' Divine Pride '...

One day, someone asked Rumi, "We see that certain ancient sages were
extremely proud - what does such pride mean?"

He replied, "In people of God, pride is a pride of divine greatness,
and not a pride of opinions or passion, nor a presumption that arises from
high spiritual rank.

When the Imam Dja'far Cadiq, who purified his soul
and paid no attention to caliphs and Kings, was asked about this pride, he
replied, "I myself am not proud.

I have abandoned my own existence, the
greatness of God has annihilated me and installed itself in place of my
pride;

the pride I am speaking of springs directly out of the heart of the
greatness of God; as for me, in the middle of all this glory, I do not exist."


-from "The Teachings of Rumi," compiled by Andrew Harvey