The Sacrifice of Intellectual Pride

 


The seventh sacrifice is the sacrifice of the pride of intellect. You must have seen renunciants who give up home and worldly life, yet start developing a great ego about their wisdom, skills, knowledge of the shastras, rationality, or the brilliance of their mind. If someone does not agree with them, they become angry, because they consider their intellect to be the best. They leave everything and then accept titles like “Shri Shri 108 Jagadguru” and run after name and fame. In this way, they destroy the value of all their previous sacrifices. Therefore, the sacrifice of the pride of intellect is very important.

Sacrifice of the mind does not mean that we become blind devotees. It means we renounce the subtle feeling that “I am more intelligent than others” or the inner intoxication of “I am very wise.” We sacrifice this ego and consider ourselves lifelong students and sincere effort-makers.

 

The eighth kind of sacrifice is a very strange and subtle one. You know that some people, after making many sacrifices, start displaying a sense of entitlement based on those sacrifices. For example, consider a man who has dedicated his whole life to Godly service. Now, among the people he lives with, he does not get very good living conditions or food. So he says in frustration, “This is very wrong! I have sacrificed so much, and you people do not even give me this basic comfort? Do I not at least deserve a big hall and good food?”

It is clear that whatever sacrifices this man has made, he has not sacrificed the pride of his sacrifice. Therefore, the best kind of sacrifice is that which a person does not feel proud of, does not praise with his own mouth, and for which he does not become restless or eager to receive any gross material benefit in this world.

If he needs any facility or item, he may simply express his needs to others, so that, whenever possible, they may arrange it for him. But he should not display a sense of right or entitlement based on his sacrifice. To explain the importance of sacrifice, he may certainly speak about sacrifice in words; and to give an example of sacrifice, he may even mention his own sacrifices. But while describing them, he should not harbor any desire in his mind for respect or appreciation from others, nor should there be even the slightest subtle thought of gaining praise for his efforts.

If people do praise and respect him for his sacrifices, even then he does not accept that praise in his heart.

When a person practices all these eight kinds of sacrifice, he belongs fully to God, and God is also completely with him. As a result, he attains perfect peace and bliss.


 

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