To be free from desire for prestige and regard is a sign of greatness*
This reminds me of my favourite verse in one of my favourite hymns: Be Thou my Vision
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Be Thou mine inheritance now and always;
Be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart;
O sovereign of heaven, my treasure Thou art.
I've come to the conclusion that it's quite difficult to avoid heeding man's empty praise.
A lot of things that will get you prestige are actually worthwhile things to do, so feel free to try to do something worthy of prestige, but remember that you might not actually get recognition for it. Also, don't make the prestige your goal, because unfortunately not everything that gets popular recognition is actually worthwhile (a number of reality TV shows come to mind).
As I said, I don't think it's really very easy to avoid the desire for prestige, but that doesn't mean it's not worth trying.
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* Reproduced by permission of the copyright-holder BK Publications, London, www.bkpublications.com
1 comment:
Respect and regard can be an essential part of participating usefully in a society. Wanting respect can be a part of wanting to interact equally with those you regard highly - which can be very important to your own personal development.
To try to suppress that desire for regard in favour of wanting things purely because they are virtuous strikes me as a waste of time, to be honest. It might stop you from interacting quite so usefully with people who could make you a better person.
If you are free from desire for prestige and regard, you may simply be too proud to care what anyone else thinks. Of course, if you examine their thinking and find it stupid, that's different. But it isn't always a sign of greatness to ignore what other people think.
Perhaps a true sign of greatness would be to value people's regard, but not to value it above your own virtue or effort.
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