I received Guru Maharaj's Siksastakam commentary this weekend and have been reading it since. When I came to the third verse yesterday, it got me thinking about humility. It made me think that isn't humility another way of saying that one is authentic, real, devoid of arrogance. Isn't this what we are after, to become real beings?
not to be all we can be as this modern world propagates, but to be all we are.
I received Guru Maharaj's Siksastakam commentary this weekend and have been reading it since. When I came to the third verse yesterday, it got me thinking about humility. It made me think that isn't humility another way of saying that one is authentic, real, devoid of arrogance. Isn't this what we are after, to become real beings?
not to be all we can be as this modern world propagates, but to be all we are.
Swami often reminds us that humility means the absence of the enjoying spirit, the drive to exploit. This is, as you say, becoming "real beings." And yes, it's the chance to be all that we are. Nicely said.
The other day I spoke about saranagati at the temple in Hilo. One devotee asked how we might deal with the objection that surrender results in the loss of individuality. I replied that it's just the opposite: surrender to Krishna and his envoy is asserting our real individuality, breaking from the crowd, refusing to go with the flow of the material energy.
What do you figure is the best way to build up our humility? Is it through love and service to others?
What do you figure is the best way to build up our humility? Is it through love and service to others?
It is through love and service to others? Yes, or more precisely, loving service to guru and Krsna (which naturally includes others). Since humility is, in its fullest sense, the absence of the tendency toward sensual enjoyment, then all of the practices of bhakti are designed to effect this. This is referred to by Mahaprabhu in the Siksastakam as ceto-darpana marjanam, the cleansing of the mirror of the mind and heart that will come from the practice of the cultivation of Krsna nama. The first affect Krsna nama has on us is to dispel the ignorance (avidya) from which is born the idea that we are the center and are thus entitled to exploit matter for our own purposes. Through association with more advanced devotees (sadhu-sanga) and regular hearing and chanting we will in time come to realize that we are very small and that God is very big. The humility that arises from this realization comes from the soul. Prior to this realization, however, humility is really still only a concept. Guru Maharaja says: "It [humility] arises from the mind when one contrasts the mercy of Krsna nama with one's resistance to that mercy." (Siksastakam, p. 53)
Guru Maharaja covers this topic at some length in verses two and three of his Siksastakam commentary. I highly recommend it.
It is through love and service to others? Yes, or more precisely, loving service to guru and Krsna (which naturally includes others). Since humility is, in its fullest sense, the absence of the tendency toward sensual enjoyment, then all of the practices of bhakti are designed to effect this. This is referred to by Mahaprabhu in the Siksastakam as ceto-darpana marjanam, the cleansing of the mirror of the mind and heart that will come from the practice of the cultivation of Krsna nama. The first affect Krsna nama has on us is to dispel the ignorance (avidya) from which is born the idea that we are the center and are thus entitled to exploit matter for our own purposes. Through association with more advanced devotees (sadhu-sanga) and regular hearing and chanting we will in time come to realize that we are very small and that God is very big. The humility that arises from this realization comes from the soul. Prior to this realization, however, humility is really still only a concept. Guru Maharaja says: "It [humility] arises from the mind when one contrasts the mercy of Krsna nama with one's resistance to that mercy." (Siksastakam, p. 53)
Guru Maharaja covers this topic at some length in verses two and three of his Siksastakam commentary. I highly recommend it.
That makes sense. Thanks