Pride and vanity: when the self obscures the gift

Amongst the people is he who seateth himself amid the sandals by the door whilst coveting in his heart the seat of honour. Say: What manner of man art thou, O vain and heedless one, who wouldst appear as other than thou art? And among the people is he who layeth claim to inner knowledge, and still deeper knowledge concealed within this knowledge. Say: Thou speakest false! By God! What thou dost possess is naught but husks which We have left to thee as bones are left to dogs.

… Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves; fear God, and be not of the prideful.

Indeed, man is noble, for within all things the sign of God exists, but to regard oneself as more learned, superior, more excellent, more God-fearing and more exalted is a grievous error.

Blessed is the learned one who prideth not himself on his knowledge, and well is it with the righteous one who revileth not the sinful, concealing their misdeeds that God may conceal his own guilty actions, for He is the best of those who hide faults. Be ye, O people, concealers of faults in the earth and forgivers in the lands, that God may forgive you through His grace.

...One must always search for his own shortcomings so that he may repent at the Threshold of Oneness and become protected and guarded; otherwise, pride and haughtiness will take possession of one's heart, and this will cause deprivation of the Bounties of the Court of Singleness. As thou hast realized thy own shortcomings, rest thou assured that thou art firm in the Covenant and Testament, and in the love of the True One are steadfast and growing....

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One must always search for his own shortcomings so that he may repent at the threshold of Oneness and become protected and guarded; otherwise, pride and haughtiness will take possession of one's heart and this will cause deprivation of the bounties of the Court of Singleness.

I beg of God that you may become more enlightened, more severed, more spiritual, more aflame and that you may be humble and submissive, for as long as man does not consider himself to be good but regards himself as weak and deficient, he progresses; but the moment he considers himself good and says, "I am perfect", he falls into pride and retrogresses.

There are some people who become proud and haughty and forget this fact. In their utter blindness they consider themselves to be somebody; then they fall from their high pedestal and great is the noise thereof.

Meekness and humility are the hallmarks of faith. As soon a believer feels himself the least bit superior to others, the beginning of his spiritual decline is commenced, all unaware to himself.

One must never feel superior to anyone else. This feeling destroys all vestiges of friendship and love. I give thee this advice to be remembered throughout all thy life: "Whenever thou seest that a person feels to the measure of one atom superior to another or prefers himself to his brother or sister have no hope in him. He is deprived of the Bounties and Mercies of God."

47. O CHILDREN OF DESIRE! Put away the garment of vainglory, and divest yourselves of the attire of haughtiness.

It behoveth not, therefore, him who was created from dust, who will return unto it, and will again be brought forth out of it, to swell with pride before God, and before His loved ones, to proudly scorn them, and be filled with disdainful arrogance.

This globe with all the infinite forms of life teeming through its length and breadth is but a grain of poppy in comparison to this stupendous creation and man is a part of this grain of poppy. Notwithstanding this infinitesimal smallness how proud, haughty is he of his origin!

Vanity is a form of egotism, an excessive desire for notice or approval of one's personal appearance or deeds. It is self-conceit and self-hypnotization.

Here is a man who speaks very few words but he is working all the time and attending to all his duties; there is another man who sits down, talks continually and boasts of his past achievements.

People speak too much because they seek fame, because they wish to be thought better than their brethren. Those who do most good say the least about it.

There are many people in this world who will go to the limit of doing anything, even in attacking the purity and the motives of their friends just to gain a temporary applause and Bravo without thinking of the ruinous effect of such a thing upon themselves in the future, and the loss of public confidence.

Their ultimate desire and goal is that when they give speeches or pass through streets, people clap for them and they take pride in outward honor.

It is very strange that each of these civilized ones who claim love for humanity and love for country, all of it is for displaying their own personality and fame.

There are some people who study for dress, work for dress, live for dress, walk for dress, eat for dress; in brief their lives are spent on the dresses, the clothes, the style, fashion and mode. To them the beginning and the end of creation is spelled in one word: "Dress." They believe that God has created them for "Dress."

There are today so many people who are like that old woman. They love inane flattery and empty compliments which are no other than nets to snare unsuspecting people.

The crow was greatly pleased with this flattery and opening its beak started its cow-cow and the cheese dropped on the ground to the delight of the waiting jackals.

There are some people who would go any length, in order to gain fame and station. For the ephemeral fame of a few days they would be willing to give up their lives and yet it eludes them. There are others who do not even dream of it, who shun it and keep out of its way but it shows its face to then and court their grace.

What captives of superstitions people are! What troubles they endure for the sake of name and fame! What fruit will these superstitions bear! All are transitory and perishable and no trace of them will remain. It will be as though they had never existed. They are sowing seeds in a barren land. Man ought to sow pure seeds in a fertile soil, not in infertile lands.

One must not think of becoming a leader. If anyone imagines himself the possessor of this or that high quality, and of certain superior powers not possessed by others, this will fill him with pride and haughtiness.

He wished to be made the leader of America and wrote plainly to me to this effect. One of the answers I gave him was, 'Cast aside all mention of the ruler and the ruled, the governor and the governed.'

If a man considers himself humble and lowly in the Cause of God, he becomes glorified in all eyes. On the other hand, the moment he aspires to personal greatness, he falls into disgrace and oblivion.

The objective point of another soul is to attain the highest official position. He strives day and night to gain the confidence of the public and the administrative authorities, so that they may promote him, through his merit, to the position of honour and fame among his fellow-men.

O servant of the Supreme Lord! All nobles harbor desires for greatness and the melancholy of soaring ambition, that they might become exalted in the world or become leaders of others.

The next day he was offered a government position with a good salary. Negligence overtoo[k] him and he became so proud that he would not even speak with me.

Beware lest Thou become occupied with the mention of those from whom naught save the noisome savours of enmity can be perceived, those who are so enslaved by their lust for leadership that they would not hesitate to destroy themselves in their desire to emblazon their fame and perpetuate their names. God hath recorded such souls in the Preserved Tablet as mere worshippers of names.

But afterwards this question of precedence will assume superlative importance in the estimation of men which will lead to quarrel and acrimonious thrusts. Why this change? Because those sweet Fragrances of the Days of the Manifestation are withheld; the hearts became cold and negligent; the eyes became blind; the ears deaf; pride, haughtiness, superciliousness and arrogance grip fast the souls of men; they lose their way to the radiant goal of heavenly Glory and every one exerts himself to attain to high position and honor.

Consequently, such behavior can be attributed to naught save the petty-mindedness of such souls as tread the valley of arrogance and pride, are lost in the wilds of remoteness, walk in the ways of their idle fancy, and follow the dictates of the leaders of their faith.

… With all their power and strength they strive to secure themselves in their petty pursuits, fearful lest the least discredit undermine their authority or blemish the display of their magnificence.

That is to say, through outward respect and the gift of a cloak and mantle, they manifest the utmost gratitude to any person, and should one be an absolute infidel, in their eyes he becometh like unto Joseph the truthful. One must deal with such persons accordingly. Their agitation and clamor arise from their fear lest their standing and respect be lost and they become abased and despised. Otherwise, were they to know that supreme respect and great consideration would be accorded them, they would outrun all others and show forth greater manifestations of certitude. The rabble are followers of every clamoring one, inclining with every wind....

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Yet with utmost pride they speak of political and social issues, violation of human dignity, and breach of divine laws. If only they had some knowledge of the political world and the relationships of social order! They are extremely egotistical and self-centered, yet completely unaware of human virtues and even of the sciences taught in schools. The height of their aspirations is to say "We studied in the advanced schools of Paris."

A clergy, assuming that he is ordained to his ministry he may think that he knows more about God, while the humble man in his congregation may know more. This sacerdotal and theological position makes many a clergy proud and haughty!

When the Day-Star of Baha will shine resplendent above the horizon of eternity it is incumbent upon you to present yourselves before His Throne. Beware lest ye be seated in His presence or ask questions without His leave. Fear ye God, O concourse of the Mirrors.

Beg ye of Him the wondrous tokens of His favour that He may graciously reveal for you whatever He willeth and desireth, inasmuch as on that Day all the revelations of divine bounty shall circle around the Seat of His glory and emanate from His presence, could ye but understand it.

It behooveth you to remain silent before His Throne, for indeed of all the things which have been created between heaven and earth nothing on that Day will be deemed more fitting than the observance of silence. Moreover, take ye good heed not to be reckoned among those of the past who were invested with knowledge, yet by reason of their learning waxed proud before God, the Transcendent, the Self-Subsisting, inasmuch as on that Day it is He Who is the All-Knowing, the Omniscient, the Source of all knowledge, far above such as are endued with learning; and it is He Who is the Potent, the All-Compelling, the Lord of power, in the face of those who wield power; and it is He Who is the Mighty, the Most August, the Most Glorious before such as display glory; and on that Day it is He Who is the Lofty, the All-Highest, the Source of exaltation, far above those who are elevated in rank; and it is He Who is the Almighty, the Source of glory and grandeur, far above the pomp of the mighty; and it is He Who is the Omnipotent, the Supreme Ruler, the Lord of judgement, transcending all such as are invested with authority; and it is He Who is the Generous, the Most Benevolent, the Essence of bounty, Who standeth supreme in the face of such as show benevolence; and it is He Who is the Ordainer and the Supreme Wielder of authority and power, inconceivably high above those who hold earthly dominion; and it is He Who is the Most Excellent, the Unsurpassed, the Pre-eminent in the face of every man of accomplishment.

Ye have, one and all, been called into being to seek His presence and to attain that exalted and glorious station. Indeed, He will send down from the heaven of His mercy that which will benefit you, and whatever is graciously vouchsafed by Him shall enable you to dispense with all mankind. Verily on that Day the learning of the learned shall prove of no avail, neither the accomplishments of the exponents of knowledge, nor the pomp of the highly honoured, nor the power of the mighty, nor the remembrance of the devout, nor the deeds of the righteous, nor the genuflexion of the kneeling worshipper, nor his prostration or turning towards the Qiblih, nor the honour of the honoured, nor the kinship of the highly born, nor the nobility of those of noble descent, nor the discourse of the eloquent, nor the titles of the prominent -- none of these shall be of any avail unto them -- inasmuch as all these and whatever else ye have known or comprehended were created by His word of command 'Be' and it is. Indeed if it be His Will He can assuredly bring about the resurrection of all created things through a word from Himself. He is, in truth, over and above all this, the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Omnipotent.

Beware, O concourse of Mirrors, lest on that Day titles make you vainglorious. Know ye of a certainty that ye, together with all those who stand above you or below you, have been created for that Day. Fear ye God and commit not that which would grieve His heart, nor be of them that have gone astray. Perchance He will appear invested with the power of Truth while ye are fast asleep on your couches, or His messengers will bring glorious and resplendent Tablets from Him while ye turn away disdainfully from Him, pronounce sentence against Him -- such sentence as ye would never pass on yourselves -- and say, 'This is not from God, the All-Subduing, the Self-Existent'.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God, Thou art well aware that I have proclaimed Thy Word and have not failed in the mission Thou didst enjoin upon me. I entreat Thee to guard the people of the Bayan on that Day in order that they may not pronounce censure against Thee nor contend with Thy signs. Protect them then, O my God, through the power of Thy might which pervadeth all mankind.

We have manifested knowledge that the servants might be guided unto My path, yet they have grown proud against the All-Informed One. Thus have We been treated by those who pride themselves on knowledge when He Who is known came with His name, the Self-Subsisting, and spoke that before which the Books of the Messengers have bowed down.

Mulla 'Ali of Kand, who carried volumes of books and for years acquired sciences and arts which, in his own estimation, others were incapable and powerless to acquire, did not attain to the recognition of God, glorified be His majesty, and remained fixed and established in his own error.

The self-satisfied learned ones were deprived of the bounties of God while you became privy to the mysteries of the Lord.

This is among the signs of the grace of these days that souls who have spent a hundred years studying and discussing sciences and arts have been entirely deprived of divine bounties due to pride and arrogance, while blessed souls who are humble, suppliant and lowly have attained and been blessed - they have arrived at the shore of the Most Great Sea, reached the fountain of the water of life, tasted the sweetness of the love of God, have risen like guiding stars from the horizon of knowledge, and reposed in the shade of the Divine Lote Tree - so that the mystery of "your lowest are your highest" might become manifest and the sign of God's bounty might become known and celebrated.

Those souls who considered themselves the most learned, distinguished and accomplished were not and are not mentioned in the presence of God.

How many souls there are who have considered and still consider themselves the most exalted of creatures, unaware that they were and are not even mentioned in the presence of God.

Through the composition of two words or the expression of vain imaginings, pride seizes him such that he becomes deprived of the ocean upon ocean of tenderness and mercy from the Truth, exalted be His glory.

This is the essence of faith and certitude. They that are the worshipers of the idol which their imaginations have carved, and who call it Inner Reality, such men are in truth accounted among the heathen.

And let not the ignorant among the people cling to these words and step into the arena of pride and vainglory, as hath been observed in some who, after being called for years to absolute wealth by the melodies of the Spirit, have finally claimed independence from the Truth. We seek refuge in God from this!

Among men is he who maketh his religion his world and it preventeth him from the straight path, and among them is he who maketh his asceticism his world while he remaineth in heedlessness and error, and among them is he who maketh his poverty the world itself while remaining unaware of his condition.

O thou who prostrateth thyself at the threshold of the Ancient Beauty!

Prostration is evidence of the absence of being--that is, of utter humility, evanescence and nothingness. Yet today thou mayest observe peoples who, in their temples and cloisters of this nether world, would perform a thousand prostrations every minute, yet are steeped in pride, are haughty and stubborn. They have no knowledge whatsoever of submissiveness and lowliness before the threshold of the Self-Subsisting Lord, nor do they seek to worship the King of Divine Sovereignty.

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Know, moreover, that should one who hath attained unto these stations and embarked upon these journeys fall prey to pride and vainglory, he would at that very moment come to naught and return to the first step without realizing it.

The deed which is conducive to humility, meekness, submissiveness, evanescence, is accepted by God. The action which in the least connotes existence, pride, self-projection is human and not accepted by the Lord of mankind.

He forbids pride and arrogance, which is the foundation of all vices, and commands submission and obedience, which is the foundation of virtues.

Observe how concise and beneficial it is - forbidding pride and haughtiness, which is the root of all vices, and calling to submission, which is the mother of all virtues.

Pride is the greatest sin - perhaps the only sin - leading to every other evil, warping the judgment.

Pride and haughtiness lord it over them and they become mere tools in the hands of sordid, fiendish passion...

Wealth has a tempting and drawing quality. It bewilders the sight of its charmed victims with showy appearances and draws them on and on to the edge of yawning chasms. It makes a person self-centered, self-occupied, forgetful of God and of holy things.

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O ornament of the assured ones and delight of the eyes of the seekers! The world is in tumult and ferment, and humanity is intoxicated and bewildered. But their aims and conditions are different and diverse - one is inebriated from the overflowing divine cup, while another is drunk and proud from the wine of vanity. Some are dancing and rejoicing from the eternal wine of recognition, while others are unconscious and suffering from the deadly poison of heedlessness and error.

There are some people who desire to wallow in the mud but they believe they are the world-illuminating Suns. I want to release them from this water and clay, clear their wings from these impediments but they cry out 'no, no we are suns and stars; we are not in need of thy education.'

They are blind but suppose themselves to have been endowed with the all-searching eyes of the Omnipotence. They are deaf but imagine the all-hearing ears of the Almighty have been granted them. They are mute but they surmise the life-giving tongue of Christ is theirs. Bootless and vain are their imaginations!

In the days of the Blessed Beauty, I never had a desire to write. The friends even complained about it. In reply I finally wrote to Varqa saying, 'When the shrill of the Supreme Pen can be heard, what is the need of my writing?' However, in the days of the Most Great Luminary others wrote, referring to themselves, as the great sun of God.

Certain statements proceeded from thee which were unworthy. Although at the time of thy presence thou wert counseled to speak naught but the truth and to become not the cause of people's perplexity, yet didst thou utter that which caused the people to be veiled, and at no time didst thou speak the truth.

Since in recent times some have become somewhat proud and have attributed this blessing and bounty to their own wisdom and efforts, therefore confusion has appeared so that they might awaken to realize that after their utter abasement, this honor and blessing was due to the grace and favor of the Blessed Beauty.

Those heedless and proud souls imagined that they had some merit and worthiness of their own, unaware that their relationship to the Cause of God was the source of that glory, and it was through the aid and protection of the Blessed Beauty that eyes were opened and ears became hearing.

However, some of them were heedless of the influences of the Most Exalted Pen - they did not know what was the cause of this honor. Rather, they fell into heedlessness and pride and did not appreciate the value of these bounties. Therefore they fell into tests and difficulties.

Look how we proved the truth of Islam in Jewish synagogues and Christian churches. Despite this, what accusations the Muslims made! What things they said - that the Baha'is are enemies of the government and nation, this and that! And yet, if we had engaged in sedition, what better pretext and opportunity could there have been than this? Even so, souls remain heedless, preoccupied with selfish desires and drowned in pride.

Beware lest anything prevent you from showing humility before God, and be not like unto him whose cause We exalted among the servants and whose mention We spread throughout the lands. Yet when he saw himself in glory and elevation, he waxed proud before Him Who created and fashioned him, reaching such a state that he opposed the Countenance and was neglectful of God's rights, and was of those who, when the Sun of Beauty shone forth from the horizon of grandeur, grew arrogant and were of those who are proud.

O thou who hast with all thy being arisen to serve the Covenant! The letter received from that known individual is steeped in pride and vanity.

… And in the Tablet of the Temple He explicitly states: "We chose one of our brothers and elevated him to a station where pride and arrogance seized him, therefore We returned him" to the end of the verse.

Yet at such an hour the fire of pride and vainglory was kindled within their hearts, and the loftiness of their station became the cause of their exaggeration regarding the Beauty of the sovereign, the All-Knowing; the exaltation of their rank became the source of rancor and hatred.

Others became proud and haughty because they had received so many Tablets from Baha'u'llah or that they were favored by him during His life time. … I consider myself weaker than a mosquito but the confirmations of the Blessed Perfection<s> are descending uninterruptedly but some heedless souls forgetting this point consider they are somebody and filled with deceit and ego became dictatorial and overbearing. Such people deprive themselves not only of the Bounties of God but little by little the friends lose their confidence and trust in them....

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God forbid if a person is overtaken with pride. During His last days, the Blessed Beauty was greatly annoyed [with Mirza Aqa Jan] to the point that I wanted to punish him physically. When a person becomes prideful, first he becomes self-centered. That is, he believes all his doings are correct and the best way. Secondly he causes dissension. His inner thoughts are then in conflict with his behavior, and this results in his quick demise.

Then the mother of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali came and said, "Mirza aqa Jan has become presumptuous before His Blessed Person and has said, 'I have labored more for You than His Holiness the Exalted One [the Bab], and You do not appreciate my labors.' The Blessed Beauty has become deeply grieved."

In any case, at the time when Mirza Aqa Jan should have attained the good-pleasure of the Blessed One, at the critical moment, he lost himself because he imagined that this elevated station was of his own doing. In the latter days he had carried his audacity to such a degree that, in the presence of the Blessed Beauty, he had said: "Had His Holiness the Exalted One been in my place, He would not have endured it."

A question was asked regarding the elder brother and the Master replied: In any cycle or time someone has shown pride. In the time of Christ it was Judas. In the days of the Blessed Perfection, Subhi Ezel. Now it is the head of the Nakazeen.

Sheikh As'ad had said that this Mirza Muhammad Ali is so weighty with his pride that when he sits down, he does not rise again...

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But they did not listen. Rather, they were intoxicated with the wine of pride, saying "We are of the lineage of the Kayanis! We are the descendants of Rustam the mighty!"

When Mirza Aqa Khan was Prime Minister and held Iran under his control, he wished to trace his lineage to a famous person. One of the inhabitants of the village of Bukh traced his ancestry to Khwajih Abu-Salt-i-Harvi, who had a maidservant, and this family of Khwajih are descended from that Khwajih. The Prime Minister and his people all celebrated that "Praise be to God, we are descended from Khwajih Abu-Salt," and Khwajih Abu-Salt was someone who served Imam Rida, peace be upon him.

Here is the pivot around which the pride of this people revolves! Observe what things men vaunt themselves over!

Similarly Nimrod the obstinate - what great cities he had, what a vast country he possessed, what a conquering army he commanded. And likewise Pharaoh who cried out "Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine?" and declared "These rivers flow beneath." His pomp and dominion were boundless, his star was brilliant and radiant, yet in a brief time he was obliterated and destroyed for he sought to resist the truth.

Each became a mighty Pharaoh and a severely arrogant Nimrod. They were wholly deprived of the favors of the Day of Resurrection and were rendered hopeless of the gifts of the All-Forgiving Lord.

Some of the kings exhibited pride, one was the Ottoman king, Abdul Aziz Khan.

… You proclaimed once that you were a defender of the oppressed, but it becomes evident that you are not; rather, you magnify your own selfish desires and passions.

Do not write to the emperor; he is proud and preoccupied, and will not take heed at present.

The most burning fire is to question the signs of God, to dispute idly that which He hath revealed, to deny Him and carry one's self proudly before Him.

O My creation! Be not proud before Him at Whose face the countenances of the Concourse on High bow down in adoration, and be not of the arrogant ones.

At this moment all who are in the heavens and on earth prostrated themselves before God, and the Holy Spirit breathed into the temples of the Concourse on High, and the Dove warbled in the midmost heart of eternity, and all necks bowed down before His command, while the proud were in the fire of hell and grievous peril, and verily He was witness over all things.

We beseech Him to guide such souls as have drunk the wine of pride and are heedless of that which profiteth them.

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. Proverbs 16:5 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

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Courtesy, reverence, dignity, respect for the rank and achievements of others are virtues which contribute to the harmony and well-being of every community, but pride and self-aggrandisement are among the most deadly of sins.

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...the believers must recognize the importance of intellectual honesty and humility. In past dispensations many errors arose because the believers in God's Revelation were over-anxious to encompass the Divine Message within the framework of their limited understanding, to define doctrines where definition was beyond their power, to explain mysteries which only the wisdom and experience of a later age would make comprehensible, to argue that something was true because it appeared desirable and necessary. Such compromises with essential truth, such intellectual pride, we must scrupulously avoid.

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