I've heard a remark born from wisdom & from
experience ‘The cloak of humility is worn from within’. This is a deep
statement & worth pondering over.
The dictionary defines cloak as an outer garment and as
something that covers or conceals. So typically a cloak is worn outside &
covers something inside, in the widely used form of the word. However, it is
also something that merely conceals, without particularly referring whether on
the outside or inside.
Some of the dictionary definitions of humble are in such a
way that it evokes pity on someone who is humble, rather than respect. They
even border on being derogatory. For instance it says ‘someone who is having a
feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc’, ‘low in importance,
status, quality, etc’, ‘low in height, level’. These meanings are certainly not
aspirational. This is expected, given that the English language & hence
these dictionaries are usually having their origin in the western world, where
humility is not a desirable quality. There is only one meaning which evokes a
sense of reverence for someone who is humble, as ‘not proud or arrogant’.
However, in our Eastern culture in the hoary Hindu
tradition, being humble is something one is ingrained with right from one’s
childhood. Humility is considered as much of an achievement as success in any
field. This is expected, since the entire way of life in a country like India
used to be structured around achieving life’s true purpose which is self realization,
another word for which reads self negation or negation & eradication of the
ego. Sri Ramakrishna has famously said something to the effect, that the ocean
of grace collects not on the mounds of ego but on the flat lands of humility.
It signifies an ability to receive more of grace, knowledge, wealth or anything
that is of significance. So humility is just an attitude & does not have
anything to do with the outer world of possessions of knowledge or material
wealth.
So, coming back to the saying, the cloak of humility is thus
an inner cloak that covers the outer, rather than the commonly used cloak that
covers the inside from outside. Humility in the form of the cloak, by
definition is not something that gets exhibited on the outside. Thus, being worn
on the inside, it leads to a covering of the outside. Covering the outside
means that this cloak covers an outward exhibition of one’s possessions,
whatever they may be, whether subtle possessions of knowledge or intelligence,
or gross possessions of wealth.
There is another interpretation as well. Where there is an
ego, there is some ‘thing’ to be covered from the outside. However, as humility
progresses to its culmination in the destruction of the ego, there is no
‘thing’ to be covered on the inside. However, that doesn’t mean a self realized
person is a pauper with no possessions or a fool with no knowledge. A self
realized person has the whole universe as his, or vice versa, nothing that he
calls his own, which are one & the same. Hence for such a person who is the
epitome of humility, the cloak is to cover the outer exhibition of possessions.
Then the inside shines, without being obstructed by the outside & lights up
everything!
Why is this important today? As a country, we’re moving
towards blindly aping the West in all aspects without realizing the strength of
our way of life. No longer is it considered wise to be modest, rather it is
taken as a sense of non-achievement. Instead of letting one’s achievements
& work in the world speak & stand on its own strength, people are
following the Western way of being outspoken in reeling off their list of
capabilities, whether they’re useful to another or not being secondary!
Sooner or later, someone with even a little intelligence
realizes that no matter how intelligent or knowledgeable one is, one’s ‘own’
ego centric knowledge is just a drop in the ocean of everything there is.
Rather than grow the ego centric knowledge to try & embrace more and more
aspects of existence, it is better to let go of everything in a spirit of
surrender. Then there is knowledge of everything that is needed within the
grand scheme of events. It is commonly known for example, that a realized
master such as Paramhansa Yogananda used to reflect the consciousness of those
whom he was talking with. For example, while speaking to medical experts, he
would freely talk with them as if he was an expert, using their terminology
& genuinely exhibiting knowledge of the medical profession, despite lack of
any ‘formal’ training in that field. This is not surprising at all, as
consciousness which forms the basis for all of existence, can appear to take on
any form in the world of Maya!
In summary, it is far better to wear the cloak of humility
from within than to wear any cloak the outside, which amounts to deception or a
façade over one’s true nature! The former is a sign of sure progress towards
all embracing realization, while the latter is a sign of sure regression
towards embracing the ego.
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