not true man. He cares for the world and all people. And he is conscious of what the animal is not conscious of: he is conscious that small life exists in the great life, just as a drop exists in the ocean. And he is aware that his small life cannot and should not be preferred to the great life. He is aware that other people, whatever they may be, are equal to him in their right to life and good, and that it would be unfair to prefer them to themselves. Moreover: It is natural for man to prefer other people to himself. An animal sometimes sacrifices himself for the sake of his cubs and his flock or herd; for man, it is natural to do so for any other man, even for a stranger, and for the sake of the entire world. The principle of self-sacrifice for a human being is incomparably broader than for an animal because a human being can understand by his thoughts and perception that is inaccessible for an animal. To prefer other people and the world to himself is one of the great good principles that the true man follows. And the observance of this principle grants man such a great advance in spiritual ascent which is inaccessible to the animal. Such is the natural correlation: immeasurably more is given to man than to animals, and therefore his life is much more difficult, but the blessed fruit of all this is spiritual perfection, attainable and accessible only to the conscious.
6. And this is what must be understood: man is given so much for the sake of the great good, – but when unnaturalness triumphs, the great good turns into a great evil. Man is the builder of the human race and the world, but man can also destroy them. His responsibility is great and he must be able to live so that his life is based on what the life of people and the whole world is based on. And this is impossible if he prefers himself to people and the world. And that is impossible if you prefer yourself to people and the world. It is only possible if you know how to prefer them to yourself. Then both your life and your death will benefit them. And the harmfulness of arrogance is that it induces one to do the opposite: to build up one’s existence by taking away from people and the world all that is strong enough to take away from them. This is a form of pridefulness as a preference of self for others. This kind of pridefulness is called egoism. Everyone knows what egoism is and it is justly considered to be a grave vice and is condemned. But at the same time, it is more or less characteristic of all people. Some people tirelessly struggle against it in themselves and develop it; others follow its call in certain cases or circumstances and are ashamed of it, others follow it as a principle and call those who do not follow it foolish. How much offense, anger, and grief selfishness has caused and continues to cause to people! I believe every one of you has experienced this in one way or another. I believe that each of you has seen egoism in himself or herself, was horrified by it, and was ashamed of it. Yes: it is one of the products of pridefulness. Egoism is the same as preferring oneself to others. It means putting oneself above others, putting one’s needs and wants above the needs and wants of others. I would call egoism silent pridefulness, because an egoist may not exalt himself above others either openly or privately, and may not consider himself better than others at all, but acts as if he exalts himself above others and as if he deserves better and better than them. He considers love for people and cares for them as a sign of feeble-mindedness, and if he loves somebody and cares about somebody, then only about his own closest ones. So much for the man who lives by the principles of an animal. He does not exalt himself above others, he only takes from people and the world and does not want to give them anything. Such people are like harmful bugs which gnaw at a living tree, i.e. the world, and leave only unnecessary dust in their wake. Again I ask: how many people have been tormented and even ruined by envious people who are not allowed to humble themselves by their pridefulness? I will further say that indifference to other people’s hardships and troubles is also a manifestation of pridefulness. If someone is not willing to be concerned about other people’s troubles, putting his worries or peace of mind above the welfare of other people, then what is that if not one of the faces of pridefulness? It has many faces indeed! I have named only some of its manifestations here. You can see that all of them are repulsive, pernicious, and ruinous to human beings. Any of them can and does become an executioner of human destinies and lives. This is the case with pridefulness, which is one of the worst evils, a plague on human souls. A small seed of it can bring forth deadly fruit in the end.
8. But that is not all. Let me name here one of the faces of arrogance, one of the worst, the true scourge of mankind. I am talking about a lust for power. It has taken root in many human souls. Power-hungry people are obsessed with both those who think they are better than others and those who do not think so. But overbearing is pridefulness. After all, he who wishes to dominate others wants to dominate those who put themselves above them. I am not talking here about the power they want to improve a certain case or to do some other good, but the power they seek for their pleasure, for profit, or other bad motives. This vice has taken root everywhere. Where can one not find an overbearing man? In the family, among friends, in every organization and institution, in every place where people perform work or study, among spiritual leaders, among the guardians of the law, in the army, and at the foot of the state power – everywhere they exist. And they bring innumerable troubles and sufferings to other people. The elder brother oppresses the younger, the father oppresses his son, the husband oppresses his wife, and is there not much pain and grief in the families because of this? Some friends are eager to rule over others and this is what destroys friendships and gives birth to various offences. Behold, a ruler is pushing around those who are under his authority; many bad things happen because of this. A spiritual shepherd, because of his overbearing nature, wallows in hypocrisy, not following what he has to teach others, thus defiling the doctrine he is called to serve. Such is the custodian of the law who, through his ambition for power, does injustice. It is appalling to think how much wrong is done by those in authority who want more. They plot and conspire, make bad laws, oppress, persecute, and execute those who are not agreeable to them, make wars, and destroy entire peoples. Because of them, there is no quiet time in the human race; they have shed a lot of blood and their victims are incalculable. This is so, for cruelty goes hand in hand with lordship. And all this grows out of the root of pridefulness; it is this pridefulness that makes atrocities with the hands of overbearing people, that arranges meanness with the hands of scoundrels, that betrays with the mouth of cowards, that looks on human suffering with indifferent eyes, that thinks with the minds of egoists how to get more from the world and people. Truly, pridefulness is the mother of many vices and evils. It must be recognized in all the evil done by men, even if not in all that is evil, but in many, many things! By learning to recognize it you will be able to better understand the essence of much of what men do, and can more clearly see the beginnings of what is going on. And you can timely notice the movement of pridefulness in your souls and thus can better fight it in yourselves.
9. But, as was said before, there is also a blatant exaltation of oneself above others. This is what is commonly thought of as pridefulness. But if we compare pridefulness to a high mountain, then this open pridefulness will appear to be only its very top, seen from a distance; the whole main thickness of the mountain, its biggest part, will appear to be the sum of all those manifestations of pridefulness, which are hidden under the guise of vices which I have listed above. Blatant arrogance is not so difficult to see in oneself and is very easy to see in others. Various kinds of prejudices serve as food for it. The son of a famous father considers himself worthy of veneration. But is not it foolishness? The merits of the fathers are not due to the children, and even the most honorable and respectable man may give birth to a wicked fool or a scoundrel. A descendant of an ancient or otherwise glorious lineage looks down on those whose lineage is not and denies them their nobility. Isn’t that ridiculous? Can a glorious clan turn a small gnat into an eagle? Here the eldest is showing off to the youngest, demanding respect for his seniority. That is not always for a good reason! Seniority in itself is not a merit, a person is decorated with good qualities and worthy deeds, and even the youngest can be richer in them. Here a man puts himself above a woman. There is no excuse for such injustice. Man is human, man and woman are equal in their dignity and have equal minds and souls. Here the clever one squeamishly disdains those who are not so clever. This is worthy of wonder. If he does not understand that people do not choose their wits, and if he takes Nature’s generous gift to himself and her less generous gift to another as a reproach, he is certainly not as clever as he appears. The rich man boasts before the poor man. This is deplorable. The rich person puts money above the human essence and consequently debases himself, for it appears that he is just a small appendage of his wealth; and if he loses his wealth, he will become nothing at all. A man of one nation or race despises the people of another nation or race. This is abominable. All people are equal, and no nation or race is not worse than another nation or race; if someone seeks such superiority for himself, he shows nothingness of his soul and blindness of his mind. There, you see, there is no worthy cause for outright pridefulness in anything. Remember that firmly! And here is another thing for everyone to understand and remember. Even if you are endowed with many good qualities, even if your deeds are worthy of respect, do not elevate yourself above others, do not boast before them, and do not regard them as persons of lower degree and dignity in comparison with yourself. Your good qualities and deeds beautify you, but your haughtiness makes you ugly. The more honor you demand from others, the more you belittle them, and the more you disgust them. And your soul shall be touched with rottenness; and if you are so, you will rot from within as an unfit fruit. And if you permit it, thy former good qualities and deeds shall not justify you.
10. So you see what pridefulness is, what it is, and how much evil it brings to people. Beware of it. Be discerning of yourselves. Let none of you regard yourselves as beyond the reach of pridefulness. Everyone has its seed in him and it strives to germinate at every opportunity. However, do not be overly afraid of it. Such fear stems from self-doubt; he who fears it prepares himself to be weaker than it. Treat it as dirt that may stain your clean clothes. What is there to be afraid of dirt? You should not be afraid of it, but you should avoid it. I am warning you against such fear so that it does not become an intrusive threat to you. It happens so that a man, being afraid of something, thinks only of the object of his fear, looking for and looking for it everywhere and every minute. Thus, he takes himself away from important things, for his attention is occupied by the object of his fear, and whatever happens, his first thought is always about it. Such is on the run all their lives from what they fear. This is worthy of grief as the way of such an unhappy person is not the way to the good goal but the eternal flight, such a person does not control himself, and what he flees from dominates over him as if ruling him, and the ways of his life are confused. It may also happen that fear leads to mental disease and a man is lost. Sometimes, the fear of something in oneself generates hatred towards others, towards those of whom one can see what one is afraid. Here, one can see also what does not exist: fear is a great artist who creates believable images. If you can avoid the birth of hatred, you may fall into the trap of prejudice, which is like going blind. Therefore, I say to you: do not give in to this fear. Understand pridefulness as an attack that is known to be weaker than you, for in reality, it is so. But do not be overconfident, for I have already warned you against this. Regard pridefulness as an illness that may appear in any of you but which you need not fear, it will be enough just to be watchful and take necessary precautions, and it will not touch you.
11. And here is another important thing: we must be able to distinguish between pridefulness and pride. I have already said what pridefulness is; pride, on the contrary, is a property of the soul which resists unjust belittling. Remember the manifestations of outright pridefulness that I have listed above; counteracting them is a matter of healthy pride. So, for example, if someone considers a foreign nation worse than his own and allows himself to treat a person belonging to it as inferior and the latter is indignant and does not want to tolerate this, this will be pridefulness. In the same way, it is about everything else that has been mentioned above. Healthy pride is inherent in Nature because the soul of everyone knows that all people are equal in their human essence and their dignity. Pride is the thing that resists someone else’s pridefulness and does not allow it to bring people down to a level of inferiority. There are and will be those who fight for their human dignity and not only for their own but also for others. Glory is deserved by such warriors and it truly embellishes them. Many are ready to belittle others. This can be done by a man, by a circle of people who consider others inferior to themselves, by a nation with strong prejudices towards other people, or by many people or a whole race, by religion, if its creed is infected with prejudice, by state, if it has bad laws. All this is opposed to healthy pride. This is one of the obstacles in the way of evil. Sometimes, it may go beyond its natural limits and turn into pridefulness. This happens when one not only confronts unjust inequality but also harasses unjust equality. Yes: equality can be unjust. Or should I say, inequality can be just. I have said before and I repeat: all people are equal in their human essence and their dignity. However, everyone may choose to follow good or evil. If, for instance, someone commits mean and despicable deeds, is it fair to treat him and a person who has not sullied himself by such deeds with equal respect? It is the same with criminals, it is unfair to equate the criminal with the innocent and to degrade him to the level of the criminal. Such people, as scoundrels and criminals, deprive themselves of their dignity and exchange it for what they wish to gain through meanness or crime. They should be treated as they deserve to be treated. To regain the same respect as decent people they must reform themselves. This is an example of just inequality. But this happens when a person deprives himself of his honor, dignity, and respect. And there is another kind of just inequality. When a person has mastered a certain profession and the other is still a student, they should not be equated. The one who is still studying or has poorly studied or has not studied at all should understand that the master is higher than him in his craft and should esteem him as a master. It is the same not only in crafts but in any work where knowledge and skill are required. But if an ignorant person seeks the same treatment as a master, or if he does not respect the master, does not recognize him as higher in his work, and is disrespectful to him, then it is arrogance. The master worked and ascended the steps of mastery; how can he, who did not reach the steps, demand equal respect for himself as for equal merit? That would be unjust.
12 So in every business there are those who through their hard work have achieved mastery, and so have earned a higher status than others and their respect. In the same way, there is someone who has reached the advanced years, learned a lot about life, understood a lot in it, and learned how to do good. I will liken him to a master who has attained a good art in life itself. He is worthy of respect and may those who are younger and less knowledgeable be respectful towards him, may they listen to his words and take them as learning. For in the science of life, they are far before him, and this is a fair inequality. And if one of them demands the same deference to himself as to him, it will be pridefulness. A soldier who distinguishes himself by exemplary courage and fidelity to his duty deserves special respect. All these are examples of just inequalities which do not hurt the pride of the one who is lower, but should not serve as food for pridefulness in the higher one. Apart from this, there is another kind of just inequality. This is inequality concerning someone who is placed above you and to whom you are obliged to obey. This may be, for example, a commander to a soldier, a superior to a subordinate, a mentor to a pupil, or an authority figure to a citizen. In a family, for a minor, these are the parents and other relatives of an older generation. But in all the above-mentioned cases the superior has the right to expect and demand respect and obedience only if he fulfills his duty with dignity, honesty, and diligence. So, does an ignorant, dishonest, or insultingly arrogant superior deserve respect and obedience? And an untalented or cowardly commander? And an ignorant or indifferent mentor? And an unjust judge, an indifferent or licentious guardian of order, a bad ruler? And a father who does not care for his children or is cruel to them? All these unworthy men do not deserve their status, and for them to demand reverence for themselves and obeying them is pridefulness. Because Nature itself has established this: you are truly somebody only when you are what he should be, and when you do the duty that is due to him. And this establishment of Nature cannot be changed by any human laws or regulations. The same is true of morality. A good and decent man who avoids reprehensible deeds and is not tainted by base deeds, will always be more worthy of respect than a vicious, mean or committing a crime. And for one who goes against conscience, justice, and morality, the greatest arrogance would be to demand the same treatment that decent people deserve.
13. I will say a special word about how pridefulness must be treated in the relationship between the spiritual Master and the disciple. A Teacher is a special person for the disciple. He helps his disciple to know and understand the structure of the world, the principles of its functioning, its laws, and the meaning of its existence. In this way, he brings the disciple into the real world, as if he helps him to be born again, and gives him a new life. Therefore, for the disciple, he is like a father. Then, he reveals to the disciple the essence of man, shows him what man should be like, and gives him the knowledge of how to achieve this. This is how he gives the disciple his very own. Are these not the most precious gifts – the true world and the essence of the true man? For this the disciple owes the Teacher great gratitude; and he must understand that the Teacher is far above him in his knowledge and in his ability to follow what is proper. Therefore, the disciple must deeply venerate the Teacher, treating him at the same time as a father, a knowledgeable instructor, a skillful master, and a just judge. This is the natural state of things. A disciple cannot have pridefulness before in the Master. If there is, it means that the disciple is unjust, ungrateful, and has failed to treat his or her discipleship properly. This was the case with one of my apprentices. He had a fickle nature, prone to unrestrained willfulness, pridefulness, and rebellion against all and sundry. After being a disciple of mine for some months, he grew weary of restraining himself and following my instructions. One day he did an unworthy thing and boasted of it; I corrected the wrong he had done and rebuked him for it. Then his pride flared up and he said to me, “By what right have you interfered with what I have done? I replied, “I am your Teacher, and I see that you have done an evil, unworthy deed against another man. It would be natural for anyone to protect someone who is being abused. You, who have committed an evil deed, are my disciple; therefore, I have deemed it my duty to protect that person from you.” In reply, he said to me, “Why are you the Teacher and I the disciple? Or maybe I am more knowledgeable in everything, and I am the Teacher here! No: you are not my Teacher anymore!”. So, he gave up his discipleship. This incident, truly sad and regrettable, is an example of what in no way should be on the part of a disciple. This is true: pridefulness is like a destructive hurricane that destroys what people build long, with care and love. There is nothing it cannot destroy. As for how a disciple should behave, I will tell you that they have to be respectful to the Teacher, they have to listen to his instructions carefully and follow them as far as they are able, and they have to be ready to be of service to the Teacher when they are needed, but without being subservient. One should be humble and modest before the teacher, with quiet dignity. A disciple should not behave in a humiliating way, and should not behave in a servile way. This is not only contrary to pridefulness, but also to healthy pride. The Teacher will never demand such a thing. I would like to add to what has been said here. Every good man who is not silent in his conscience treats that to which he is much obliged according to the law of gratitude. In the same way, should you treat the Teacher, gratitude will be a sure guideline and a sure rule for your hearts in this business.
14. There are means to prevent arrogance and pridefulness from blossoming in the human soul. The first of them is knowledge of the Truth. For pridefulness is evil, and evil is that which is unnatural. So you need to know what is natural for a man. And for that, you need to know what he is and what he is like. Regarding the opposition to pridefulness, I will say this: remember that all men are particles of one race, which is the human race. And remember that in all men dwells a single Spirit who in his particles has come forth from the world of Spirit and given us the essence of Life and Goodness. In no man is Spirit worse than in others; and in all of us it is equally on its way to perfection. Therefore, each one of us is equally precious to the World; each one of us is the foundation of the future life of the Creator; each one of us is the pledge of his transformation to come. Learn to see it in each one of you. If you can see it, where will the taste for the disparagement of others and the pridefulness come from? It is natural for a person to realize how precious people are and to respect them. And if you follow this natural attitude, the unnaturalness of pride and pridefulness will not find nourishment in you. Further, remember that Nature created some people as men and others as women, not so that one of them should be inferior to the other, but so that they should love each other, and in the beauty and goodness of that love they should bring forth new life. They need each other, they complement each other, and each of them brings happiness to the other. There is nothing here for pride pridefulness, nor can there be. Further, remember that if there are different peoples and races, it is only because it is natural and necessary. No nation is worse than another – for the essence of all is one. And the time will come when all nations will merge into one nation. Let there be no food for pridefulness. Then remember that every human being goes from ignorance to knowledge, from lesser perfection to greater perfection. It is appointed so by Nature, for so is the Creator’s need. Every man will one day come to the Truth because that is the natural conclusion of the natural path. Some travel this way more slowly than others; but for all, without exception, the way will end in the world of the Spirit, in the union of all comers. Therefore, do not become haughty in your pridefulness over those who are not yet on the right path. They do not imagine the world as it is and they want to live according to what they erroneously believe to be the truth; they err when they mistake appearance for truth. But it is natural to go from the wrong to the right knowledge. Each one of you has been or can be this way – in past lives, in the present life, or future lives. Here, too, let pridefulness find no nourishment for itself. You see, if you know what is natural and keep it in mind, there is no ground on which pridefulness can grow in your soul. This is why knowledge is so important in counteracting it. Truly: Truth is the sword that smites arrogance.
15. But knowledge does not often change a person at once. To understand is not enough: one must also realize. Awareness changes the soul and the mind. It may be that it happens in an instant: awareness bursts out in man and then something has changed in him, and he is no longer what he was. This is how Nature shows herself in the soul and reveals in it the union with good principles. But more often it happens so that a person recognizes something and understands that he has to change something of himself – but this change is not yet in his soul, and the former state is still strong. If such a moment does not accustom oneself to live in conformity with what has been learned and does not apply the necessary will, effort, and patience, then what has been learned, however important it may be, will not take root in the soul. After a while, our soul will not feel it and our mind will forget it. It is as if nothing had happened. What is the sense of knowing what is necessary if you do not hold on to it? Therefore, do not let go of the good that you recognize; lead yourself in the way of following it. This also refers to that knowledge that I spoke about above and which takes food away from pridefulness. It may be that some of you have been in the grip of the prejudices I have mentioned and have been following outright pridefulness. When you learn that these are prejudices and that they must be rejected, let them train themselves to act in opposition to them. It may not be easy at first and it may be that the soul will insist on the former; but the necessary effort must be made and the effort must be made to act accordingly. This is the necessary practice: practice by doing. Thus, you accustom yourself to what is proper; afterward, when your soul and mind have become accustomed to what is proper and have merged into one, you will also become aware of it. There will be some who will ask: “Is it good to be forced to act against the wishes of the soul? Is this not reprehensible violence against oneself?” But I will ask in answer: isn’t every opposition to evil a kind of violence? And is not pridefulness before another person and humiliating disregard of him an evil? Which is worse: to continue doing evil, knowing that it is evil, or to make ourselves refuse to do it? Certainly, it is better to revolt against the evil in yourself than to wait until it vanishes on its own. It may never come to an end. Every evil is such that if you do not resent it and do not drive it away from yourself then you have put up with it and it grows because it is never satisfied with what it already has. If you do not fight the evil in yourself, you are nurturing it in yourself. This is always the case; so is it with pridefulness. So fight against pridefulness by wilfully opposing it; practice your attitude towards people based on what you have been told about the unity and equality of all people. In those of you who have no pridefulness, this practice will not allow it to germinate; and in those of you who have it, this practice will help you to eradicate it.
16. The knowledge of unity is one of the most important foundations of life in the Truth. This alone can change a man so fundamentally that he becomes entirely different. This knowledge is so great that very few things can compare to it. We are all parts of a great living being: our Creator. We are parts of his living body, his living soul, his living mind. And not only we humans, but other conscious and non-conscious, and that which is taken to be inanimate, all that exists in the Universe are particles of the Creator; he is composed of them, just as the human body is composed of its living members and living particles. In the same way, as the human body has one blood, one breath, one intuitive perception, one law, and one life, everything is one in the Creator. He is unimaginably vast, – but every particle of him is united to every other, however far apart they may be. For one who has understood and realized this, it is possible to feel this great unity. This feeling is inherent in us from the very beginning and it only waits time to awaken. And he in whom it awakens will become different: the capacity for a new perception will unfold in him – so broad, deep, and clear that it is impossible even to imagine for the unaware. But even the mere knowledge of the great unity, without deep awareness, can change a person and awaken in him a new understanding and a new perception. How can you stay the same when you know that everything in the world is a part of you, that even the stars shining above your head are a part of you? And it changes even more the soul to know that all men are one with you. If you know this, can you stay the same? Can you not feel love for people, for all of them, without distinction of sex, nationality, rank, and beliefs? And if so, how can you have food for pridefulness? If you know and feel thus, you will not only not be haughty in your arrogance, but you will be ready to give yourself to others; you will be ready to give your life for them if need be. I would say that this is the natural and true attitude towards people. If this is the case, then neither outright pridefulness nor indirect pridefulness in the form of selfishness, envy, indifference, and other nasties of its vile brood can be found. Unity is reality and reality is Truth. So, I will say it again: Truth is the sword that smites pridefulness. You see that all means of fighting pride pridefulness go back to Truth as the one source. It cannot be otherwise. The foundations of the Universe are based on universal good principles which govern everything in the cosmos, from the greatest to the smallest. To eliminate all evil and to rectify all evil, it is necessary to go from the source of goodness and order to the foundations of naturalness. This is how it is done in man. To rectify the evil in him, he has to reveal in himself the said great sources and bases. It is like a healing power, much stronger than any disease; like a pure and powerful stream, washing away the dirt of the soul. Thus, the greater, opening in the lesser, heals him from the evil which is small and weak in comparison to this great blessing. This is possible because man is one with the Universe – and the good principles of life and the way of the Universe can help man. He also exists according to them: one has only to understand this. This is the way to overcome any evil in oneself. This is how one can overcome pridefulness.
17. Know the great unity and essence of man. Never stop there; never become complacent, for that is the way you can ascend to the world of the Spirit. Learn; learn all your life. Let your mind learn, your soul perfect, and your flesh follow. This is the natural path appointed for man by Nature itself. In moving along it, man achieves what he was created for: by perfecting himself, he perfects the Creator. As for the rules of life, proper for those who do not want to become the pack cattle of pridefulness, I will say that the observance of them is the practice through fulfillment, which I spoke about. And this is what it is. First of all, remember that there is no reason for outright pridefulness; and never believe anyone who says there is, or that a certain nation is superior to another, or that a son should be credited with the merit of his father – in short, do not allow in yourself those prejudices from which I have warned you. Then do not forget that all people are one with each other, with their world, and with the whole Universe. If you understand this clearly and keep it in your mind, selfishness will not be nestled in you and the other facets of pridefulness will disappear from you. Indeed, where will envy, greed, meanness, and cowardice come from if the whole world is you? Where will all this come from if you see all people in yourself and yourself in all people? Also, be able to distinguish between pridefulness and healthy pride: this is very important. Next, be sure to train yourself to be humble. This consists in denying the undeserved and the superfluous. It is needed in many things; even in such a simple matter as eating, modesty is always appropriate. It is all the more necessary when it comes to dealing with pridefulness. And to be humble towards others, learn to be humble towards yourself. And for that, you should be honest with yourself. We must learn not to exalt ourselves before ourselves, and then we will not strive to exalt ourselves before others. Each of you should admit honestly what he/she is not good at, what he/she is incapable of, and what he/she does not know or understand. This will help to keep you out of harm’s way. And remember, it is always better to underestimate yourself than to overestimate; it is better to under receive than to take too much; it is better to be unfairly behind than unfairly ahead. A humble man remembers this, and so he does. I will say this about ambition: power is an instrument for good deeds. It is good in the first place for those who use it for good, in the second place for those who are able and know how to use it, in the third place for those who have obtained it in a worthy way, and in the fourth place for those who are not ill with it. Remember this. And remember this: ridiculous and at the same time dangerous is he who aspires to dominate others without being able to dominate himself and restrain himself. This irrepressible desire for power is one of the consequences of the inability to control oneself. I’ll tell you something else: give yourself to people. Do for them what you can according to your abilities and skills. If you can do something, give it to people. You have to learn to live like that. After all, even a good stitch on a garment makes the world a better place. Everything you do, do it with the world and people in mind. Live for them, die for them. Then not only will you not defile the world with your pridefulness and the abominations it generates, but you will leave it better than it was before you.
18. Here I have told you about pridefulness and how to combat it. I have told you the most important thing about it; it is hardly possible to say and list everything, down to the smallest detail. But you must understand and remember what I said. If you take it as a base, you will be able to see and understand a lot on your own. For pridefulness penetrates many things in human life, just as smoke penetrates the most secluded corners of a dwelling; behold, the eye cannot see it, and it seems that it is not in this or that room – but its smell tells us that it is there. It is the same with pride. There are many places and many things in which its stench can be smelled, and it can be found where one would not expect it. And the remedies for it are also very manifold; in many things, they may be discovered. But be watchful; learn to see. Be exacting of yourselves, before and more than others. Remember: it is better to be too hard on yourself than too soft. Self-hardening makes one more vigilant and stronger, while self-indulgence makes one more careless and weaker. It is like military training: better to train but never face the need to fight, than not to train and in the first battle fall from the first enemy’s blow. One must live to be worthy warriors; and by the same principles of struggle against pride and other evil one must live to be worthy men. This is natural for man; Nature herself created him this way, and this is how the Universe needs him. Know therefore that I do not ask anything impossible from you, nothing that is beyond your capabilities, but only what you need and what you can achieve. I am the one who is walking on this path, and I am the one who is showing you the path. Live so that your life itself may be a guide for others; and may this world remain better after you than it was before you, and even better after them. This is what our world is built on, and on which human life grows.

Have a good journey

Translated by Amradkhari