Egoism, the inordinate preoccupation with one’s own self, makes people blind to the reality of God. The problem is compounded by pride—pride in oneself, pride in one’s wealth, knowledge, or power. Egoism and pride close us off from God.
Thinking of ourselves to be independent, we cannot recognize that our very existence is dependent upon the Ultimate Reality.
Pride makes us blind to the needs of others and too stubborn to accept help from others. Pride makes us unable even to take an accurate measure of ourselves.
In Christianity, pride is regarded as the first step to the fall and rebellion against God. In Buddhism, grasping after the self and the sense of ego is the chief of all cravings and the deepest root of ignorance. In the Indic religions, egoism is a fetter that binds people to the wheel of rebirth.
Father Moon reiterates these universal teachings, but with particular emphasis on the social manifestations of pride and egoism among the affluent people of today’s wealthy and powerful nations.
He warns America in particular that it had better repent for its arrogance, which is seeping into every cranny of the social fabric, or inevitably it will decline. He also links egoism and pride to the Human Fall, which implanted that wicked propensity deep in the human mind.
Verily, man is rebellious for he thinks himself independent. Lo! unto thy Lord is the return. Qur’an 96.6-8
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16.18 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Isaiah 5.21
Selfishness may be sweet for oneself, but no harmony of the whole can come from it. Osashizu (Tenrikyo)
We maintain that all pain and suffering are results of want of Harmony, and that the one terrible and only cause of the disturbance of Harmony is selfishness in some form or another. Helena Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy
In thinking, “This is I” and “That is mine,” he binds himself with his self, as does a bird with a snare. Maitri Upanishad 3.2 (Hinduism)
“Sons have I; wealth have I”: Thus is the fool worried. Verily, he himself is not his own. Whence sons? Whence wealth? Dhammapada 62 (Buddhism)
Where egoism exists, Thou are not experienced; Where Thou art, is not egoism. Adi Granth, Maru-ki-Var, M.1, p. 1092 (Sikhism)
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked; you waxed fat, you grew thick, you became sleek; then he forsook God who made him, and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. Deuteronomy 32.15
Nzame [God] is on high, man is on the earth. Yeye O, Yalele, God is God, man is man. Everyone in his house, everyone for himself.23 Fang Tradition (African Traditional Religions)
For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high; against all the cedars of Lebanon lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the high mountains and against all the lofty hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the pride of men shall be brought low; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2.12-17
The fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed. Dhammapada 63 (Buddhism)
Whoever proclaims himself good, know, goodness approaches him not. Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 278 (Sikhism)
Confucius said, A faultless man I cannot hope ever to meet; the most I can hope for is to meet a man of fixed principles. Yet where all around I see Nothing pretending to be Something, Emptiness pretending to be Fullness, Penury pretending to be Affluence, even a man of fixed principles will be none too easy to find. Analects 7.25 (Confucianism)
He who tiptoes cannot stand; He who strides cannot walk. He who shows himself is not conspicuous; He who considers himself right is not illustrious; He who brags will have no merit; He who boasts will not endure. From the point of view of the Way, these are like “excessive food and useless excrescences” which all creatures detest. He who has the Way does not abide in them. Tao Te Ching 24 (Taoism)
Pride has seven forms: Boasting that one is lower than the lowly, Or equal with the equal, or greater than Or equal to the lowly, Is called the pride of selfhood. Boasting that one is equal to those Who by some quality are better than oneself Is the pride of being superior. Thinking that one is higher than the extremely high, Who fancy themselves to be superior, Is pride greater than pride; Like an abscess in a tumor It is very vicious. Conceiving an “I” through ignorance In the five empty [aggregates] which are called the appropriation, Is said to be the pride of thinking “I.” Thinking one has won fruits not yet attained is pride of conceit. Praising oneself for faulty deeds Is known by the wise as wrongful pride. Deriding oneself, thinking “I am senseless,” is called the pride of lowliness. Such briefly are the seven prides. Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 406-12 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
In your walk of faith, regard arrogance as the enemy, regard stubbornness as the enemy, and regard insisting on your own way as the enemy. (67:139, June 1, 1973)
Because people are self-centered in their thinking, they speak ill of others. When others have something good, they want to take it from them. Such people are doomed. What about you? Is your mind self-centered or other-centered? No one can solve this problem but you. (36:183, November 29, 1970)
People whose philosophy of life is “me first” are doomed to perish. In pursuing their own desires, they harm others and damage their nation—such people will perish. Individuals should not take advantage of their nation; rather, individuals should offer themselves for their nation. That is a duty of citizens.
People are not meant to live for themselves. Yet today, many live only for their own sake. They say, “I live for me.” They are people to be pitied, like orphans who have no parents or siblings. (24:20-21, June 22, 1969)
The first step towards the Fall was the appearance of individualism. It was thinking that nothing in the world matters but me. The next step was to think people have unlimited freedom: “What’s this with God telling us we cannot eat that fruit? Why should there be any rules to restrict us? We can do as we please.” Is it freedom when people do just as they please? It should not be that way. (49:190, October 10, 1971)
From the day the first human ancestors fell and received the blood of Satan, people unconsciously became arrogant and have used others to satisfy their needs. They have pursued that direction throughout human history. (46:142, August 13, 1971)
What is the Fall? It is to unlawfully take what belongs to someone else. Self-centeredness ruined the world. Knowing this universal principle, human beings should return to the world of oneness, but instead, they continue to play the game of pulling the world for themselves. That is evil. (170:174, November 15, 1987)
Human beings have inherited Satan’s nature: the inclination to regard everything, even God, from a self-centered viewpoint. (91:242, February 23, 1977)
Are Americans proud of their money? Do not be proud of it before God. God can create money as much as He wants. Nor should Americans be proud of their power and military might: God is all-powerful.
God is all-knowing: who can challenge Him with knowledge? It doesn’t matter that you earned a Ph.D. from Harvard; you are all the same when you stand naked before Him. Your knowledge will not gain you admission into the Kingdom of Heaven. All who are proud of these things will fall into hell. (358:162, October 14, 2001)
I know that American culture upholds individualism. However, there must not be individualism that disregards the relationship between God, the Subject, and human beings, His objects. Selfish individualism is destructive, and its prevalence is driving America into a corner.
Now America should recover the essence of Christianity by seeking for God’s original way of life: The individual lives for the sake of the family; families contribute to the community; communities give their strength to the nation; nations exist to benefit the world; and the world exists for the sake of God.
These are God’s heavenly ethics. If we practice it, then what is God’s is also mine, and whatever I do for God also benefits me. Living for the sake of God is ultimately living for my own benefit. (69:88-89, October 20, 1973)
Selfish individualism is Satan’s creation, a result of the Fall. As Satan centers on himself, he divides people by having them center on themselves. Thus one [an individual] becomes two [mind and body in conflict.] Two [a couple] become four [the man’s mind, the man’s body, the woman’s mind and the woman’s body.]
Why did America become such an individualistic nation?
It is because Satan is exerting his dominion there. The so-called right of privacy is at the heart of American individualism. Yet this individualism is causing the family to break down, the society to break down, and the nation to weaken. Individualism is a most fearful thing; it leads people to hell. (361:234, November 25, 2001)
What is the origin of the dirt that has stained human history? It begins from ourselves. Dirt did not just fall on our first ancestors; they made themselves dirty. How did they become dirty? They thought of themselves as being the center of everything; egoism and selfishness are what stained them.
If our ancestors had lived in service to what is more precious than themselves, then they would not have taken the path to defilement. What is more precious than oneself? We are resultant beings; therefore, we should live for the Causal Being.
God is the most precious existence, and we should live for Him. Had people truly lived for God and thought of God before thinking of themselves, we could never have become evil. (92:58-59, March 13, 1977)
Many of you soon become arrogant and think, “I am a member of the Unification Church. I have worked for the church for three years, so it’s about time that Reverend Moon gives me the Blessing.
Then he should recognize me, and so should the church.” What a pity if you think that way! In our church, there are two ways of life: arrogance and humility.
The way of arrogance leads to hell, while the way of humility leads to heaven. What about you: do you belong to heaven or to hell? (92:71, March 13, 1977)
Sun Myung Moon