"Learning is the very essence of humility".Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986, Indian writer, speaker and philosopher).
In order to learn we have to admit to ourselves that we do not know or what we do know is inadequate. Arrogance is the opposite of humility, but we hear arrogant statements from many people including politicians, academics and religious people.
4 comments:
Yet to be humble is perceived by many as weak and arrogance is seen as strength and resolution.
Responding to Anonymous: That is the topsy-turvy world we live in. To be truly humble, you need a great strength of character (an inner strength) so one does not have to put others down in order to feel good about oneself.
I was lucky enough to hear Krishnamurti speak late on in his life. I was deeply impressed. "The speaker is not a guru!" he used to repeat, referring to himself. He came across both as deeply humble, and also as deeply authentic and authoritative.
Quite a while later, reflecting on my achieved PhD, I came to recognise that part of a true and good PhD training was exactly humility, to recognise how little one knows, despite one's best efforts.
Thanks for this. Krishnamurti knew that, however much one knows, there is always more to learn. Humility is about realising that we can learn from every situation and person we meet. Good teachers learn as much from their students as students from their teacher.
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