The
way to impress people is not by telling them how wonderful we are.
If we want to impress people we need to listen to how wonderful they are.
Humility
does not mean we think less of ourselves. It means we think of ourselves
less. Let's be humble or
we'll stumble.
If we
admit we were wrong is to declare we are wiser now than before. Here's
a narrativwe about humility inspired by the writings of Sri Chinmoy
There was once a
great scholar. Everybody in the kingdom appreciated him because he was
so learned. Unfortunately, in spite of his great learning he had great
pride.
One day this
scholar put on a gold necklace and went to the palace of another king.
He said, "Whoever can defeat me in wisdom will get this necklace. I
challenge everybody!"
What
kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself. ~Abraham Lincoln |
All the scholars
in that particular kingdom had heard about this scholar and they were
afraid that they would lose. So they would not accept his challenge. The
king was very sad that nobody would accept the challenge.Finally,
the court jester said, I accept your challenge."
The king had
almost surrendered to the scholar but thought it would be amusing to see
his jester compete. He believed he was only a joker and would not be
able to win the necklace.
The court jester
said, “I will ask you four questions. if you answer any of my questions
correctly, then you will lose, but if all your answers are incorrect,
then I will accept defeat and the king will give you anything you want."
Then the court
jester asked his first question: "Where do you come from?"
The scholar said,
I live here." This was incorrect, since he came from another kingdom.
So by giving the wrong answer the scholar passed the first test.
The jester's
second question was, "How long have you been here?"
"Three years,"
the scholar said, which was also incorrect. Still the court jester was
unable to trick him.
The third time
the jester asked, "Our king is good, kind and generous. Do you agree?"
The scholar said,
"Your king? What you are saying is totally wrong. Your king is undivine
and very unkind." So again the scholar passed the test.
The court jester
said, "It seems that I can't defeat you. How many questions have I asked
so far?"
A man
wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.
~Benjamin Franklin |
The scholar said,
"You have asked me three questions; you have one more. If I do not
answer it correctly you will lose. "
The court jester
cried out, "Look! The scholar has lost. He has answered this question
correctly."
So the scholar
gave his necklace to the court jester, and the jester immediately gave
it to the king. The scholar's pride was totally smashed. He said, "I
will never come to your kingdom to challenge anybody again."
All the scholars
were very impressed by the court jester's cleverness. They knew that
they would not have been able to defeat the great scholar. The jester
said, "You see, when great scholars are not alert, they lose. Had he
been alert, he could have saved himself."
It is far more impressive when others
discover our good qualities without our help.
True
merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.
By Tim Pedrosa
He who
humbles himself shall be exalted; he who exalts himself shall be
humbled. |