View source for Humility

{{Short description|Quality of being humble}}
{{About||the medieval saint|Saint Humility|the passenger on the ''Mayflower''|Humility Cooper|the Gorillaz song|Humility (song)}}
[[File:Rochdale Unitarian Church "Humility".jpg|thumb|296x296px|Representation of "Humility" in a stained-glass window designed by [[Edward Burne-Jones]]]]
[[File:Tadeusz Gorecki - Humility.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Tadeusz Gorecki]], “''Humility”'']]

'''Humility''' is the quality of being humble.<ref>{{wiktionary-inline|humble}}</ref> The Oxford Dictionary, in its 1998 edition, describes humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness.<ref name="SnyderLopez2001">{{cite book |last1=Snyder |first1=C.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Cr5rP8jOnsC&pg=PA412 |title=Handbook of Positive Psychology |last2=Lopez |first2=Shane J. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-803094-2 |pages=412+}}</ref> However, humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself modestly as situations demand, with clear goal orientation, openness, broad-mindedness, and a non-imposing mentality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Don E. |last2=Worthington |first2=Everett L. |last3=Hook |first3=Joshua N. |date=2009-04-25 |title=Humility: Review of measurement strategies and conceptualization as personality judgment |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439761003791672 |journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=243–252 |doi=10.1080/17439761003791672 |issn=1743-9760|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a religious context, humility can mean a recognition of self about a deity (i.e. [[God]]) and subsequent submission to that deity as a religious member.<ref name="Humility 1910, pp 543-544">{{cite book|chapter=Humility|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|editor-last=Herbermann|display-editors=etal|volume=7|year=1910|pages=543–544}}</ref><ref name="Humility 1860, pp 598-599">{{cite book|chapter=Humility|title=The Protestant theological and ecclesiastical encyclopedia|editor-last=Herzog|display-editors=etal|volume=2|year=1860|pages=598–599}}</ref> Outside of a religious context, humility is defined as being "unselved"—liberated from the consciousness of self—a form of [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]] that is neither having pride (or haughtiness) nor indulging in self-deprecation.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book | last=Peterson | first=Christopher | title=Character strengths and virtues a handbook and classification | publisher=American Psychological Association Oxford University Press | location=Washington, DC New York | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-19-516701-6}}
|2={{cite book|first=Everett L. Jr. |last=Worthington|title=Handbook of Forgiveness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMatnTZtBoC|year=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-41095-7|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMatnTZtBoC&pg=PT157 157]}}
}}</ref>

Humility refers to a proper sense of self-regard. In contrast, [[humiliation]] involves the external imposition of shame on a person. Humility  may be misinterpreted as the capacity to endure humiliation through self-denigration. This misconception arises from the confusion of humility with traits like submissiveness and meekness. Such misinterpretations prioritize self-preservation and self-aggrandizement over true humility, and emphasizes an undiminished focus on the self.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book | last=Schwarzer | first=Ralf | title=Personality, human development, and culture: international perspectives on psychological science | publisher=Psychology | location=Hove | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-415-65080-9 | pages=127–129}}
|2={{cite book|author1=Jeff Greenberg|author2=Sander L. Koole|author3=Tom Pyszczynski|title=Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_9dAgAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Guilford Publications|isbn=978-1-4625-1479-3|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=g_9dAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 162]}}
}}</ref>

In many religious and philosophical traditions, humility is regarded as a [[virtue]] that prioritizes social harmony. It strikes a balance between two sets of qualities. This equilibrium lies in having a reduced focus on oneself, which leads to lower self-importance and diminished [[arrogance]], while also possessing the ability to demonstrate strength, assertiveness, and courage. This virtue is exhibited in the pursuit of upholding social harmony and recognizing our human dependence on it. It contrasts with [[Malice (law)|maliciousness]], [[hubris]], and other negative forms of [[pride]], and is an idealistic and rare intrinsic construct that has an extrinsic side.

==Term==
The term "humility" comes from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word {{lang|la|[[wikt:humilitas#Latin|humilitas]]}}, a noun related to the adjective {{lang|la|[[wikt:humilis#Latin|humilis]]}}, which may be translated as "humble", but also as "grounded", or "from the earth", since it derives from {{lang|la|[[wikt:humus#Latin|humus]]}} (earth). See the English ''[[humus]]''.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humble | chapter = humble | title = Merriam-Webster Dictionary| date = 15 August 2023 }}</ref>

The word "humble" may be related to feudal England where the least valuable [[cuts of meat]], or "umbles"<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.fallow-deer-project.net/img/upload/370/documents/1066%20and%20all%20that.PDF | title = 1066 and all that | journal = Deer | publisher = British Deer Society | access-date = 2017-01-23 | date = Summer 2010 | last = Sykes | first = Naomi | pages = 20–23 | volume = 15 | issue = 6 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160809182715/http://fallow-deer-project.net/img/upload/370/documents/1066%20and%20all%20that.PDF | archive-date = 2016-08-09  }}</ref> (whatever was left over when the upper classes had taken their parts), were provided to the lowest class of citizens.

==Mythology==
[[Aidos]], in Greek mythology, was the {{transliteration|grc|daimona}} (goddess) of shyness, shame, and humility.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Thomas | last1 = Scheff  | first2 = Suzanne | last2 = Retzinger| title = Emotions and Violence: shame and rage in destructive conflicts| year = 2001 | isbn = 0-595-21190-9 |  page = 7| publisher = iUniverse }}</ref> She was the quality that restrained human beings from wrong.

==Religious views of humility==

===Abrahamic===

====Judaism====
[[File:Measure_of_men.jpg| [[Maimonides]] teaches about the "[[Maimonides#Character development|measure of man]]" (compared to the earth and the universe, man is very small).|thumb]]
Rabbi Lord [[Jonathan Sacks]] states that, in Judaism, humility is an appreciation of oneself, one's talents, skills, and virtues. It is not meekness or self-deprecating thought, but the effacing of oneself to something higher. Humility is not to think lowly of oneself, but to appreciate the self one is.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{Cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Sacks|url=https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1932762/jewish/Greatness-is-Humility.htm|title=Greatness is Humility|website=Chabad.org}}
|2={{Cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Sacks|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/83807/jewish/On-Humility.htm|title=On Humility|website=Chabad.org}}
}}</ref> In recognition of the mysteries and complexities of life, one becomes humbled to the vastness of what one is and what one can achieve.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{Cite web|first=Aaron|last=Moss|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/160968/jewish/What-is-Humility.htm|title=What is Humility?|website=Chabad.org}}
|2={{Cite web|first=Aryeh|last=Citron|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1218750/jewish/Humility.htm|title=Humility – Parshat Vayikra|website=www.chabad.org}}
}}</ref>

Rabbi [[Pini Dunner]] discusses that humility is to place others first; it is to appreciate others' worth as important. Rabbi Dunner states that Moses wrote in the Torah, "And Moses was exceedingly humble, more than any man on the face of the earth"({{bibleref|Numbers|12:3}}). How is it possible to be humble and write you are the most humble? The conclusion is that Moses knew he was humble. It is not in denial of your talents and gifts but to recognize them and live up to your worth and something greater. It is in the service to others that is the greatest form of humility.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

The [[Deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] [[Book of Sirach]] has a section on humility in chapter 3, which commences "My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts".<ref>{{bibleverse|Sirach|3:17-24|NABRE}}</ref> The editors of the [[New American Bible Revised Edition]] suggest that the writer "is perhaps warning his students [in this section] against the perils of [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Greek philosophy]]".<ref>[[Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc.#Contemporary usage|Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc.]], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=sirach%203&version=NABRE#fen-NABRE-20285b Footnote b at Sirach 3:17], accessed on 29 December 2024</ref>

Amongst the benefits of humility described in the [[Hebrew Bible]], which is shared by many faiths, are [[honor]], [[wisdom]], [[prosperity]], the protection of the Lord, and [[peace]]. In addition, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" ({{bibleref|Proverbs|3:34}}) is another phrase in the Hebrew Bible that values humility and humbleness.

====Christianity====
{{Quote box|quote=Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
|source={{bibleref|Philippians|2:3–8|niv}}| align=right|width=30%}}

[[New Testament]] exhortations to humility are found in many places, for example "Blessed are the meek" ({{bibleref|Matthew|5:5}}), "He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted" ({{bibleref|Matthew|23:12}}), as well as ({{bibleref|Philippians|2:1–17}}) and throughout the [[Epistle of James|Book of James]]. In fact, [[Jesus|Jesus Christ's]] behavior  and submission to unjust torture and execution in particular are held up as examples of righteous humility: "Who, when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him justly" ({{bibleref|1 Peter|2:23}}).<ref name="Humility 1860, pp 598-599"/>

[[C. S. Lewis]] writes in ''[[Mere Christianity]]'' that pride is the "anti-God" state, the position in which the ego and the self are directly opposed to God: "Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."<ref>{{cite book |author=C. S. Lewis |title=Mere Christianity |date= 2001 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=978-0-06-065292-0}}{{page needed|date=August 2023}}</ref> In contrast, Lewis contends that in Christian moral teaching the opposite of pride is humility. This is popularly illustrated by a phrase wrongly attributed to Lewis, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." This is an apparent paraphrase, by Rick Warren in ''The Purpose Driven Life'', of a passage found in ''[[Mere Christianity]]'': Lewis writes, regarding the truly humble man, {{blockquote|Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.}}

[[St. Augustine]] stresses the importance of humility in the study of the Bible, with the exemplars of a barbarian Christian slave, the apostle Paul, and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.<ref name=DDC>{{cite book|author=Augustine of Hippo|year=397|title=[[De Doctrina Christiana]]}}</ref>{{rp|at=prooem. 4–7}} Both learner and teacher need to be humble, because they learn and teach what ultimately belongs to God.{{r|DDC|at=prooem. 7–8}}<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|4:7}}</ref> Humility is a basic disposition of the interpreter of the Bible. The confidence of the exegete and preacher arises from the conviction that his or her mind depends on God absolutely.{{r|DDC|at=I.1.1}} Augustine argues that the interpreter of the Bible should proceed with humility, because only a humble person can grasp the truth of Scripture.{{r|DDC|at=II.41.62}}<ref>{{cite journal | last=Woo | first=B. Hoon | title=Augustine's Hermeneutics and Homiletics in ''De doctrina christiana'' | journal= Journal of Christian Philosophy | year=2013 | volume=17 | url= https://www.academia.edu/5228314 |pages=99–103}}</ref>

One with humility is said to be a fit recipient of grace; according to the words of St. James, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" ({{bibleref|Proverbs|3:34}}, {{bibleref|1 Peter|5:5}}, {{bibleref|James|4:6}}).

"True humility" differs from "false humility" which consists of deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise or adulation from others. That sort is personified by the fictional character [[Uriah Heep (character)|Uriah Heep]] created by [[Charles Dickens]]. In this context legitimate humility comprises the following behaviors and attitudes:
* submitting to God and legitimate authority
* recognizing virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one's own, and giving due honor and, when required, obedience
* recognizing the limits of one's talents, ability, or authority

The vices opposed to humility are:
* [[Pride]]
* Too great [[obsequiousness]] or abjection of oneself; this would be considered an excess of humility, and could easily be derogatory to one's office or holy character; or it might serve only to pamper pride in others, by unworthy flattery, which would occasion their sins of tyranny, arbitrariness, and arrogance. The virtue of humility may not be practiced in any external way that would occasion vices in others.<ref name="CE" />

=====Catholicism=====
[[File:Madonna-of-humility- 1433 Domenico di Bartolo.jpg|thumb|240px| This ''[[Madonna of humility]]'' by [[Domenico di Bartolo]] expresses the symbolic duality of an earthly woman with humility, as well as a [[Queen of Heaven|heavenly queen]].<ref Name =Trinchieri>{{cite book| title = Art and music in the early modern period | first1 = Franca Trinchieri|last1= Camiz  | first2 = Katherine A. |last2=McIver | year = 2003 |isbn = 0-7546-0689-9 | url  = https://books.google.com/books?id=mdIFQTuA4cQC&pg=PA15 | page = 15| publisher = Ashgate}}</ref>]]

[[Catholic]] texts view humility as annexed to the [[cardinal virtue]] of [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]].<ref name="Humility 1910, pp 543-544"/><ref name="CE">{{cite encyclopedia| last=Devine|first=Arthur| url = https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07543b.htm | encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia| title = Humility| publisher = newadvent.org}}</ref> It is viewed as a potential part of temperance because temperance includes all those virtues that restrain or express the inordinate movements of our desires or appetites.<ref name="CE" />

[[Bernard of Clairvaux]] defines it as “a virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is, abases himself. Jesus Christ is the ultimate definition of Humility."<ref name="CE" />

Humility was a virtue extolled by [[Francis of Assisi]], and this form of [[Order of Saint Francis|Franciscan]] piety led to the artistic development of the ''[[Madonna of humility]]'' first used by them for [[Christian contemplation|contemplation]].<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book| title = A history of ideas and images in Italian art | first = James |last=Hall | year = 1983 |isbn = 0-06-433317-5 | page = 223| publisher = Harper & Row }}
|2={{cite book| title = Iconography of Christian Art | last = Schiller | first = Gertrud  | author-link = Gertrud Schiller | year = 1971 | isbn = 978-0-8212-0365-1 | volume  = 1 | page= 112| publisher = Arnoldo Mondadori }}
}}</ref> The [[Madonna (art)|Virgin]] of humility sits on the ground, or upon a low cushion, unlike the ''Enthroned Madonna'' representations.<ref>{{cite book| title = Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary | first = Irene |last= Earls | year = 1987 |isbn = 0-313-24658-0 | page = 174| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> This style of painting spread quickly through Italy, and, by 1375, examples began to appear in Spain, France, and Germany. It became the most popular among the styles of the early [[Trecento]] artistic period.<ref name=Meiss>{{cite book | title =  Painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death | first = Millard |last=Meiss | year =1979 | isbn =0-691-00312-2 | pages =[https://archive.org/details/paintinginfloren0000meis/page/132 132]–133 | publisher = Princeton University Press | url = https://archive.org/details/paintinginfloren0000meis}}</ref>

[[Thomas Aquinas]], a 13th-century philosopher and theologian in the [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] tradition, says "the virtue of humility... consists in keeping oneself within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one's superior".<ref>{{cite book|last=Aquinas|first=Thomas|title=Summa Contra Gentiles|at=IV.lv|translator-link=Joseph Rickaby|translator-first=Joseph|translator-last=Rickaby}}</ref>

====Islam====
In the [[Qur'an]], various Arabic words conveying the meaning of "humility" are used. The very term "[[Islam]]" can be interpreted as "surrender (to God), humility", from the triconsonantal root [[S-L-M]]; other words used are {{transliteration|ar|tawadu}} and {{transliteration|ar|khoshou}}: <!-- the word "humility" is a noun but the 2 Arabic words used before were verbs, so I changed these to nouns.  In order not to have a discussion about this, I will explain that I know what the previous editor had in mind. The person who used the verbs (which were the past tense of a male 3rd person singular) used what is customarily considered a "root" of the verb, which, for example, is used in finding a word in a dictionary.  This, however, was not warranted here because we just needed to have the exact translation of the noun "humility" -->

{{Blockquote|And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!"|{{Qref|25|63|t=y|b=y}}}}

{{blockquote|Successful indeed are the believers: those who humble themselves in prayer;|{{qref|23|1-2|b=y}}}}

{{blockquote|"The loftiest in status are those who do not know their own status, and the most virtuous of them are those who do not know their own virtue."|Imam ash-Shafi'i <ref>{{Cite book |author=Al-Dhahabī |title=[[Siyar A'lam al-Nubala]]}}</ref>
}}

{{blockquote|"Your humbleness humbles others and your modesty brings out the modesty of others."|Abdulbary Yahya|}}

===Eastern===

====Buddhism====
{{see also|Anatta}}

Buddhism is a religion of "self"-examination.<ref name="Tachibana 1992"/> The natural aim of the Buddhist life is the state of [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]], gradually cultivated through meditation and other spiritual practices. Humility, in this context, is a characteristic that is both an essential part of the spiritual practice, and a result of it.{{r|Tachibana 1992|pages=180, 183}} As a quality to be developed, it is deeply connected with the practice of Four Abodes ([[Brahmavihara]]): love-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} As a result of the practice, this cultivated humility is expanded by the wisdom acquired by the experience of ultimate emptiness ({{transliteration|sa|[[śūnyatā]]}}) and non-self ({{transliteration|pi|[[anatta]]}}).{{r|Tachibana 1992|page=181}} Humility, compassion, and wisdom are intrinsic parts of the state of enlightenment.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} On the other hand, not being humble is an obstacle on the path of enlightenment which needs to be overcome.{{r|Tachibana 1992|page=180}} In the [[Tipitaka]] (the Buddhist scriptures), criticizing others and praising oneself is considered a vice; but criticizing oneself and praising others is considered a virtue.<ref name="Tachibana 1992">{{cite book | last = Tachibana |first =Shundō | title= The ethics of Buddhism |year=1992|publisher=Curzon Press|location=Richmond, Surrey|isbn=0-7007-0230-X| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRWyqi2K4WUC}}</ref>{{rp|178}} Attachment to the self, apart from being a vice in itself, also leads to other evil states that create suffering.{{r|Tachibana 1992|page=182}}

In the Tipitaka, in the widely known ''[[Mangala Sutta]]'', humility ({{transliteration|pi|nivato}}, literally: "without air") is mentioned as one of the thirty-eight blessings in life.<ref>{{cite book|translator-last=Ñāṇamoli|translator-first=Bhikkhu|translator-link=Nanamoli Bhikkhu|title=The Minor Readings and The Illustrator of Ultimate Meaning|year=1960|publisher=[[Pali Text Society]]|location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FCToAEACAAJ}}</ref> In the [[Pāli Canon]], examples of humility include the monk [[Sariputta|Sariputta Thera]], a leading disciple of the Buddha, and [[Hatthaka of Alavi|Hatthaka]], a leading lay disciple. In later Pali texts and [[Atthakatha|Commentaries]], Sariputta Thera is depicted as a forgiving person, who is quick to apologize and accepting of criticism. In the {{transliteration|pi|[[suttas]]}} (discourses of the Buddha) Hatthaka was praised by the Buddha when he was unwilling to let other people know his good qualities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malalasekera|author-link= G P Malalasekera|first1=G.P.|title=Dictionary of Pāli proper names|volume=2|year=2007|orig-date=1937|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass Publishers]]|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-208-3022-6|edition=1st Indian|url=http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/dic_idx.html}}</ref>

{{Quote box|quote=Once, the Buddha mentioned to some monks that his lay disciple Hatthaka had seven wonderful and marvellous qualities; these being faith, virtue, propriety, self-respect, learning, generosity and wisdom. Later, when Hatthaka learned how the Buddha had praised him he commented: 'I hope there were no laypeople around at the time'. When this comment was reported back to the Buddha, he remarked: "Good! Very good! He is genuinely modest and does not want his good qualities to be known to others. So you can truly say that Hatthaka is adorned with this eighth wonderful and marvellous quality 'modesty'." {{clarify|text=(A.IV,218)|reason=what does this parenthetical mean?|date=August 2023}}<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web|url=https://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=269|website=Guide to Buddhism A To Z|title=Modesty|access-date=9 April 2022}}
|2={{cite web|url=https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN8_23.html|title=About Hatthaka |work= Hatthaka Sutta|at=AN 8:23|access-date=9 April 2022}}
}}</ref>|align=right|width=30%}}

In [[Buddhist practice]], humility is practiced in a variety of ways. Japanese [[Soto Zen]] monks bow and chant in honor of their robes before they don them. This serves to remind them of the connection of the monk's robes with enlightenment. Buddhist monks in all traditions are dependent on the generosity of laypeople, through whom they receive their necessities. This in itself is a practice of humility.{{r|Tachibana 1992|page=178}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Tanabe|first1=Willa Jane|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Buddhism|title=Robes and clothing|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert E.|year=2004|publisher=[[Thomson Gale|Macmillan Reference USA, Thomson Gale]]|location=New York [u.a.]|isbn=0-02-865720-9|page=732}}</ref>

====Hinduism====
In Sanskrit literature, the virtue of humility is explained with many terms, some of which use the root word, {{lang|sa|नति}} ({{transliteration|sa|neti}}).<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web| url = http://www.spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=humility+&trans=Translate&direction=AU  | language = sa | title = Humility | work =  English-Sanskrit Dictionary | location = Germany | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032532/http://www.spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=humility+&trans=Translate&direction=AU | archive-date=2016-03-04}}
|2={{cite web| url = https://sanskrit.inria.fr/MW/132.html | work = Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary | title = नति [nati] | location = France}}
}}</ref> {{langx|sa|नति}} comes from {{langx|sa|न ति|translation=No "Me" / I am not}}. Related words include {{lang|sa|विनति}} ({{transliteration|sa|viniti}}), {{lang|sa|संनति}} ({{transliteration|sa|samniti}}, humility towards), and the concept {{transliteration|sa|amanitvam}}, listed as the first virtue in the [[Bhagwad Gita|Bhagavad Gita]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-13-06.html|title=Bhagwad Gita 13.8–12}} See transliteration, and two commentaries.</ref> {{transliteration|sa|Amanitvam}} is a fusion word for "pridelessness" and the virtue of "humility".<ref>{{cite book | title = Hindu spirituality: Postclassical and modern | year = 2003 | editor-first1 = K. R. |editor-last1=Sundararajan | editor-first2 = Bithika |editor-last2=Mukerji |isbn = 978-81-208-1937-5 | pages = 403–405| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass Publ. }}</ref> Another related concept is {{transliteration|sa|namrata}} ({{lang|sa|नम्रता}}), which means ''modest and humble behavior''.

Different scholars have varying interpretations of {{transliteration|sa|amanitvam}}, humility, as a virtue in the Bhagavad Gita.<ref>{{cite journal | journal = Journal of Religious Ethics | volume =  34 | issue = 3 |pages = 373–395 | last = Gupta | first =  B. | title = Bhagavad Gitā as Duty and Virtue Ethics | year = 2006| doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9795.2006.00274.x }}</ref> For example, [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada|Prabhupada]] explains humility to mean one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others.<ref>{{cite book | title = Bhagavad Gita As It Is | year=1968 | author = A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada}}</ref> The material conception of life makes us very eager to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect knowledge—who knows that he is not this body—anything—honor or dishonor—pertaining to this body is useless.

Tanya Jopson explains {{transliteration|sa|amanitvam}}, humility, as lack of arrogance and pride, and one of twenty-six virtues in a human being that if perfected, leads one to a divine state of living and the ultimate truth.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book | title = Human Energy-Body Awareness: How Our Energy Body & Vibrational Frequency Create Our Everyday Life | first = Tanya | last = Jopson | date = 2011 | publisher = Tanya Jopson |isbn = 978-1-4663-3341-3 | quote = see Divine Qualities under Glossary}}
|2={{cite book | chapter = Epistemology and Ontology of Indian Psychology | title = Spirituality and Indian Psychology | pages =  163–184 | publisher = Springer | location = New York | last = Bhawuk | first =  D.P. | year = 2011}}
}}</ref>

[[Eknath Easwaran]] writes that the Gita's subject is "the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious",<ref>{{cite book | title = The Bhagavad Gita | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-58638-019-9 | translator-first = Eknath | translator-last = Easwaran | page = 15 | last1 = Easwaran | first1 = Eknath | publisher = Nilgiri Press }}</ref> and "The language of battle is often found in the scriptures, for it conveys the strenuous, long, drawn-out campaign we must wage to free ourselves from the tyranny of the ego, the cause of all our suffering and sorrow".<ref>{{cite book | title = The End of Sorrow: The Bahagavad Gita for Daily Living | volume = 1 | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0-915132-17-1 | first = Eknath | last = Easwaran | page = [https://archive.org/details/endofsorrow00easw/page/24 24] | publisher = Nilgiri Press | url = https://archive.org/details/endofsorrow00easw }}</ref> To get in touch with your true self, whether you call that [[God]], [[Brahman]], etc., you have to let go of the ego. The [[Sanskrit]] word {{transliteration|sa|[[Ahamkara]]}} literally translates into The-sound-of-I, or quite simply the sense of the self or ego.

[[Mahatma Gandhi]] interprets the concept of ''humility'' in Hinduism much more broadly, where humility is an essential virtue that must exist in a person for other virtues to emerge. To Mahatma Gandhi, Truth can be cultivated, as well as Love, but Humility cannot be cultivated. Humility has to be one of the starting points. He states, "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)." Humility must not be confused with mere manners; a man may prostrate himself before another, but if his heart is full of bitterness for the other, it is not humility. Sincere humility is how one feels inside, it's a state of mind. A humble person is not himself conscious of his humility, says Gandhi.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web| url= https://www.mkgandhi.org/swmgandhi/chap02.htm  | title = Humility |work=The Gita and Satyagraha: The Philosophy of Non-violence and The Doctrine of the Sword | author = Mahatma Gandhi}}
|2={{cite book | first = Stephen S. |last=Hall | title = Wisdom | year = 2010 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf | isbn = 978-0-307-26910-2 |at = Chapter 8}}
}}</ref>

[[Swami Vivekananda]], a 19th century scholar of Hinduism, argues that the concept of humility does not mean "crawling on all fours and calling oneself a sinner". In Vivekananda's Hinduism, each human being the Universal, recognizing and feeling oneness with everyone and everything else in the universe, without inferiority or superiority or any other bias, is the mark of humility.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Complete Works of the Swami Vivekananda | volume = 1  | year = 1915 | page = 343 | author = Swami Vivekananda }}</ref> To [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|Dr. S Radhakrishnan]], humility in Hinduism is the non-judgmental state of mind when we are best able to learn, contemplate and understand everyone and everything else.<ref>{{cite book | title = Contemporary Indian Philosophy | year = 1936 | publisher = Allen & Sons | location = London | last1 = Radhakrishnan |first1=S.|last2= Muirhead |first2=J.H.}}</ref>

====Sikhism====
{{Quote box|quote=*Make contentment your ear-rings, humility your begging bowl, and meditation the ashes you apply to your body.
* Listening and believing with love and humility in your mind.
* In the realm of humility, the Word is Beauty.
* Modesty, humility and intuitive understanding are my mother-in-law and father-in-law. |source=Sayings of Guru Granth Sahib, [[Guru Nanak]], First Guru Of Sikhism{{cn|date=August 2023}}| align=right|width=30%}}

{{Verse translation|lang=pa-Latn|Neecha Andar Neech Jaat Neechi Hu At Neech Nanak Tin Kai Sang Saath Vadian Sio Kia Rees.|Nanak is the companion of the lowest of the low and of the condemned lot. He has nothing in common with the high born|attr1=[[Sri Guru Granth Sahib]]{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}}}

Baba Nand Singh Ji Maharaj said about [[Guru Nanak]] that {{transliteration|pa|Garibi, Nimrata,}} Humility is the Divine Flavour, the most wonderful fragrance of the Lotus Feet of Lord Guru Nanak.<ref name="sggs1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.babanandsinghji.org/rosary/fragrance.htm|work=Rosary of Divine Wisdom |title=Fragrance of The Holy Feet of Guru Nanak|access-date=2017-01-01}}</ref> There is no place for Ego (referred to in Sikhism as {{transliteration|pa|Haumain}}) in the sphere of Divine Love, in the sphere of true {{transliteration|pa|Prema Bhagti}}. That is why in the House of Guru Nanak one finds {{transliteration|pa|Garibi, Nimrata,}} Humility reigning supreme. Guru Nanak was an Incarnation of Divine Love and a Prophet of True Humility.{{fact or opinion|date=August 2023}}

According to Sikhism, all people equally have to bow before God so there ought to be no hierarchies among or between people. According to Nanak the supreme purpose of human life is to reconnect with {{transliteration|pa|Akal}} (The Timeless One), however, egotism is the biggest barrier in doing this. Using the guru's teaching remembrance of {{transliteration|pa|[[Nām Japō|nām]]}} (the divine Word)<ref name="NaamSimran">{{cite book | title=Paths to The Divine: Ancient and Indian: 12 | publisher=Council for Research in Values & | author=McLean, George | year= 2008 |isbn=978-1-56518-248-6 | page=599}}</ref> leads to the end of egotism. The immediate fruit of humility is intuitive peace and pleasure. With humility {{clarify|text=they|reason=who?|date=August 2023}} continue to meditate on the Lord, the treasure of excellence. The God-conscious being is steeped in humility. One whose heart is mercifully blessed with abiding humility.{{fragment|date=August 2023}} Sikhism treats humility as a begging bowl before the god.

Sikhs extend this belief in equality, and thus humility, towards all faith:  "all religious traditions are equally valid and capable of enlightening their followers".<ref>{{cite book |title= Sikhism|last= Singh Kalsi|first= Sewa|year= 2007|publisher= Bravo Ltd.|location= London|isbn= 978-1-85733-436-4|page= 24}}</ref> In addition to [[Vaṇḍ Chakkō|sharing]] with others Guru Nanak inspired people to earn an honest living without exploitation and also to [[Naam Japna|remember]] the divine name (God). Guru Nanak described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control, and purity" as being higher than a purely contemplative life.{{relevance inline|date=August 2023}}<ref name="Marwha">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROtEr_QdB3sC | title=Colors of Truth, Religion Self and Emotions | publisher=Concept Publishing Company | last=Marwha|first= Sonali Bhatt | year=2006 | location=New Delhi | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ROtEr_QdB3sC&pg=PA205 205] | isbn=81-8069-268-X}}</ref>

[[Nand Singh (saint)|Baba Nand Singh Sahib]] is renowned as the most humble Sikh Saint in the history of Sikhism. One time the disciples of [[Harnam Singh (saint)|Baba Harnam Singh Ji]], the spiritual preceptor of Baba Nand Singh Ji Maharaj asked him how much power He had transmitted to Baba Nand Singh Ji Maharaj to which he replied:<ref name="sggs2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.babanandsinghji.org/lord-of-life-and-death/index.htm|title=Repository of Infinite Divine Powers|website=babanandsinghsahib.org|access-date=2017-01-01}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="Rikhi Nand Singh holds in His hand Infinite Divine Powers. By just opening His fist He can create as many such-like universes as He likes and by closing the same fist can withdraw all those universes unto Himself.<p>"But the whole beauty is that being the supreme Repository of all the Infinite Divine Powers, He claims to be nothing and is so humble."</p>|sign=Baba Harnam Singh Ji Maharaj}}

{{Blockquote|text=He who is the Highest is the Lowest. Highest in the Lowest is the Real Highest.|sign=Baba Narinder Singh Ji}}

====Meher Baba====
The spiritual teacher [[Meher Baba]] held that humility is one of the foundations of devotional life: "Upon the altar of humility we must offer our prayers to God."<ref>{{cite book| author-link = Meher Baba |last = Baba | first = Meher | year = 1967 | title = Discourses | volume  = 3 | location = San Francisco | publisher= Sufism Reoriented| page = 129 |isbn = 978-1-880619-09-4}}</ref>  Baba also described the power of humility to overcome hostility: "True humility is strength, not weakness. It disarms antagonism and ultimately conquers it."<ref>{{cite book| author-link = Meher Baba |last = Baba | first = Meher | year = 1957| title = Life at Its Best  | location = San Francisco | publisher= Sufism Reoriented| pages = 25–26|isbn = 978-0-525-47434-0}}</ref> Finally, Baba emphasized the importance of being humble when serving others: "One of the most difficult things to learn is to render service without bossing, without making a fuss about it and without any consciousness of high and low. In the world of spirituality, humility counts at least as much as utility."<ref>{{cite book| author-link = Meher Baba |last = Baba | first = Meher | year = 1933 | title = The Sayings of Shri Meher Baba  | location = London | publisher= The Circle Editorial Committee | pages = 11–12 }}</ref>

====Taoism====
{{Quote box|quote=Here are my three treasures.<br />
Guard and keep them! <br />
The first is pity; the second, frugality; the third, refusal to be "foremost of all things under heaven". <br />
For only he that pities is truly able to be brave; <br />
Only he that is frugal is able to be profuse. <br />
Only he that refuses to be foremost of all things <br />
Is truly able to become chief of all Ministers. <br />
At present your bravery is not based on pity, nor your profusion on frugality, nor your vanguard on your rear; and this is death. |source= [[Tao Te Ching]]<ref>{{cite book| title = {{lang|zh|[[Tao Te Ching|道德經]]}} | trans-title = {{transliteration|zh|Tao Te Ching}} | author = Lao Tzu | author-link = Laozi | translator-link = Arthur Waley|translator-first=Arthur|translator-last=Waley | year = 1958 | page = 225}}</ref>| align=right|width=25%}}

Humility, in Taoism, is defined as a refusal to assert authority or a refusal to be first in anything. The act of daring, in itself, is a refusal of wisdom and a rush to enjoin circumstances before you are ready. Along with [[compassion]] and [[frugality]], humility is one of the [[Three Treasures (Taoism)|three treasures]] (virtues) in the possession of those who follow the [[Tao]].<ref name="Lao Tzu 1997"/>

The treasure of humility, in Chinese is a six-character phrase instead of a single word: {{lang-zh|t = 不敢為天下先|hp= Bugan wei tianxia xian}} "not dare to be first/ahead in the world".<ref name="Lao Tzu 1997">{{cite book| title = {{lang|zh|[[Tao Te Ching|道德經]]}} | trans-title = {{transliteration|zh|Tao Te Ching}} |  author = Lao Tzu |  author-link = Laozi | editor-first = Jane |editor-last=English | translator-first = Gia-Fu |translator-last=Feng | year = 1997 | publisher = Vintage Books | isbn = 978-0-679-77619-2}}</ref> Ellen Chen notes<ref name="Chen">{{cite book| title = The Te Tao Ching: A New Translation with Commentary | author = Lao Tzu | author-link = Laozi | editor-first = Ellen M. |editor-last=Chen | year = 1989| publisher = Paragon House | isbn = 978-0-679-77619-2 | page = 209}}</ref> that:
<blockquote>The third treasure, daring not be at the world's front, is the Taoist way to avoid premature death. To be at the world's front is to expose oneself, to render oneself vulnerable to the world's destructive forces, while to remain behind and to be humble is to allow oneself time to fully ripen and bear fruit. This is a treasure whose secret spring is the fear of losing one's life before one's time. This fear of death, out of a love for life, is indeed the key to Taoist wisdom.<ref name="Chen" /> </blockquote>

Furthermore, also according to the [[Tao Te Ching]] a wise person acts without claiming the results as his. He achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it. He does not wish to display his superiority.{{r|Lao Tzu 1997|at=77.4}}

===Wicca===

In the numerous traditions of initiatory Wicca, called in the U.S.A. "British Traditional Wicca", four paired & balanced qualities are recommended in liturgical texts as having come from the Wiccan Goddess:

{{Blockquote|text=...let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.|sign=Doreen Valiente, ''The Charge of the Goddess,'' prose version}}

In the matter of humility, this deific instruction appropriately pairs being honorable with being humble. Characteristically, this Wiccan "virtue" is balanced by its partner virtue.

==Philosophical views of humility==
[[File:Immanuel Kant portrait c1790.jpg|thumb|[[Immanuel Kant]]]]
[[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s view of humility has been defined as "that meta-attitude that constitutes the moral agent's proper perspective on himself as a dependent and corrupt but capable and dignified rational agent".<ref>{{cite web|last=Frierson|first=Patrick|url=http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=4881|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519070616/http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/24910/?id=4881|archive-date=2016-05-19|title=Kant and the Ethics of Humility (review)|publisher=University of Notre Dame}}</ref> Kant's notion of humility relies on the centrality of truth and rational thought leading to proper perspective and his notion can therefore be seen{{by whom|date=August 2023}} as [[emergence|emergent]].

[[Mahatma Gandhi]] said that an attempt to sustain [[truth]] without humility is doomed to become an "arrogant caricature" of truth.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.geocities.com/rkvenkat/chastity.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060630013653/http://www.geocities.com/rkvenkat/chastity.html  |archive-date= 2006-06-30 |title= True Celibacy|work =Young India|date=25 June 1925}}</ref>

While many religions and philosophers view humility as a virtue, some have been critical of it, seeing it as opposed to [[individualism]].

"No doubt, when modesty was made a virtue, it was a very advantageous thing for the fools," wrote [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], "for everybody is expected to speak of himself as if he were one".<ref>{{cite book|first=Arthur|last=Schopenhauer|title=The Wisdom of Life (Essays)|chapter=Pride|year=1851|title-link=Parerga and Paralipomena|at=section 2}}</ref>

[[Nietzsche]] viewed humility as a [[strategy]] used by the weak to avoid being destroyed by the strong.  In ''[[Twilight of the Idols]]'' he wrote: "When stepped on, a worm doubles up. That is clever. In that way he lessens the probability of being stepped on again. In the language of morality: humility."<ref>{{cite book |last=Nietzsche |first=Friedrich |translator-last=Polt |translator-first=Richard |title=Twighlight of the Idols |year= 1997 |publisher=Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. |isbn=978-1-60384-880-0 |page=9 |edition=Adobe PDF ebook |url=https://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Phil_100/Nietzsche_files/Friedrich-Nietzsche-Twilight-of-the-Idols-or-How-to-Philosophize-With-the-Hammer-Translated-by-Richard-Polt.pdf |access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref> He believed that his idealized {{transliteration|de|[[Übermensch]]}} would be more apt to roam unfettered by pretensions of humility, proud of his stature and power, but not reveling idly in it, and certainly not displaying [[hubris]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} But, if so, this would mean the pretension aspect of this kind of humility is more akin to [[obsequiousness]] and to other kinds of pretentious humility.

==Humility and leadership==
Research suggests that humility is a quality of certain types of leaders and is studied as a trait that can enhance leadership effectiveness. For example, [[James C. Collins|Jim Collins]] and his colleagues found that a certain type of leader, whom they term "level 5", possesses humility and fierce resolve.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Collins |first=J. |year=2001 |title=Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve |url=http://www.hr-newcorp.com/articles/Level5%20Leadership_Jim%20Collins.pdf |journal=Harvard Business Review |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=66–76 |pmid=11189464 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229150239/http://www.hr-newcorp.com/articles/Level5%20Leadership_Jim%20Collins.pdf |archive-date=2009-12-29 |access-date=August 20, 2010}}</ref> The research suggests that humility is multi-dimensional and includes self-understanding and awareness, openness, and perspective taking.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal | last1 = Morris  | first1 = J.A. | last2 = Brotheridge  | first2 = C.M. | last3 = Urbanski | first3 = J.C. | year =  2005 | title = Bringing humility to leadership: Antecedents and consequences of leader humility | journal = Human Relations | volume = 58 | issue = 10 | pages= 1323–1350| doi = 10.1177/0018726705059929 | s2cid = 146587365 }}
|2={{cite journal | last1 = Nielsen | first1 = R. | last2 = Marrone | first2 = J.A. | last3 = Slay  | first3 = H.S. | year = 2010 | title = A new look at humility: Exploring the humility concept and its role in socialized charismatic leadership | journal = Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies | volume = 17 | pages= 33–43| doi = 10.1177/1548051809350892 | s2cid = 145244665 }}
|3={{cite book | editor-last = Lopez | editor-first = Shane | chapter = Humility | title = The encyclopedia of positive psychology | year= 2009 | volume = 1 |publisher = Wiler-Blackwell |isbn = 978-1-4051-6125-1}}
}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Aidos}}
* {{annotated link|Cultural humility}}
* {{annotated link|Epistemic humility}}
* {{annotated link|False humility}}
* {{annotated link|Humiliation}}
* {{annotated link|Humility theology}}
* {{annotated link|Intellectual humility}}
* {{annotated link|Madonna of humility}}
* {{annotated link|Moral character}}
* {{annotated link|Pharisee and the Publican}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | title = Humility: The Beauty of Holiness | author-link = Andrew Murray (minister)| first = Andrew | last = Murray | year= 2014| publisher = CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform| isbn = 978-1-5025-5956-2}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikiversity|at=Virtues/Humility}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary|humility|humble}}
* {{cite web | url = http://islamicartdb.com/search/humility | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230803005714/http://islamicartdb.com/search/humility | url-status = usurped | archive-date = August 3, 2023 | title = Islam's quotes regarding humility | work = IslamicArtDB.com}}
* {{cite web | url = https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/229/scope/6198/jewish/Humility.htm | title = Judaism's take on humility | work = Chabad.org}}
* {{cite web| url = https://www.unification.net/ws/theme128.htm | title = World scripture: Quotes from religious texts about humility | work = unification.net}}

{{Catholic Encyclopedia|title=Humility}}

{{Catholic virtue ethics}}
{{Virtues}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Religious ethics]]
[[Category:Christian ethics]]
[[Category:Seven virtues]]
[[Category:Fruit of the Holy Spirit]]
[[Category:Humility]]