What is Humility?

It is interesting to note the words ‘humility’ and ‘humiliate’ start with the same five letters. One of the dictionary definitions of “humiliate” is “to cause a painful loss of pride, self-respect, or dignity.” The attainment of humility involves just this, a loss of pride. Srila Prabhupada once spoke of a successful Indian businessman in Calcutta who, in his old age, renounced the world and had taken to begging alms from his enemies (financial competitors).