hurt when they are treated with ingratitude, are slandered or feel
deceived, anger and haughtiness are aroused in these situations, as
well as in those situations in which they feel impotent to solve things
according to their plans.
For example, when they receive contempt or mocking from somebody
whom they are trying to understand or to help, anger and haughtiness
are aroused in them, inducing them to make comments such as "don ́t
you know who I am", “how dare you? " or " who do you think you are,
speaking to me like that?"
This difficulty in coping with ingratitude and slander through lack of
humility makes them classify, prejudge and treat others as inferior. If the
arrogant are not able to recognise their own defects, and overcome
them, distrust will seize them when attending to people who approach
them requesting their help. Their prejudices can make them feel
criticised in front of certain people and decide not to help others
according to their needs, but rather based on the distrust, fear or
criticism which they feel towards them, not being fair and reasonable.
Although the arrogant consider themselves to be self-sufficient, the
fact is that they need to love and also to feel loved to be happy, like
everybody else, although it is difficult for them to recognise this. For this
reason, their facade of self-sufficiency crumbles when they feel
insecure in their feelings. That fear of losing the love that they believed
to be safe makes them feel distrust, sadness, desperation and
impotence. And this happens to them because they still suffer from
attachment, and have difficulty sharing the love of loved beings.
Well, it seems quite a normal reaction to me. Does it not perhaps
happen to all of us that we are scared of losing the love of our loved
ones?
If they had ever experienced unconditional love they would no longer
suffer from attachment, nor would they fear anything, because they
would know that true love is never lost.
And how is the arrogant stage overcome?
By loving again, understanding and avoiding behaving as the defect
wants. Arrogance will diminish in the same proportion in which spirits
develop humility and detachment, and both qualities are developed
by practising love towards their fellow man, through sincere and
disinterested help to others. If arrogant spirits, through fear of suffering
deceptions and humiliations, refrain from giving the help that they are
capable of giving, then they are giving wings to their defect, and will
stagnate. But if they overcome their fears and their prejudices, and
allow themselves to be led by how they feel, they will advance.