The state of humbleness is of the utmost importance on the spiritual path. In this article, we explore this key element and learn how amplifying it in our being can lighten our inner world and lift us higher on our spiritual journey.
The Balance Between Aspiration and Self-Importance
Spiritual growth depends on two main forces. First, there is aspiration — the desire to grow, meet God, and reach enlightenment. When this longing is expressed in practice and attitude, it lifts us, and it makes the ego leave.
But then there is self-importance, which acts like a heavy weight that slows down the process. The greater the self-importance, the greater the aspiration needed to rise just a little. Some spiritual seekers invest years and years in spiritual practice, devoting most of their days to hatha yoga, meditation, and prayer. But despite their discipline, their spiritual progress remains limited. While others may practice for just 2 or 3 hours a day and experience deep spiritual states. Why?
When our spiritual guide was asked, “What is the most important quality for a spiritual seeker?”, he said clearly, “humility”. One may have a strong self-importance, always expecting to be served, constantly occupied with oneself, proud and heavy. Regardless of the dedication, their aspiration will not lift them too high.
When the heart is open, pure and genuinely humble, having some aspiration, though they practice less, their spirit rises more easily. You may have motors of the same size, and one of them is lifting a truck up the hill, while the other one is lifting a kite up the hill.
The Role of Humble Actions
The path of humility is about dissolving pride and lust — two forces that make the spiritual journey heavy. Removing them makes walking this path lighter and more natural.
One of the practices of reducing self-importance in many spiritual traditions is to cultivate humility through seemingly simple tasks of service, which might be seen as not very important or as not matching your level of experience or even insulting in a way. In monasteries or ashrams, you might be asked to clean toilets or participate in construction work — not because your skills are unvalued, but in order to reduce your sense of self-importance.
This kind of work often brings up inner resistance: “But I’m a psychologist”, or “I’m an engineer”. Still, the teaching is clear — humility means letting go of the need for recognition. You might put in effort that no one sees or praises. But if you know you’ve done the right thing and feel at peace with that, it’s a true sign of humility. And when humility is better established, you somehow feel that you deserve no more than anyone else. You simply are, and that’s enough. Peace, serenity, and spiritual lightness begin to arise. Then, even a small spiritual effort, fueled by real longing, can take you very far.
How to Cultivate Humility
A direct way to grow humility is unmasking yourself — ideally with the support of someone who loves you and speaks honestly. This begins by understanding how self-importance works. Most of us believe that we deserve more than others, a little more or much more — more food, more attention, more appreciation. But we live with that feeling, and we somehow hide it. This comes from having an ego.
Start by facing this belief without flinching: “I believe I deserve more”. Observe how it shows up in daily situations. Real humility begins when you stop hiding these tendencies and start seeing them clearly. Next, try to have open conversations with someone you love, and who can help you to see your flaws more accurately. Pride thrives in the shadows, where we refuse to admit how selfish we can be. Say that we’ve done ten horrible mistakes and one good thing, and then we were screwed over once. We would only think about how we were screwed over and how great we were at that time. We don’t really contemplate our own mistakes.
To overcome this, we face ourselves honestly in the mirror, get feedback, and gradually create a more real perspective of who we are. It is not an easy process, but the more lies that we remove, the lighter we become.
Feeding the Soul with True Examples
Reading the biographies of humble beings can awaken this quality in us. Great saints like St. Francis of Assisi, Ramakrishna, Jesus Christ, or Ramana Maharshi lived in profound humility. And when we read their stories, something inside of us says, “Yes, I have had enough of this burden of self-importance. I want to be as light as a bird. There is nothing that I want for myself”.
At some point, you begin to feel the poison of pride and how it chokes your spirit. And then you might have moments of humility, a day of humility; take a retreat, a few days of silence. There is no one to blame, no one to impress. After such time, you may feel a certain lightness of humility and be able to pray and meditate deeply again. Suddenly, you can focus. Your self-importance has been quieted, and now your aspiration can lift you.
But when you return from the retreat and have your first conflict, it all rushes back. You rebuild the shell, and the heaviness returns. And with it, you see the influence of self-importance. This pattern is deeply rooted and, unfortunately, you can’t just snap your fingers and be free from it. But you can recognise the cost. And then you will discover the aspiration, the longing to start peeling off your self-importance and enacting gestures of real love.
This article was transcribed and edited by Tony from the following video: