Humility

Learn that knowledge by prostrating yourself before the wise, by sincere questioning, and by service. Those who have seen the truth will teach it to you.

Absence of pride, absence of deceit, non-violence, patience, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadiness, and self-restraint —

Then Dhanañjaya, overwhelmed with amazement, his hair standing on end, bowed his head before the God and spoke with joined palms.

I remember the glorious Guru who is the Supreme Brahman. I speak of the glorious Guru who is the Supreme Brahman. I bow to the glorious Guru who is the Supreme Brahman. I worship the glorious Guru who is the Supreme Brahman.

It placed a blade of grass before him and said, carry this away. He rushed at it with all his might and could not carry it. He returned saying, I was not able to find out what this wondrous being is.

It placed a blade of grass before him and said, burn this. He rushed at it with all his might and could not burn it. He returned saying, I was not able to find out what this wondrous being is.

In whatever way I may have shown disrespect to you in jest — while at play, at rest, seated, or at meals — whether alone or in company, O Achyuta — I ask your forgiveness for all that, O immeasurable one.

I bow to the Guru who is Brahman — eternal, pure, beyond all appearance and form, unstained, ever-aware, the very embodiment of consciousness and bliss.

I bow to that true Guru who is the bliss of Brahman, the bestower of supreme joy, the pure embodiment of wisdom alone, beyond all duality, vast as the sky, the intended meaning of the great Vedāntic proclamations such as 'Thou art That' — one, eternal, unstained, unshakeable, the witness of all minds, beyond all mental states, and free from the three qualities of nature.

Consider name and fame as toxic. Cultivate deep humility, and let it penetrate every aspect of your being.

All that brings happiness in life is achieved through the grace of the company of saints. The more we attend congregations, the more our life becomes enriched with saintly qualities. Our heart begins to absorb love and humility, which are the sources of all kinds of happiness.

'Surely my venerable teachers did not know this; for had they known it, why would they not have told me? So may the venerable one himself tell it to me.' 'So be it, dear boy,' he said.

I bow to the Guru, who is ever Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, beyond all duality, eternal, complete, formless, without attributes, and established in the Self.

Then the ear said to it, 'In whatever way I am prosperity, in that you are prosperity.' Then the mind said to it, 'In whatever way I am the abode, in that you are the abode.'

Then speech said to it, 'In whatever way I am the most excellent, in that you are the most excellent.' Then the eye said to it, 'In whatever way I am the foundation, in that you are the foundation.'

Then, as the vital breath was about to depart, it uprooted the other senses just as a fine horse tears up the pegs to which its feet are tethered. They gathered around it and said, 'Revered Sir, remain; you are the best of us. Do not depart.'

Whatever I have boldly said to you out of carelessness or affection, thinking you merely a friend — 'O Krishna, O Yadava, O companion!' — all this, not knowing your true greatness —

I bow to that which pervades the entire universe as the Supreme Self — from the highest Brahman down to a blade of grass — all that is fixed and all that moves.

I bow always to the glorious Guru — who is bliss itself and the bestower of bliss, who is serene and radiant, whose very nature is knowledge, and who abides in pure self-awareness. He is the lord of yogis, worthy of all adoration, and the physician who heals the disease of worldly existence.

It is a big sacrifice to tolerate the words of others, particularly when they are full of disrespect. To allow others to take credit; to bring others forward and give them importance while keeping oneself in the background, also amounts to sacrifice.