All activities are being enacted by the senses of the material nature without exception; but the unrealized, deluded by false identification of being the body, thus thinks: “I am the doer”’
‘All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion think that he himself is the actor.
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 3.27


One who recites many teachings
    But, being negligent, doesn't act accordingly,
    Like a cowherd counting others' cows,
Does no attain the benefits of the contemplative life.
 
One who recites but a few teachings
    Yet lives according to the Dharma,
    Abandoning passion, ill will, and delusion,
    Aware and with mind well freed,
    Not clinging in this life or the next,
Attains the benefits of the contemplative life.         
	- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 19-20


O SON OF MAN! My majesty is My gift to thee, and My grandeur the token of My mercy unto thee. That which beseemeth Me none shall understand, nor can anyone recount. Verily, I have preserved it in My hidden storehouses and in the treasuries of My command, as a sign of My loving-kindness unto My servants and My mercy unto My people.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 65

	
Poverty is my Pride.
	- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

	
Thy Lord hath decreed
That ye worship none but Him,
And that ye be kind
To parents. Whether one
Or both of them attain
Old age in thy life,
Say not to them a word
Of contempt, nor repel them,
But address them
In terms of honour.

And, out of kindness,
Lower to them the wing
Of humility, and say:
'My Lord! bestow on them
Thy Mercy even as they
Cherished me in childhood.'          
	- The Holy Quran 17.23

	
I love in this state, O my Lord, to beg of Thee all that is with Thee, that I may demonstrate my poverty, and magnify Thy bounty and Thy riches, and may declare my powerlessness, and manifest Thy power and Thy might.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, Long Obligatory Prayer

	
I got a little glimpse of the Source of the Master's mingled relaxation and power. He was never tense or hurried; never at a loss for word or act. He seldom used the first person singular. I have heard Him in His public talks refer to Abdu'l-Bahá as if that person were entirely distinct from the speaker. Any reference to the ego. He once remarked to a small group of the New York friends, any use of "I," "Me," "Mine," will in the future be considered as profanity.
	- Portals to Freedom Howard Colby Ives (1983), speaking of Abdu'l-Bahá


These are the few ways we can practice humility:
	Speak as little as possible about yourself.
	Keep busy with your own affairs, not those of others.
	Avoid curiosity.
	Do not interfere with the affairs of others.
	Accept small irritations with good humor.
	Do not dwell on the faults of others.
	Accept censures even if unmerited.
	Give in to the will of others.
	Accept insults and injuries.
	Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.
	Be courteous and delicate even when provoked.
	Do not seek to be admired or loved.
	Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.
	Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
	Choose always the more difficult task.
		- Mother Teresa


The life of the moral man is plain, and yet not unattractive; it is
simple, and yet full of grace; it is easy, and yet methodical.  He knows
that accomplishment of great things consists in doing little things well.
He knows that great effects are produced by small causes.  He knows the evidence and reality of what cannot be perceived by the senses.  Thus he is enabled to enter into the world of ideas and morals.
	- Confucianism.  Doctrine of the Mean 33


O CHILDREN OF THE DIVINE AND INVISIBLE ESSENCE! Ye shall be hindered from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me. 
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 66


Be of an exceedingly humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm.
	- Judaism.  Mishnah, Abot 4.4


The fruit of humility is intuitive peace and pleasure.
	- Guru Granth Sahib


And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another’s, even if it be great. To die in one’s duty is life: to live in another’s is death.
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 3.35


True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue.
	- Martin Luther


Do not consider the faults of others
    Or what they have or haven't done.
Consider rather
    What you yourself have or haven't done.   
		- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 50


And the servants of the beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say; Peace.
	- The Holy Quran 25:63


Be as a stranger in the world.
	- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ


If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.
	- Mother Teresa


Confucius said, "A gentleman does not grieve that people do not recognize his merits; he grieves at his own incapacities."
	- Confucianism.  Analects 14.32


O son of man!  If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee and cleave unto that which will profit mankind.  And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.  Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, Words of Paradise (Third Leaf)


My throne is my mat!     
My glorious crown in my servitude toward God!     
My standard is the commemoration of my Lord!     
My hosts are the knowledge of my Master!     
My sword is the guidance of God!     
My dominion is my humility, my submissiveness, my lowliness, my abasement, my supplication and my beseeching unto God—this is that permanent reign which no one is able to dispute, gainsay or usurp!
	- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá


When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.
	- Psalms 11:2


A rabbit that a huntsman brings,
They pay for it the proper price;
But none will give a betel nut
For the corpse of a ruler of the land!
A man's body is less worth than a rabbit's.
	- Hinduism.  Basavanna, Vachana 158


And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you.  Allah knows but you do not know.
	- The Holy Quran 2:216


Like someone pointing to treasure
    Is the wise person
Who sees your faults and points them out.
    Associate with such a sage.
Good will come of it, not bad,
    If you associate with one such as this.

Let one such as this advise you, instruct you,
    And restrain you from rude behavior.
Such a person is pleasing to good people,
    But displeasing to the bad.

Do not associate with evil friends;
    Do no associate with the lowest of people.
Associate with virtuous friends;
    Associate with the best of people.  
		- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 76-78


The armor of self-restraint, truth, contentment and humility can never be pierced.
	- Guru Granth Sahib


Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
	- The 13 virtues of Benjamin Franklin, from his autobiography


“...Let us therefore be humble, without prejudices, preferring others’ good to our own!  Let us never say, ‘I am a believer but he is an infidel’, ‘I am near to God, whilst he is an outcast’.  We can never know what will be the final judgment!  Therefore let us help all who are in need of any kind assistance.”
	- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá


O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory. 
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 68


Humility leads to strength and not to weakness.  It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.
	- John J. McCloy (President of the World Bank, 1947 - 49)


Greater in combat
    Than a person who conquers
A thousand times a thousand people
    Is the person who conquers herself.           
		- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 103


The Prophet (Muhammad ﷺ) said to some of his companions, ‘Why is it that I do not see sweetness in your worship?’ When they asked him what sweetness of worship was, he replied, ‘Humility.’


[Self-love] is a strange trait and the means of the destruction of many important souls in the world. If man be imbued with all good qualities but be selfish, all the other virtues will fade or pass away and eventually he will grow worse.
	- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá


There is no end of my divine greatness, Arjuna. What I have spoken here to thee shows only a small part of my infinity.
Know thou that whatever is beautiful and good, whatever has glory and power is only a portion of my own radiance.
But of what help is it to thee to know this diversity? Know that with one single fraction of my Being I pervade and support the Universe, and know that I AM.      
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 10:40


Do they not look at God's creation, (even) among (inanimate) things,- How their (very) shadows turn round, from the right and the left, prostrating themselves to God, and that in the humblest manner?
	- The Holy Quran 16:48


Yesterday I was clever, and I wanted to change the world, Today I am wise, and I want to change myself. 
	- Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rumi


O Um Ayman! Did you not know that my brother Jesus never kept dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner?  He would eat from the leaves of trees, drink from rainwater, wear hair-cloth, sleep wherever he was, and he would say, ‘Every day comes with its own sustenance.’
	- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ


O Son of Dust!  Verily I say unto thee: Of all men the most negligent is he that disputeth idly and seeketh to advance himself over his brother.  Say, O brethren!  Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Persian 5


Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.
	- C.S. Lewis


Humility cannot be an observance by itself. For it does not lend itself to being practiced. It is however an indispensable test of ahimsa (non-violence).
	- Mahatma Ghandi


Those who themselves have seen Truth can be thy teachers of wisdom. Ask from them, bow unto them, be thou unto them a servant.            
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita  4:34


Not with
    Virtue or religious practice,
    Great learning,
    Attaining samadhi [meditative absorption],
    Dwelling alone,
    Or [thinking], 'I touch the happiness
         Of renunciation unknown by ordinary
              people,'
Should you, monk, rest assured,
    Without having destroyed the toxins.       
		- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 271-272


The Lamenter [who is seeking a vision] cries, for he is humbling himself, remembering his nothingness in the presence of the Great Spirit.
	- Native American Religions. Black Elk, Sioux Tradition


My servant is my own two hands; my riding beast is my two feet, my bed is the earth, my pillow is a rock, my warmth in the winter is the east of the earth.  I sleep and I do not possess anything, and I wake up and I do not possess anything, but there is no one on the face of this earth is richer than me.
	- Christ Jesus (Islamic tradition)


Who can be better
In religion than one
Who submits his whole self
To God, does good,
And follows the way
Of Abraham the true in faith?
For God did take
Abraham for a friend.

But to God belong all things
In the heavens and on earth:
And He is it that
Encompasseth all things.         
	- The Holy Quran 4:125-126


O SON OF BEAUTY! By My spirit and by My favor! By My mercy and by My beauty! All that I have revealed unto thee with the tongue of power, and have written for thee with the pen of might, hath been in accordance with thy capacity and understanding, not with My state and the melody of My voice. 
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 67


I know all that was and is and is to come, Arjuna; but no one in truth knows me.         
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 7:26


This man of harmony surrenders the reward of his work and thus attains final peace: the man of disharmony, urged by desire, is attached to his reward and remains in bondage.
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 5:12


Where in this world does one find
    Someone restrained by conscience,
    Who knows little of blame,
    As a good horse knows little of the whip?

Like a good horse alert to the whip,
    Be ardent and alarmed.
With faith, virtue, effort,
    concentration, and discernment,
Accomplished in knowledge and good conduct,
    Mindful,
You will leave this great suffering behind.

Irrigators guide water;
    Fletchers shape arrows;
Carpenters fashion wood;
    the well-practiced tame themselves.       
		- Gautama Buddha, Dhammapada 143-145


O BRETHREN! Be forbearing one with another and set not your affections on things below. Pride not yourselves in your glory, and be not ashamed of abasement. By My beauty! I have created all things from dust, and to dust will I return them again.  
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Persian 48


Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge and the heart for truth.
	- Madame Guizot


All streams flow to the ocean because it is lower than they are.  Humility gives the ocean its power.
	- Lao Tzu


For even if the greatest sinner worships me with all his soul, he must be considered righteous, because of his righeous will.
And he shall soon become pure and reach everlasting peace. For this is my word of promise, that he who loves me shall not perish.’        
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 9:30


He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings CXXV


There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.
	- Ernest Hemingway


He who offers to me with devotion only a leaf, or a flower, or a fruit, or even a little water, this I accept from that yearning soul, because with a pure heart it was offered with love.
Whatever you do, or eat, or give, or offer in adoration, let it be an offering to me; and whatever you suffer, suffer it for me.
Thus thou shalt be free from the bonds of Karma which yield fruits that are evil and good; and with thy soul one in renunciation thou shalt be free and come to me.          
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 9:26


Thou seest, O my Lord, this stranger hastening to his most exalted home beneath the canopy of Thy majesty and within the precincts of Thy mercy; and this transgressor seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and this lowly one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature the orient of Thy wealth.  Thine is the authority to command whatsoever Thou willest.  I bear witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, and to be obeyed in Thy behests, and to remain unconstrained in Thy bidding.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, Long Obligatory Prayer


A man attains perfection when his work is worship of God, from whom all things come and who is in all. Greater is thine own work, even if this be humble, than the work of another, even if this be great. When a man does the work God gives him, no sin can touch this man.
	- Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 18:46


O SON OF MAN!  Wert thou to speed through the immensity of space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in submission to Our command and humbleness before Our Face.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 40


If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.”
	- Epictetus (Greek Stoic Philosopher)


There are two ways to pass a hurdle – leaping over, or plowing through.
	- Jeph Jacques


O SON OF SPIRIT! Vaunt not thyself over the poor, for I lead him on his way and behold thee in thy evil plight and confound thee for evermore.
	- Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic 25


(«'Abdu'l-Bahá”» means «Servant of Glory»)
My name is 'Abdu'l-Bahá, my identity is 'Abdu'l-Bahá, my qualification is 'Abdu'l-Bahá, my reality is 'Abdu'l-Bahá, my praise is 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem; and servitude to all the human race is my perpetual religion. Through the bounty and favor of the Blessed Perfection, 'Abdu'l-Bahá is the Ensign of the Most-Great-Peace, which is waving from the Supreme Apex; and through the gift of the Greatest name, he is the Lamp of Universal Salvation, which is shining with the light of the love of God. The Herald of the Kingdom is he, so that he may awaken the people of the East and of the West. The Voice of Friendship, Uprightness, Truth and Reconciliation is he, so as to cause acceleration throughout all regions. No name, no title, no mention, no commendation hath he nor will ever have except 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This is my longing. This is my supreme apex. This is my greatest yearning. This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory! Express ye the same thing which is issued from my pen. This is the duty of all. Consequently the friends of God must assist and help 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the adoration of the True One; in the servitude to the human race; in the well-being of the human world and in divine love and kindness.
Tablets 
	- 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá