Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on July 28, 2013.
In this lecture, Swami Bhaskarananda examines humility as a defining characteristic of genuine saintliness and clarifies common misunderstandings surrounding the concept. He explains that humility is not weakness, self-denigration, or low self-esteem, but an honest and balanced understanding of oneself grounded in self-knowledge. Drawing on psychological insight, classical Hindu thought, and illustrative stories from the lives of saints, he shows how pride and self-assertion often arise from an unrecognized sense of inner inadequacy, while true humility flows naturally from spiritual maturity.
The talk emphasizes that authentic saints are never conscious of their own saintliness. Having recognized the presence of divinity in all beings, they feel no basis for superiority and instead express respect, compassion, and openness toward others. Swami Bhaskarananda illustrates this through examples from Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist traditions, including the lives of Jesus Christ, Sri Ramakrishna, and Sri Chaitanya, highlighting humility as a universal spiritual virtue rather than a sectarian ideal.
He also explains how humility develops through purification of the mind, particularly through self-examination and meditation. As negative tendencies are gradually weakened and higher qualities strengthened, the mind becomes capable of deeper awareness of inherent divinity. From this awareness, humility arises spontaneously, not as a practiced behavior, but as a natural expression of spiritual insight and inner freedom.
