Baba says, “Humility will give you a place of love in everyone’s heart.”

The sign of greatness is humility. The greater the humility, the more a soul will automatically be great in everyone’s heart because someone with humility is automatically egoless. “When you are humble, there is humility in your attitude, in your drishti, in your words and also in your connections and relationships.“, teaches Baba. “It shouldn’t be that you say: “It wasn’t in my attitude but the words just came out“. No, whatever is your attitude, your drishti will be accordingly. Whatever is your drishti, your words will be according to that, and whatever are your words, they will affect your connections and relationships. There has to be humility in all four. If there is humility in three but not in one, then there is still margin for arrogance.“

To be humble in this way, the basis is ‘instrument consciousness‘, that is, I consider myself an instrument. To be an instrument, in turn, requires that I die alive. It means that I refuse to put myself first and instead ask Baba what He would like me to do in any given situation. God wants me to be His representative, His instrument for other people because He has made me a holder or container of His truth- the truth about who we are, about who He is, that He is here now and that it now time to return home; this truth is something those around me greatly need. He wants me to live by this truth that is now within me such that others receive it through me. If instead, I choose to live by the falsehood of the past-that others owe me something…for example, they ought to show me love, and respect; that they ought to behave a certain way, then I am not being an instrument of God. The question that often comes up at this point is: “but what about me!?” For myself, I must wholly depend on God for all my needs. The love, the respect, the understanding, the acceptance…whatever, even my physical needs, I go to God. I rely on Him completely in every circumstance, not on human beings. This reliance on God makes me able to be a true instrument and thereby, to live with genuine humility. As long as I have expectations of people, as long as I have my own limited desires, I cannot be humble.

Some people believe that self-deprecation is humility. On the path of bhakti, devotees routinely berate themselves in front of the deities and tell how vile and sinful they are. But this is not humility. Humility is to recognize the grace of God in my life, to recognize His companionship that is changing me and molding me. Sometimes, I look at others, at all the great inspiring work they are doing and feel insignificant; I think that is humility, but it is not. Humility is not about comparing myself with others and acknowledging the self as inferior, rather, humility is to see God as worthy of serving no matter what assignment He gives me.

There’s much emphasis placed today on accomplishing big things in the name of serving God, and that can lead me to think that a seemingly ordinary life doesn’t amount to much. However, God needs different tasks done and not everyone is called to preach to thousands or serve the poor in villages or work on climate change. Being a mother, a student, a sincere and hardworking employee is a huge calling, if that’s what God has tasked me to do. This, is honoring God and the self; This, is humility. To get into comparisons with others and deem the self as ‘not as good’, ‘not as important’, ‘not significant’, to self-deprecate, is not humility.

Being able to serve in this way, with true humility, requires true surrender where God is my world, His task is my task, I am His obedient instrument child. When I live life this way, I reveal the Father through my every thought, word, and action. I don’t strive to do things that serve the ego; rather, the way I live my life points to the Father. I hide myself and show the Father. When I forge a relationship of souls with their Father in this way, through my every day interactions, in my seemingly ‘ordinary’ life, it becomes the most extra-ordinary service, it becomes the greatest service that causes me to receive blessings from the hearts of the Father and of souls.