Humility
[4][5] Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being "unselved"—liberated from the consciousness of self—a form of temperance that is neither having pride (or haughtiness) nor indulging in self-deprecation.
This equilibrium lies in having a reduced focus on oneself, which leads to lower self-importance and diminished arrogance, while also possessing the ability to demonstrate strength, assertiveness, and courage.
It contrasts with maliciousness, hubris, and other negative forms of pride, and is an idealistic and rare intrinsic construct that has an extrinsic side.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks states that, in Judaism, humility is an appreciation of oneself, one's talents, skills, and virtues.
In recognizing our worth as people, Rabbi Dunner shows that looking into the zillions of stars in the sky, and in the length and history of time, you and I are insignificant, like dust.
[13] The editors of the New American Bible Revised Edition suggest that the writer "is perhaps warning his students [in this section] against the perils of Greek philosophy".
[14] Amongst the benefits of humility described in the Hebrew Bible, that is shared by many faiths, are honor, wisdom, prosperity, the protection of the Lord, and peace.
Augustine stresses the importance of humility in the study of the Bible, with the exemplars of a barbarian Christian slave, the apostle Paul, and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.[16]: prooem.
4–7 Both learner and teacher need to be humble, because they learn and teach what ultimately belongs to God.[16]: prooem.
[16]: I.1.1 Augustine argues that the interpreter of the Bible should proceed with humility, because only a humble person can grasp the truth of Scripture.
[21] The Virgin of humility sits on the ground, or upon a low cushion, unlike the Enthroned Madonna representations.
[22] This style of painting spread quickly through Italy, and, by 1375, examples began to appear in Spain, France, and Germany.
[26] The natural aim of the Buddhist life is the state of enlightenment, gradually cultivated through meditation and other spiritual practices.
[26]: 180, 183 As a quality to be developed, it is deeply connected with the practice of Four Abodes (Brahmavihara): love-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.
[citation needed] As a result of the practice, this cultivated humility is expanded by the wisdom acquired by the experience of ultimate emptiness (śūnyatā) and non-self (anatta).
[26]: 182 In the Tipitaka, in the widely known Mangala Sutta, humility (nivato, literally: "without air") is mentioned as one of the thirty-eight blessings in life.
In later Pali texts and Commentaries, Sariputta Thera is depicted as a forgiving person, who is quick to apologize and accepting of criticism.
[28] Once, the Buddha mentioned to some monks that his lay disciple Hatthaka had seven wonderful and marvellous qualities; these being faith, virtue, propriety, self-respect, learning, generosity and wisdom.
Related words include विनति (viniti), संनति (samniti, humility towards), and the concept amanitvam, listed as the first virtue in the Bhagavad Gita.
[35] The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledge—who knows that he is not this body—anything—honor or dishonor—pertaining to this body is useless.
[36] Eknath Easwaran writes that the Gita's subject is "the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious",[37] and "The language of battle is often found in the scriptures, for it conveys the strenuous, long, drawn-out campaign we must wage to free ourselves from the tyranny of the ego, the cause of all our suffering and sorrow".
[39] Swami Vivekananda, a 19th century scholar of Hinduism, argues that the concept of humility does not mean "crawling on all fours and calling oneself a sinner".
According to Nanak the supreme purpose of human life is to reconnect with Akal (The Timeless One), however, egotism is the biggest barrier in doing this.
[44] In addition to sharing with others Guru Nanak inspired people to earn an honest living without exploitation and also to remember the divine name (God).
"[48] Finally, Baba emphasized the importance of being humble when serving others: "One of the most difficult things to learn is to render service without bossing, without making a fuss about it and without any consciousness of high and low.
[51] Ellen Chen notes[52] that: The third treasure, daring not be at the world's front, is the Taoist way to avoid premature death.
"No doubt, when modesty was made a virtue, it was a very advantageous thing for the fools," wrote Arthur Schopenhauer, "for everybody is expected to speak of himself as if he were one".
"[56] He believed that his idealized Übermensch would be more apt to roam unfettered by pretensions of humility, proud of his stature and power, but not reveling idly in it, and certainly not displaying hubris.
Research suggests that humility is a quality of certain types of leaders and is studied as a trait that can enhance leadership effectiveness.
For example, Jim Collins and his colleagues found that a certain type of leader, whom they term "level 5", possesses humility and fierce resolve.
