Vanity

Austerity performed for the sake of respect, honour, and worship, and out of ostentation — that is here declared to be rajasic, unstable and impermanent.

Do not claim gnosis, lest thou perish in thy pretension, but cleave to the reality thereof, that thou mayest be saved.

Do not take pride in caste, for from pride many vices are born. Pride is itself a very great vice. It brought about the downfall of the likes of Ravan, Kans, Hiranyakashyap and Duryodhan. This single vice alone does not let one breathe. It is like a pebble lodged in a shoe: as long as the pebble is in the shoe, no one can walk in peace; only when the pebble comes out of the shoe does one find ease. The pebble of pride does not let one breathe.

There is nothing in the two worlds that is sufficiently important to hold man back from God. If all mankind should see the glory of a pious man's piety, he would suffer no harm, but if he sees the excellence of his own piety he is lost.

If you wish to show to the people that you belong to God, should your claim be true, you are guilty of ostentation; and should it be false, of hypocrisy. The Sufis are too great to need a special garment for this purpose.

Those who run after false honour and let go of the Lord's hem, who care for the world — such lovers can never be true devotees or true lovers.

Integrity and high repute are but water carried in a basket. If some mighty man can grasp the wind within his fist, or if he can tether an elephant with a hair of his head, only if one be skilled in such feats as these, will he be successful in retaining integrity and high repute.