New Life #321 – HumilityAnd Pride
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel
Summary
What power is there in the attribute of humility, how do humility and pride affect all aspects of life, and how does one properly use these attributes to benefit the society?
There are several degrees of humility. At the simplest level, we speak about a modest life without being proud and patronizing. A higher level is to face life humbly and understand that I am not an all-powerful hero who controls everything.
In the past there were great rulers like Napoleon and Alexander the Great. Today a ruler could find himself in jail. There is no respect today, not for scientists or artists, really not for anyone. There is nothing left for man to be proud of.
Imagine that the still, vegetative, animal, and man were sitting together talking. The still would say, “I am the basis of the whole world. There would be nothing without me.” The vegetation would say, “I give life to all, all the oxygen comes from me, without me there would only be lifeless stones.” The animal would say, “I fill all of nature [1], ranging from microbes to huge elephants, with life.
And what about man? The other creatures in nature are connected to nature and fulfill their orders with humility. And man as if wants to control everything, to change everything in his favor, not to be dependent on nature. This is pride.
Man is missing humility. If we would bend a little to nature, we would find its inner strength. If we had humility, we would be able to arrange all of our lives to be much more comfortable.
Today, people work very long hours, barely see their families, working just to attain all kinds of false goals. Think about it, how are we happier than the previous generation? Our pride is bringing us to total destruction.
Humility is to learn the laws of nature [2] and to try to fulfill them. Animals don’t exaggerate at all.
Once we descend from the artificial level of pride toward humility, we will discover why nature awakens pride in us.
The Sages said that humility is the most important measure because it enables a deep penetration into nature. The reversal of great pride to humility builds the perfect life for man and enables him to touch eternity.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #321 – Humility and Pride ,” 3/18/14
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