pride

[Guest guest]

Pride makes the heart stonelike. It is the death of all that is true, good and beautiful in life. Therefore there is no other obstacle in our way to God except the pride. How will a stone-hearted person know love? And where there is no love, how could God be there? For love we require a simple and humble heart -- simple and full of feeling; and as deep as the pride is, so deep does the heart loose its simplicity and feeling. What is religion? When some one asks me I say: "Dharma is simplicity of heart, the feeling power of heart". But what is current in the name of religion is the manifestation of pride in its very subtle and intricate forms.

Pride is the root of all violence. "I am" -- this very feeling is violence. Then "I am something" is a bigger violence. A violent mind cannot find the true beauty; because violence makes oneself harsh. Harshness means closing the doors of the self and how can one who has closed within himself be related to all? There was a saint Hasan. He had been hungry for several days. He stayed outside a village. Some of his companions were also there. They were also tired and hungry on account of the long journey. And as soon as they reached and settled in that broken house, an unknown person brought them lot of food and fruits and said: "This insignificant offering is for those who practise penance and who have renounced". When that person left, Hasan told his companions: "Friends, I will have to go to sleep without food even tonight; because where had I practised penance and where am I renouncer? In truth where am I myself? 'I am not' -- whoever may know this, knows God. 'I am not' -- whoever can discover it can find God.