Onam, and Three Steps of Humility

Happy Onam. The legend of King MahaBali is really a lesson in humility, taught in three steps.

Measure the earth — and be humbled by the sheer number of other lives that share it. Measure the sky — and be humbled by the vastness we are such a small part of. Then place a hand on your head — and realize how brief our time here is, and how small our role in the larger order of the world.

Just that knowledge can help each of us transcend an ego that would otherwise grow as large as the earth and sky.