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Humility is an ornament of the Saints. It exalts them in the eyes of both man and God. A genuine Master Saint sees the Light of God in every living being, and hence no wonder He meets the child-disciple on a level of equality and treats him or her as His very own. As a fruitful branch hangs low with the weight of its own fruit, so does the Master, with the weight of the divine treasures within Him, lovingly meet all and sundry, irrespective of any social and religious considerations who come to Him to partake of His riches and to tread the Path to the eternal Home of the Father.

"Service before Self" is a rare gift. When the same "Self" operates in every living creature, one ought to delight in service for its own sake. "Self" and "Service" are but two aspects of the divinity. This understanding of the shared nature of the universe, despite its apparently multi-colored designs and patterns, brings about an attitude of equipoise which in turn gradually leads to serenity and sublimity, and one gets engaged in the service of all and begins to see the corresponding self- same enlivening principle working in all creation. Just as a smallest cog is indispensable in a vast mechanism and serves a useful purpose, similarly, all is beautiful and full of divine manifestation, serving a purpose under His Will. Such an idea strengthens the silken bonds of loving brotherhood, and wins the pleasure of the Lord and the Master.

Sweet tongue imbued with humility, O Nanak! is the essence of all virtues.

St. Augustine laid great emphasis on the virtue of humility. Humility first, Humility last, and Humility throughout, was the supreme theme that he had to give to his audience when he rose to deliver his convocation address to students. Beyond this, he said, he had nothing more to give them. Similarly, Kabir once declared that He lived in low humility just as a fish lived in water, for this exalted man to the status of the Devas or gods. This is the only virtue that allows a person to enter the Court of Saints. For the advent of the Beloved, one has to empty out his very own self from within and then live in Him all the time. Once, Kabir said, he went out in search of a wicked person, but could find no one in the wide, wide world, and at last when he peeped within himself, he saw that he was the wickedest of the wicked. This is the acme of humility. Kabir also said, "I am the lowest as compared with all others, and all are better than myself -- those who see that way are my friends." Nanak always spoke of Himself as "Lowly Nanak," "Poor Nanak," "Nanak the slave or bondsman."

Guru Amardas always prayed to God that He should make Him "the slave of His slaves." My Master once said that He would like to make shoes out of His skin for the feet of His devotees.

False pride of worldly possession or pelf, assumed superiority because of spiritual knowledge or intellectual attainments, vanity of earthly things and status may turn astray the mind of the spiritual aspirant, yet in course of time all these vanish into thin air. On the other hand, a heart full of reverential humility is a fit receptacle for His grace, a receptacle which when filled to overflowing runneth over on its own to others. For a humble person no sacrifice is too great in the large interests of spiritual development; whereas a proud person would endlessly await and even miss the chance when offered. Time and tide wait for no man. Human birth is a priceless asset granted by Providence in the ascending scale of evolution and its highest object is spiritual perfection, for which all of us are here. Fortunate are those who are spotted, singled out and Initiated into the Mysteries of the Beyond, and are linked with the divine attributes of Holy Light and Celestial Sound. It is now up to us to "make hay while the sun shines." If we take but one step forward, He will come a million steps to receive and to greet us.

The very idea of attaining spiritual perfection is a happy augury and a happy prelude to the greatest venture in one's life. It is the Divine Mercy which when stirred, brings about such a sublime thought. This grand Mystery of Life cannot be resolved by intellectual attainments or by sophisticated reasoning which may bring in knowledge but not wisdom, and which also may induce that pride of learning and leadership making it all the more difficult to enter the Kingdom of God. The crown of all understanding is to realize our present state of self-complacency and the abject misery in which we are unwillingly caught and feel helpless to escape. A closer view of things will reveal that the soul is enshrouded with thick veils of ignorance and is being driven hopelessly in endless gyres up and down on the Giant Wheel of Creation.

http://www.santmat.hu/en/issue/seven-paths-perfection/4-loving-humility