Pride

/Could you speak to us about human pride and divine pride?/

My human pride feels that I can do everything. My divine pride, the pride that has surrendered itself to the Will of God, knows that I can do everything only when I am inspired, guided and helped by the Supreme.

My human pride wants the world to understand me, my love, my help and my sacrifice. My divine pride, which is the feeling of oneness with all in God, does not wish the world to understand my selfless activities. It feels that if God understands me and knows my motives, then there can be no greater reward.

My human pride drinks the hot water of life - sufferings, struggles and doubts - without a spoon. The result is that my tongue gets badly burnt. My divine pride drinks the same hot water, nay, infinitely more in quantity, but it uses a spoon to drink with, so I suffer not. This spoon is the spoon of liberation, freed from the shackles of ignorance.

My human pride is afraid of saying and ashamed of doing many things. My divine pride is not afraid of saying and not ashamed of doing anything, for it knows that God is at once the Doer and the action. Whom am I to be afraid of? What am I to be ashamed of?

My human pride crushes humanity with man-acquired power. My divine pride liberates humanity with God-given power.
When I say that God is mine and I can use Him at my sweet will, I harbor my human pride. But when I say that I am God's, and my very existence is at His Behest and at His Feet, I cherish divine pride.

To my human pride, the material world says, "We shall either succeed or we shall fail and perish." To my divine pride, the spiritual world says, "Together shall we endeavor, together shall we succeed."