Astrall
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Avoid noisy and warlike people; they disturb the spirit.
If you compare yourself to others, you may become filled with vanity or sadness...
And never compare. Comparison is a disease, one of the most serious diseases, but from the very beginning, we are taught to compare. Your mother starts comparing you to other children, your father starts comparing you to other children. The teacher compares you:
"Look at Johnny, how well he behaves, and you behave very badly! Look at others!" From the very beginning, you are forced to compare yourself to
others. This is the most serious disease; it is like cancer that constantly destroys your very soul. Every person is unique, and comparison is impossible.
I am just me, and you are just you. There is no one else in the world with whom you can be compared. Do you compare fingernails to roses? No. Do you compare a mango to an apple? No. You know they are different – comparison is impossible.
And a person is not just a representative of a biological species; every person is unique. There has never been a person like you before, and there will never be again. You are absolutely unique. This is your privilege, your exclusive right,
Thank God that he created you uniquely. Don't compare. Comparison will lead to difficulties.
If you compare yourself to others, you may become
filled with vanity or sadness because there will always be people
"greater or lesser than yourself."
If you fall victim to this disease of comparison, you will, of course, either become very arrogant or very sad; it all depends on who you compare yourself to. If you compare yourself to those who seem to you to be
greater than you, higher than you, more significant than you, you will be sad. You will begin to blame God, get angry: "Why am I so insignificant? Why am I not like that person? Why am I not as physically beautiful, not as strong? Why am I not as smart? Why am I not this, not that?"
And there are millions of things in the world...
If you compare yourself to people who are superior to you in some way, you will be sad, very sad. Your life will be poisoned by this comparison. You will always be in a state of depression, as if God has deceived you, betrayed you, abandoned you in trouble.
Or, if you compare yourself to people who are less significant than you, to those who are inferior to you in some way, then you will become very arrogant. This is one of the reasons why politicians are always surrounded by people less significant than themselves; they collect them, and this is their joy. They gather less significant people around themselves so that, in comparison with them, they can look more significant than they are. This is stupid, but you cannot
expect more from a politician. Rich people are always surrounded by those who are less great than they are. They feel good, very good, just wonderful in comparison with these people.
However, when people look at other people's homes, at other people's successes, at other people's achievements, they always feel a strong resentment, an offense to God. In our world, religion cannot flourish because people cannot pray to a God who betrayed them from the very beginning, who created them so insignificant, so ugly. How can they be grateful to him? It is impossible.
And without gratitude, there is no prayer, and without prayer, there is no religion. However, a person who understands that everyone is unique can be religious; he cannot help but be religious, as he feels great gratitude for everything that God has given him. If you do not compare, then you are neither more nor less great, neither ugly nor beautiful, neither smart nor stupid. If you do not compare, then you are just you. And in this ability to simply be yourself, spring comes, and flowers bloom, because deep acceptance of life and deep gratitude to God help spring to begin.
Osho
If you compare yourself to others, you may become filled with vanity or sadness...
And never compare. Comparison is a disease, one of the most serious diseases, but from the very beginning, we are taught to compare. Your mother starts comparing you to other children, your father starts comparing you to other children. The teacher compares you:
"Look at Johnny, how well he behaves, and you behave very badly! Look at others!" From the very beginning, you are forced to compare yourself to
others. This is the most serious disease; it is like cancer that constantly destroys your very soul. Every person is unique, and comparison is impossible.
I am just me, and you are just you. There is no one else in the world with whom you can be compared. Do you compare fingernails to roses? No. Do you compare a mango to an apple? No. You know they are different – comparison is impossible.
And a person is not just a representative of a biological species; every person is unique. There has never been a person like you before, and there will never be again. You are absolutely unique. This is your privilege, your exclusive right,
Thank God that he created you uniquely. Don't compare. Comparison will lead to difficulties.
If you compare yourself to others, you may become
filled with vanity or sadness because there will always be people
"greater or lesser than yourself."
If you fall victim to this disease of comparison, you will, of course, either become very arrogant or very sad; it all depends on who you compare yourself to. If you compare yourself to those who seem to you to be
greater than you, higher than you, more significant than you, you will be sad. You will begin to blame God, get angry: "Why am I so insignificant? Why am I not like that person? Why am I not as physically beautiful, not as strong? Why am I not as smart? Why am I not this, not that?"
And there are millions of things in the world...
If you compare yourself to people who are superior to you in some way, you will be sad, very sad. Your life will be poisoned by this comparison. You will always be in a state of depression, as if God has deceived you, betrayed you, abandoned you in trouble.
Or, if you compare yourself to people who are less significant than you, to those who are inferior to you in some way, then you will become very arrogant. This is one of the reasons why politicians are always surrounded by people less significant than themselves; they collect them, and this is their joy. They gather less significant people around themselves so that, in comparison with them, they can look more significant than they are. This is stupid, but you cannot
expect more from a politician. Rich people are always surrounded by those who are less great than they are. They feel good, very good, just wonderful in comparison with these people.
However, when people look at other people's homes, at other people's successes, at other people's achievements, they always feel a strong resentment, an offense to God. In our world, religion cannot flourish because people cannot pray to a God who betrayed them from the very beginning, who created them so insignificant, so ugly. How can they be grateful to him? It is impossible.
And without gratitude, there is no prayer, and without prayer, there is no religion. However, a person who understands that everyone is unique can be religious; he cannot help but be religious, as he feels great gratitude for everything that God has given him. If you do not compare, then you are neither more nor less great, neither ugly nor beautiful, neither smart nor stupid. If you do not compare, then you are just you. And in this ability to simply be yourself, spring comes, and flowers bloom, because deep acceptance of life and deep gratitude to God help spring to begin.
Osho