15. 54. Don't degrade yourself.

Addressing the child Nitty, who had just then come home after playing in the Marina beach, his mother asked, 'How many girl children were there with you today?'

When Nitty asked, 'Why do you ask?' his mother said, 'Yesterday only it seems, you fought with three girls, the next door aunty told me. That's why!'

Nitty said, 'I cannot say how many girls came there today.'

The mother asked, 'Why?'

'Nobody was wearing a gown. All were wearing the same type of swimming dress.' The child Nitty said: Since all were in the same dress, as far as I am concerned, neither boys nor girls came to play with us. Is it not all right?'

• As far as the child is concerned, the difference between male and female is confined to the dress only. As they grow further and further, differences and limitations also grow in the mind. For the man, the mind grows to such an extent as to divide, classify and spy on each and every thing he sees.

Result – Within one and the same person, various varieties of characters and states of mind begin to take root.

I am beautiful.

I am ugly. I am high. I am low. I am lucky.

I am unlucky.

A person thinking high of himself; thinking low of himself – Both these are the out comes of ego only.

What? Is it shocking?

All of us will agree easily if one calls superiority complex as ego. But if one calls inferiority complex also as ego, it would be rather difficult to accept.

• Pride and ego are much better than low esteem. Is it surprising? For the words uttered out of ego, one has to get the beatings either today or tomorrow from society. Society will surely tame us.

• Due to inferiority complex, if one lowers himself, then society will not harm him. Instead, society will begin to respect him. Due to this, pride and ego will begin to grow deeper and deeper. Effect of the ego will not be known outside. But it will affect the concerned person only. Peace of mind will be lost.

• As you think, it is certainly all right to be humble and submissive. But, if you suppress and restrict yourself forcibly, then it is surely wrong. If water becomes stagnant, it will become poison. If energy becomes stagnant, it will become bad power.

This will result in great harm only. The ulcer of ego will become fistulous. The mind will become spoilt and in the life of the inner world, from the life connected with conscious feelings, a bad odor will begin to emanate.

• I lower myself. I behave humbly.

In this thinking, it becomes a problem only when the feelings are suppressed beyond what is necessary.

A beautiful incident.

Clout was caught in the thinking that if he behaves in a lowly manner, people would accept him as a good spiritual person.

'What do we know, Sir?'

'When big people are all there...'

'I am a very humble person...'

'All with your blessings...'

He began to copy such lines from those 'really humble persons' and began to emulate them. He got respect too.

The more and more Clout began talking lowly of himself others began to talk highly of him saying: No, sir, not at all like that... How big a man you are...

Clout examined and considered both: Those who wanted to be respected by others talking highly about themselves and then getting the beatings and getting subdued; and himself being kept in high esteem by others.

In the course of his life, one truth struck brightly to Clout. Do I lower myself only for a moment's happiness I get when others talk highly of me!

Clout started trembling a little when the thought came to him: What these people will do in case they come to know and understand the aim of my mind.

At a time when Clout was getting vexed with the question, 'Why do I wish that all should praise me and respect me', he got an opportunity to meet Zarathustra.

There was a big crowd around Zarathustra. Slowly Clout managed to enter into the crowd and stood by his side politely.

When his turn came, with all humility and in a low voice, he started to talk with Zarathustra, saying: My problem is...

Zarathustra asked: Any thing wrong with your throat? No sir, throat is all right only.

When he said: Then why do you talk in such a low voice? You can talk well, is it not? The very tone of clout changed. But, even then he was standing with folded hands and with a bowing head.

Zarathustra asked: What, do you feel cold?

Clout said: No sir.

As soon as Zarathustra asked: Then, why you are folding your hands so tightly? Clout's hands fell down.

Further, Zarathustra asked: Do you have any pain in your hips?

Clout answered: No, sir.

Zarathustra asked: Your hips are all right. Then why do you stand bent, giving pain to your hips? On hearing this, Clout stood erect.

Clout was standing in such a humble posture that his face as well as his body alone was telling others: I am a very simple and humble person.

Zarathustra asked: Why this pretence?

Clout asked: Which one Master?

Zarathustra said: This humility...Know this truth. You are not so high to such an extent to be humble and to the extent of being modestly simple.

You have not got clarity of mind.

Changing his tone, keeping his chest erect and with pretence of not being humble, Clout tried to talk. That appeared as strange for Clout.

Zarathustra destroyed and broke into pieces just in a few minutes all the pretences of Clout in trying to exhibit himself as a humble man in public places for a long time.

With his pretence gone, with red eyes, Clout began to talk in a rough voice: My problem...

Zarathustra interrupted: Your pretence mixed imitations and your unnecessary talking in a low voice – only these are the symbols of the ego torturing you. Your problem is deep rooted. Your ego has selected inferiority complex by eating 'praise' as its food and feels satisfied.

Come over to the normal and natural state first. You can come out of the problem easily.

It appeared to Clout that he had obtained a complete answer for his question of long time.

Zarathustra asked: You were going on saying, 'My problem...my problem...' What is the problem?

Clout, with tears running from down from his eyes, thankfully said: Nothing at all...Thank you very much Master.

Thereafter he got rid of his pretence and started living simply. Peace of mind was born.

When one thinks highly of himself, the mind gets a false feeling of comfort. Some people behave proudly only for this false feeling of comfort.

When man lowers himself, he is raised by others.

More than pride, a person who pretends with a low mental attitude, will get many times more sense of false comfort. Only as a result of this, they lower themselves before others, talking about themselves degradingly.

A person degrading himself is one thing. Leading a simple life is another.

Those who are normal and natural will neither say highly about themselves, nor lowly. We can see that these people are filled with simplicity. They will also exhibit their simplicity in a simple way only always.

'Simplicity' is that which reveals itself naturally from a person.

If a person unknowingly lowers himself just for the sake of name and fame, even then it is a sin only. It will breed ego.

Do not lower yourself, for anybody or for any reason. Likewise, under any circumstances or before anybody do not speak or feel high of yourself.

Be as you are. Speak about any thing as it truly is.

Both inferiority complex and superiority complex, which have seized you, even without your knowledge, will begin to detach themselves and fall off.

You will see that simplicity will appear from within you in a simple manner. Experiment and see. You will understand.

A meaningful incident.

In Bidadi Ashram, a brahmachari asked: Master, how to be simple? Say in a simple way.

I said: Oh, it is very easy. If you adopt these two, you will become simple:

• 1. Do not exaggerate any thing!
• 2. Do not under-rate any thing!

Whatever you heard, whatever you saw, say without any adulteration, share it.

As he did so earnestly, within a few days itself, the brahmachari became a nice person full of simplicity.

Meditation chisels. Chisel No. 9.