3rd Dec, 2021
नमन्ति फलिनो वृक्षा नमन्ति गुणिनो जनाः।
शुष्ककाष्ठ्ठश्च मूर्खश्च न नमन्ति कदाचन ॥
The Sanskrit shloka says, “Just as a fruit laden tree bows low, so does an accomplished person in humility”
The branches of a tree laden with fruit bend downward just as the virtuous persons bow down out of respect to others. But a dry wood never bends down, neither does a fool who does not respect others.
Do you wish to be great? Then begin by bending.
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending.
You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? First build the foundation of humility.
The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.
Imbibe Humility.
In this world of Self-Promotion, being humble is often thought as weak.
When I was ignorant, I thought that humble people are those shy and retiring guys that always accept the opinions of others over theirs, they are those guys with low self-esteem who can easily be intimidated and are too weak to survive the game of this world.
But as I pondered through the biographies of many notable personalities, one thing that was mostly common in them was the virtue of being humble. They were humble but not in the sense of what I had imagined.
They were capable, yet they valued the opinion of others.
They were powerful, yet they respected others.
They were influential, yet they listened to what others had to say.
They knew their strength, yet they acknowledged their imperfections.
They were humble, because they could deflate their ego.
A branch of tree laden with fruit does not have to bend towards the earth, it bends naturally due to the weight of those fruits it bears.
A virtuous person does not go through an arduous process to be humble, with all the virtues in him, he consciously selects humility every time.
But, the less-virtuous are like the dry wood. They never ever bend down. They will break but not bend due to their excessive ego.
Never ever attach humility with low self-esteem. A famous way of describing humility is that “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
Humility is the first step towards greatness,
In admitting that we don’t know, we open ourselves to learning,
In admitting that we can fail, we open for ourselves, another path to success,
In admitting that we are flawed, we open ourselves to accepting others.
Be like the bamboo, the higher you grow, the deeper you bow and stay blessed forever.