selfishness; self-love; egotism; self-indulgence
Editorial introduction
A man weeps over his starving dog and will not share his bread. The traveller’s story cuts to the difference between feeling love and acting on it, and selfishness is then followed into subtler hiding places: a desire to be right, the wish for the chief seat, office used for private ends, even sincere religious words that conceal an ego ignorant of itself. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warns that if a person has every virtue but is selfish, the rest will fade; and that service tainted with self-love leads to nothing, while the servant free of private motive shines like the morning star. Tests, he says, cleanse the spotting of self from the mirror of the heart, for no veil is more obstructive. Luke’s two men at prayer sharpen the question of self-righteousness, and the parable loses its point the moment it becomes a label for someone else [1]. The direction is outward: justice in place of self-seeking and a shared happiness. From here the path leads into generosity, into the discipline of self-improvement, and into the meaning of Satan as the insistent self.
'Why do you not give some of it to this dying animal?' asked the traveller. Insulted, the Arab stared at him and exclaimed, 'I said I loved the dog, but not enough to share my own bread with him!'
The Master said:
"They have capped this well so that others would not benefit from its drinking water. Sanctified is God! What gain or profit do they expect by showing such iniquity towards others? Some people are unable to hide the secrets of their hearts and inner thoughts, and they are incapable of not perpetrating harm.
"I thank you very heartily" the master said to his expecting clerk "for the gift you sent to our house. It saved us a great deal of expense I assure you. We have been feasting on it during the last week. The first day we ate its ears; the second day its eyes; the third day the skin over the head, the fourth day, its tongue, the fifth day its meat, the sixth day we cleaned its bones and on the seventh day its brain."
Men keep their possessions for their own enjoyment and do not share sufficiently with others the bounty received from God. Spring is thus changed into the winter of selfishness and egotism.
Others may love you but it may be for some ulterior purpose. They may love you because they expect some day or some time to receive some reward from you; but I expect reward from no one.
Selfishness must also be rooted out, not only in its gross, but in its exceedingly subtle forms. A man may be selfish even to an extreme and be quite ignorant of it.
Not until a man has wholly freed himself from lust and selfishness will he be able to distinguish between what is good in him and what is not.
The initial wish does not come from Abdul Baha. It comes from them. It is generally clothed with such words as these: 'We only wish to do that which Abdul Baha wishes us to do.' And they are sincere in this, for they do not know the subtlety of the ego of man. It is the Tempter (the subtle serpent of the mind), and the poor soul not entirely emancipated from its suggestions is deceived until entirely severed from all save God."
If this is simply selfishness it is as disastrous to the soul, but if it be spiritual and conscious devotion to self it becomes a spur upward and onward. Mere selfish love is like a man whirling round and round until he becomes dizzy and falls.
From the untrained self of the child grows the desire of the youth to be something, and from this there will arise in the mature man, besides the desire for respect, the feelings of being misunderstood, of being underrated, of being slighted. From this again develop the feeling of knowing better, self-assurance, the delusion of being infallible. It comes to blind criticism of each and every thing that the leader or the leaders decide or do.
All these wishes are well worthy of asking. Especially the rescue from self-love. This is a strange trait and the means of the destruction of many important souls in the world. If man be imbued with all good qualities but be selfish, all the other virtues will fade or pass away and eventually he will grow worse.
All these wishes are well worthy of asking, especially the rescue from self-love. This is a strange trait and the means of the destruction of many important souls in the world. If man be imbued with all the good qualities, but be selfish, all the other virtues will fade or pass away, and eventually he will grow worse.
O army of God! A letter bearing your signatures, one and all, hath been received. Its wording was endowed with the utmost grace, eloquence, fluency, and sweetness, and from the reading thereof the deepest joy was obtained. It testified to the observance of the Fast of the month of abstinence. Happy are ye that ye have carried out the commandment of God and, in these blessed days, arisen to fulfill the Fast. For this bodily fast is a symbol of the spiritual fast, that is, the restraint of the self from all selfish desires, the adornment of the soul with spiritual attributes, attraction to the breaths of the All-Merciful, and enkindlement with the fire of the love of God. Likewise, that letter was itself an evidence of the unity and concord of hearts.
The hope cherished through the grace and bounty of the Lord, the Glorious, in this new age, is that the western land may become the dawning-place of the Sun of Truth, and that the loved ones of God may be the daysprings of light and the manifestations of divine signs; that they may remain guarded and protected from the doubts of the heedless, and steadfast in the Covenant and Testament; that they may strive day and night to awaken the sleeping, make the negligent mindful, admit the deprived into the sanctuary of mysteries, bestow upon the destitute a portion of everlasting grace, become the heralds of the Kingdom, and summon the people of the mortal world unto the realm of the Divine.
O army of God! Today, in this world, every party wandereth bewildered in some wilderness, stirred by desire and passion, each pursuing and seeking according to its own imaginings. Amid the factions of the earth, this community of the Most Great Name standeth detached from every vain fancy, severed from every selfish aim, established in purity of motive, and striving and laboring with utmost longing in the divine teachings, that the face of the earth may become a very paradise, that the world of humanity may be transformed into a mirror of the Kingdom, that this world may become another world, and that the human race may acquire a new education, a new way, and a new manner of life.
In truth, were it any king other than this sovereign, no trace of these exiles would have remained. Justice requireth that one should not depart from fairness. In this day, throughout the whole expanse of Asia, verily the sovereign of the Ottomans and the King of Persia, Muzaffari’d-Din Shah, have neither peer nor likeness. Did ye but know to what degree the corruption of the enemies, the mischief of the malevolent, and, above all, the sedition of the unkind brother, both here and in Persia, have reached, and yet behold, notwithstanding all this corruption and all this strife, how these two kings move with tranquillity and composure, ye would assuredly be convinced that both are just. Had the former monarchs been in their place, assuredly a thousand souls a day would in Persia have been destroyed. Wherefore, pray ye in behalf of these two kings, and beseech aid and grace for them, and seek for them victory and triumph, most especially for the sovereign of the Ottomans, who hath dealt with these exiles, even unto this day, with pure justice.
A prayer:
That which is always the cause of inharmony and delays the progress of the Cause of God is love for leadership and self-interest. Those who cherish such tendencies imagine that these will be concealed from others.
And likewise I have detached Myself from these who follow the desires of their souls and are not conscious in any matter, and whose only concern in this world is to put themselves before God's servants and to sit in the chief seats of gatherings and to boast and make claims about that which they neither know nor understand.
If the object, however, is to promote personal interests, then such a position will be injurious to humanity and not beneficial to the public.
H. Randall, Dr. Eselmont, Mr. Geo, Latimer, Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Vail were present, Shoghi translating, Lotfullah Hakim taking down the Words in Persian, Abdul-Baha said:
"Still there may be souls like Mrs. Kirchner, Dr. Nutt and Fareed who have personal motives and wish to make a station for themselves. Dr. Fareed wishes to acquire money. He has no religion or faith.
It is very strange that up to this time not one Persian has come here, just to pay a social call or express a welcome greeting. Every one of them wants money and help.
['Abdu'l-Baha] responded: They work for their own personal gains.
['Abdu'l-Baha] added, "Various parties in Iran have no intention of doing good. Their purpose is to gain personal profit."
They gave each other no peace, and every day they pursued pleasure and personal gain and selfish aims until they squandered that glory and laid waste such prosperous realms.
Never was their purpose the branch, nor is it now. Rather, they have made him a means for attracting people to their own causes.
Likewise, some have committed reprehensible deeds according to their carnal desires and have attributed them to the Truth, and the helpless servants who were unaware of the essence of the Cause have, by following such souls, strayed far from the straight path.
Then what value can be placed on these souls who desire nothing except the promotion of their own interests and advantages?
Those who play for their own little selfish ends give no true light to the world and perish of their own futility.
Some may imagine that because they frequent theaters, accumulate wealth, or attend balls, they are always enjoying life: whereas, in reality, these things often scatter thoughts, confuse the minds and dissipate the faculties. The effect of these amusements is like the effect of the wine upon the body:-it exhilarates at first, but its after effect leaves one weak and the mental faculties exhausted.
Such is the condition of people and the fruit of the whisperings of the ungrateful self. Vain indeed is that which they do! Soon thou shalt see them in evident loss.
It is because they are seeking their own interests and not the good-pleasure of the Lord of mankind. They are steeped in the quagmire of their own egoism and are not striving to save themselves out of the bog of selfishness and shake their bespattered bodies with soiled mud and dirt.
Stiff-necked and self-willed they take their narrow circle of affected fellow-feeling as the limitless sea of universal sympathy or the tiny rivulet of their self-love as the fountain-head of an all-inclusive brotherhood.
How often they let the cloud of self and ego becloud the horizon and thus prevent the stars of their divine verities from shinning!
However, this station and these attributes hold true so long as one beholds therein the revelation of one's Lord. Should it turn away from the Sun and face the wolf of self and desire, then doth the light return to its source, and the mirror reverteth to a station wherein naught can be seen therein save the wolf.
Asked, "What is Satan?" He replied: "The insistent self."
And in truth, the self is full of affliction - the weaker it is the better, for its strength is the cause of weakness and its rulership is bondage.
The intoxication of selfish desire hath held men back from the Lord of all being.
Thou knowest, O my God, that those who worship their own desires are more numerous than those who bow before Thy luminous Beauty.
This Day they have cast away what is with God and taken what their own selves and desires have commanded them.
O My handmaidens! Follow not the promptings of self, but follow that which hath come by a clear command.
One person is at all times thinking of himself, while another is at all times thinking of Truth.
By them, man is brought to the condition of severance from his egotism and being absorbed into the Ocean of Love Divine.
Blessed is the soul whom the promptings of self have not kept back from the Lord of Names.
It is a pity that in these days, souls who have accepted the Cause and who gaze toward the Most Exalted Horizon should be occupied with themselves. In all conditions they must speak such words and perform such deeds as will cause the exaltation of God's Cause and bring assurance to the hearts and souls.
Perchance, God willing, they may become mindful and aware, be released from negligence, abandon tyranny and oppression, treat each other with justice and fairness, and give up the dictates of selfishness and personal interest.
Therefore we must all live in the utmost of happiness and comfort under a just rule and regulation in accordance with the laws of God, because this life is fleeting, and if man looks after himself only, he is no better than the animal, for the animal alone is to that degree egotistic.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
If he is alloyed with the slightest trace of passion, desire, ostentation or self-interest, it is certain that the results of all efforts will prove fruitless, and he will become deprived and hopeless.
It ill-beseemeth men to centre all their efforts on their own selves; rather must they ceaselessly strive for the betterment of the lives of one another.
For thought and discussion