on the lower self

Fadiman & Frager

A Collection of Quotes on - The Lower Self

“The lower self always wants people to obey moral precepts only as it
expounds them, to love it more than anything else. The lower self
wants others to fear it in all situations, clinging to hope in its
mercy, in the same way that God demands these things from His
devotees.”

~ Kashani


“The lower self does not want anyone to receive anything from anybody
else, and if it is aware of someone receiving a special boon, it
seeks to destroy it.”

~ Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi


“The lower self is continually subject to notions and whims, both in
word and deed; it sticks with nothing and completes no project, only
wanting to finish everything quickly. Its movements are arbitrary
and unreliable; it is in a hurry to fulfill its desires, acting
precipitously. Certain sages have likened it, in its fickleness, to
a ball rolling giddily down a slope.”

“The lower self soon wearies of things. If, by any chance, the lower
self should succeed in attaining what it wants, it will still not be
satisfied. The lower self lacks stability.”

~ Kashani


“The lower self is constantly preoccupied with the virtues of its
attributes, contemplating its states with contentment and reverence.
It considers important the least thing it has done for anyone,
remembering it for years afterward, being overwhelmed by its own
kindness. Yet however great the favors others do for it, it places
no importance on them, forgetting them quickly.”

~ Kashani


“I saw my lower self in the form of a rat. I asked, "Who are you?"
It replied, "I am the destruction of the heedless, for I incite them
to wickedness. I am the salvation of the friends-of-God, for if it
were not for me, they would be proud of their purity and their
actions. When they see me in themselves, all their pride disappears."

~ Hujwiri


“The lower self likes praise. It continually enjoins a person to put
on pretensions, so that people will compliment it. Indeed, there are
many worshipers and ascetics who are thus controlled by the lower
self.”

~ Qushayr


“A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey.”

~ Traditional


“The lower self is like a flame both in its display of beauty and in
its hidden potential for destruction; though its color is attractive,
it burns.”

~ Bakharzi


“Happy are those who find fault with themselves instead of finding
fault with others.”

~ Muhammad

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