Vanity is a virtue. How to get rid of pride: Orthodoxy, Catholicism

Vanity has been known to mankind since ancient times and combines the concepts: pride in religion, star fever in show business circles, pride, arrogance in ordinary relationships between people. What is vanity, how it affects a person and those around him - the best experts on human souls - philosophers, priests, theosophists, psychologists - tried to figure it out.

What does vanity mean?

Vanity comes from the two words futility and fame. IN AND. Dal, a great researcher of the Russian language, explains in an explanatory dictionary that such a person's vanity is the desire of a certain kind of people for honors, praise, worldly glory, and recognition of imaginary virtues. The desire to be the subject of conversation and the greed for attention are inherent in people in modern society.

Psychological vanity

The reasons for vanity are rooted in childhood. Psychologists believe that in the formation of self-esteem, an important criterion is the recognition of the child by the parents, how they evaluate certain achievements of the child. An excess of praise negatively affects the further perception of oneself as a person, inadequate leads to the emergence of vanity. Can a person recognize himself? There are signs of vanity:

• pleasure in flattery;
• the desire to spin events around your own person;
• aggressive response to any criticism (constructive, non-constructive);
• excessive talkativeness, at odds with deeds (inconsistency between speaking and doing);
• eccentric behavior.

What does vain person mean?

The perception of oneself as a person is a complex process associated with an excess or lack of emotions against the background of improper upbringing when there are no norms and prohibitions and permissiveness develops. A vain person is a seemingly bright personality that attracts the attention of people. Austrian psychiatrist A. Adler spoke of a vain person as filled with himself to the extent that there is simply no place for others. How vanity manifests itself:

1. Feelings, thoughts are paraded - the internal state may differ from the external manifestation (the goal is to capture as much of the audience as possible for attention).
2. Humiliation of another person in order to feel superiority (more pronounced in women).
3. The desire to do good deeds and tell others how good I am.
4. The dominant need for "stardom" is without knowing the meaning of an activity, a profession in which success is important for a person (success for the sake of success).
5. Envy towards those who have achieved something in life.

Is vanity good or bad?

Any phenomenon has positive and negative aspects. What is human vanity, and does it have good points - in terms of practical benefits? There are more negative points, but there are also positive aspects of vanity:

• helps to achieve success and recognition (especially in show business);
• is a trigger for any human endeavor: study at a prestigious institution, career advancement.

What is vanity on the negative side:

• The biggest problem with vanity lies in the fact that a person does not benefit society and is fixated only on himself.
• It is difficult for vain people to be in full-fledged relationships with loved ones: with their arrogance, arrogance and arrogance, they alienate people.
• Spiritual development is practically absent; in extreme cases, a person can go into a state of megalomania (personality psychopathology) when he thinks himself to be omnipotent.

Vanity and pride - what's the difference?

Selfishness and self-centeredness are the field on which pride and vanity are "cultivated". Full orientation of a person towards himself, his achievements. Vanity is considered a less gross human vice than pride. In vanity, a person can still realize the perniciousness of his "I - positioning", in pride there is a complete neglect of others against the background of self-exaltation. In all world religions, pride is a grave sin.

Ambition and vanity - the difference

The desire of a person to be the best in various social spheres commands respect. To be a wonderful doctor, teacher, to treat your profession with full responsibility and to become an example for others is what distinguishes ambition from vanity, which is characterized by “empty” drawing attention to oneself. Ambition and vanity - there is a fine line between them when one quality can pass into another: at the same time, a person begins to boast of past merits and how much useful, in his opinion, he has done for society.

How to get rid of vanity?

As soon as a person realizes that he is in captivity of his own importance and dependence on flattery, recognition by others, and fights for the attention of the collective, there is a huge mental and psychological work to overcome himself. How to deal with vanity - a few recommendations from psychologists:

1. Pragmatism is a quality that, within reasonable limits, helps to eradicate vanity and not rest on the laurels of once achieved success.
2. Comparing your successes with the successes of other people - remember that there is always someone smarter, more beautiful, more successful.
3. Take an example from famous people who, in their success, were not subjected to vanity: mother Teresa, Mohammed Ali, Keanu Reeves - modest personalities with a worldwide reputation
4. Sharing victories and achievements is about the fact that success comes from the participation of other people in a person's life. Acceptance of this fact and gratitude to parents, teachers, who meet on the path of life - help to get out of the state of vanity.
5. G. D. Roberts is an Australian writer who, in his novel "The Shadow of the Mountain", expressed the idea of ​​how much usefulness can be gained by simply bowing your head and kneeling down sometimes - a good exercise against vanity.

What is vanity in Orthodoxy?

Why is vanity a sin in the Orthodox tradition? In the famous film "The Devil's Advocate", the hero of Al Pacino utters words in which he admits that vanity is one of his most beloved sins, the Devil. The soul of a vain person is defenseless against the temptations of dark forces. Fathers on vanity:

• Vain thoughts come from the Devil, but never from God.
• Vanity is manifested in indignation at loved ones that they are living an unrighteous life, instead of being filled with compassion and asking God to direct a loved one to a righteous path.
• Whoever does and says something for the sake of worldly glory is vain (Saint Basil the Great).
• The soul of vanity is a waterless pit (St. Evagrius).
• Vanity is like a rushing wind - it blows away all the treasures of virtue (St. John Chrysostom).

Vanity in the Orthodox faith is one of the eight deadly sins inherent in every person, which can only be defeated by humility, repentance and exaltation of the role of God in one's life.

Why vanity is a sin

God created man in His own image, endowed him with the qualities that He Himself desired. Someone was given more, someone less, everything at the will of the Creator.

The devil does not like the humility and peace in the souls of Orthodox believers, and he sows the seeds of sin in the form of envy, feelings of inferiority, pride and exaltation, which grow into vanity.

Vanity in the Orthodox faith is a terrible mortal sin, for it divided the Kingdom of God. Lucifer, a beautiful angel, the son of the dawn, imagined himself to be equal to the Creator, because of his rebellion, the reason for which was vanity, pride, was thrown to earth and to hell.

Vanity clings to everything: I am conceited when I fast, but when I permit fasting in order to hide my abstinence from people, I again become conceited, considering myself wise; I am conquered by vanity, dressing in good clothes; but even dressing in thin, I am also conceited; I will speak, I am conquered by vanity, I will shut up, again I am defeated by it. No matter how you throw this trident, it will all become a sharp top.

Feigned humility, repentance among vain people are temporary in nature and are necessarily manifested depending on the circumstances.

Scream, anger is a product of vanity

The Monk Anthony the Great warns of anger, an unbridled cry, who considers exaltation over his neighbors to be a sin.

Any unrepentant sin leads to death. The Apostle Paul wrote that no sin should rule over Christians. (Rom. 6:14)

Selfishness

Selfishness is one of the shades of exaltation, pride, pride. The egoist himself does not find peace, but he will not let others live in joy.

How to deal with vanity

An egoist who stands on his conviction, a Christian would rather “break his forehead” than admit himself to be wrong. Selfishness gives rise to the fear of losing respect, albeit false, but companions.

Perseverance, stubbornness of egoists is a terrible force, a passion with which the vain patient covers himself more and more, not wanting to recover.

Pride and contempt

A person walking in the darkness of pride almost never notices the achievements of the people around him. Someone else's talents in a proud man evoke not joy for a friend, but envy and a sense of self-humiliation. To a person who is constantly busy with himself, lofty thoughts from God will never reach.

The proud man treats everything that surrounds him with contempt, be it advice, admonition, or censure.

Exaltation will constantly keep the proud believer in limbo. And until he sinks to earth and recognizes himself as a sinner, he will not see the eternal Kingdom.

Opinions of clergy

According to St. Basil the Great, contempt is the beginning of pride and vanity.

Sin of vanity and contempt

In the notes of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, it is said that a vain person always puts himself in the center of events, considers his conclusions to be the criterion of truth.

There is no judge over the proud, not even God, except himself. Vanity differs from pride in that a narcissistic person longs for worship and exaltation, and a proud person treats everyone with contempt.

Advice! One can conquer exaltation and self-admiration only by contempt for it, recognizing the readiness to appear before the judgment of God, breaking away from the demonic lies about oneself.

The rich Zacchaeus did not care about the opinion of people about his act, when a small rich man climbed a tree like a boy to attract the attention of Jesus Christ. Zacchaeus threw away any shame in front of people, he did not care what the world would say, the most important thing for the publican was to invite Christ into his home and life. (Luke 19: 5)

Saint John Chrysostom described lustfulness very clearly, comparing it with the change of weather, day and night. Likewise, a vain person will never get enough of his self-admiration, being in joy and despondency.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian emphasizes that a truly spiritual Christian will always consider himself inferior and inferior to everyone.

How to heal vain thoughts

It may sound absurd, but the main soil for pride in Orthodoxy is good deeds. The Bible writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:17), but having done good to someone, you should immediately forget about him, not praise yourself, not admire yourself even deep inside.

How to beat vanity

Noticing deep satisfaction within yourself after a deed or a perfect deed, consider who gave the power and to whom the glory belongs. At the first manifestations of narcissism, one should pray, calling on Jesus for help, to put up a barrier for Satan.

Get away from me, Satan. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. "

When carrying out any business, Orthodox believers always ask for help and blessings from the Holy Trinity, the Holy Virgin Mary and the Saints. If the outcome is successful, we give praise

The one who helped without attributing any merit to himself. God gives:

• strength and faith in healing;
• helping the weak and the poor;
• means to help people;
• money for the construction of temples and donations.

A good voice that sounds in the choir or the ability to convey the spiritual essence of the holy face are gifts from God, they do not have human merit. In the parable of talents, Jesus just speaks of such cases when the owner, leaving, leaves slaves according to his talent, and then demands an account. One buried his talent, so as not to lose, and was expelled, while the other increased his money, for which he received the same amount. (Mat.25:15)

Gifted people should remember that they are good slaves to be rewarded in Heaven, but the talents belong to God. The devil will certainly play on the elevation of conceit, flattery and praise. An Orthodox Christian must constantly remember that everything in life is given by God, this is His merit, we are only proud of Him.

The patristic rules emphasize that the main weapon in the fight against self-praise is never to ascribe anything to oneself.

About spiritual life:

The most dangerous thing is inner vanity. You do - you are proud, you do not - complacency arises again. The grace to endure fasting, the strength to spend hours in prayer, the ability to humble ourselves - everything is from God. Satan is just waiting to trip up Christians using grief and joy.

The more a person is filled with spiritual strength, the higher the temptations from the passion of vanity become, which lead to a painful fall. Rejection of human vanity will help to cure vanity. God helps those people who try to stay in the last place in all matters during praise, lost in the shadow of glory. Meekness and humility are the main weapons against the passion of exaltation.

Advice! An excellent cure for vain thoughts is secret work, when the fruits of the deeds done remain secret.

Everything is done with fasting, prayer, carefully guarded from prying eyes and praise. It’s not worth those Christians who, right and left, tell how many days they have been in strict fasting, how hard it is for them, while not even suspecting that the devil has already stolen the results of the ascetic feat of abstinence.

At the first signs of revealing the passion of vanity in oneself, one should grasp the help given from above, the prayer of repentance.

Prayer of St. John of Kronstadt

Lord, do not let me dream of myself as if it were the best of any of the people, but think of myself as the worst of all and not condemn anyone, but judge myself harshly. Amen.

Holy righteous John of Kronstadt

O great saint of Christ, holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative! Praising the triune God, you cried out in prayer: “Your name is Love: do not reject me who is deluded. Your name is Strength: strengthen me, exhausted and falling. Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions. Your name is Peace: calm my restless soul. Your name is Mercy: do not be merciful to me. " Today, the all-Russian flock, grateful for your intercession, prays to you: Christ-honored and righteous servitor of God! Illuminate us with your love, sinners and the weak, grant us worthy fruits of repentance and uncondemned communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ: strengthen your faith in us by your strength, support us in prayer, heal ailments and diseases, deliver them from the ills of visible and invisible enemies: with the light of the face of your ministers and the primates of the altar of Christ for the sacred feats of pastoral work, grant education as a baby, teach youth, support old age, light up the shrines of temples and holy places of the monastery: die, miraculous and prescient, our peoples, by grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit; wasteful gather, deceived converts and assemblies of the holy conciliar and apostles of the Church: by the mercy of your matrimony in peace and like-mindedness, keep monastics in good deeds with perseverance and blessing, faint-hearted consolations, suffering from the spirits of unclean freedoms, in the needs and conditions of all with the needs and conditions of all instruct the way of salvation: in the living Christ, our Father John, lead us to the non-evening light of eternal life, so that we may be vouchsafed with you eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.

Reverend Silouan the Athonite

O wondrous servant of God, Father Siluan! By the grace given to you from God, pray tearfully for the whole universe - the dead, the living and the coming - do not be silent for us to the Lord, who are zealously leaning towards you and are affectionately asking for your intercession (names). Move, O all-blessed, to prayer the Zealous Intercessor of the Christian clan, the Most-Blessed Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, who miraculously called you to be a faithful worker in Her earthly helipad, where the chosen one of God pleads for our sins, our merciful and long-suffering life of our God, in the hedgehog and unrighteousness , but according to the ineffable goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, harbor and save us according to His great mercy. She, the saint of God, with the Most Blessed Lady of the world - the Most Holy Abbess of Athos and the holy ascetics of Her earthly lot, ask the saints for the holy Word of the holy Mount of Athos and her God-loving hermitage from all the troubles and slander of the enemy in the world. Yes, the Angels are delivered by the saints from evil and strengthened by the Holy Spirit in faith and brotherly love, until the end of the century for the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, prayers and show everyone the way of salvation, but the Earthly and Heavenly Church ceaselessly praises the Creator and the Father of Lights, enlightening and illuminating peace in the eternal truth and goodness of God. For the people of the earth, ask for a prosperous and peaceful life, the spirit of humility and brotherly love, good nature and salvation, the spirit of the fear of God. May it not be malice and lawlessness that harden the hearts of men, capable of destroying the love of God in men and casting them down into godly enmity and fratricide, but in the power of Divine love and righteousness, as in heaven and on earth, may the name of God be holy, may His holy will be done in men and may peace and the Kingdom of God reign on earth. Likewise, for your earthly Fatherland - ask for the land of Russia, a servitor of God, the longed-for peace and heavenly blessing, in the all-powerful omophorion of the Mother of God, to get rid of him from gladness, destruction, cowardice, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners and internecine strife and from all visible enemies and invisible, and so the most holy house of the Most Blessed Theotokos until the end of the century, he will remain, the Life-giving Cross by power, and in the love of God, the inexhaustible will be affirmed. For all of us, who are immersed in the darkness of sins and repentance of warmth, lower than the fear of God to those who do not have and to those of the immeasurably loving Lord who constantly offend us, ask for all blessedness from our All-Blessed God, so that with His All-Powerful Grace, divinely visit and revive our souls, and all malice and put away the pride of life, despondency and neglect in our hearts. We also pray for the hedgehog and for us, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit strengthened and warmed by the love of God, in philanthropy and brotherly love, humble crucifixion for each other and for all, to be affirmed in the truth of God and in the grace-filled love of God to be strengthened in good faith, and to love Him. Yes, tako, doing His all holy will, in all piety and purity of temporary living, we will not shamefully pass the path and with all the saints of the Heavenly Kingdom and His Lamb marriage we will be honored. To Him, from all earthly and heavenly, let there be glory, honor and worship, with His Beginning Father, Most Holy and Good and His Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

How to respond to praise and criticism

People tend to thank and praise another person for a good deed, who should not accept the praise, but give all the glory to God, working for the Creator.

People may say that they see Christ in you, thank God, but this is not the merit of a Christian, but of higher powers.

A wife or husband living in an unmarried marriage and setting an example of humility, patience, and love, rather than exaltation, can nurture the other half's motivation to come under the cover of the Church.

The moment praise sounds, one should answer that all the glory belongs to God, and we are only performers.

According to John Climacus, humiliation and dishonor should give rise to patience and humility. Any criticism must be taken in the form of dung and fertilizer for spiritual growth.

Great grace from the Most High Creator for Christians in the victory over vanity consists in the ability to:

• humble;
• see your weakness;
• know spiritual powers;
• stay yourself.

A video on how to overcome pride and vanity. Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov

The frequently asked question of getting rid of vanity concerns mainly those people who are thoroughly tired of their own popularity and the need to keep themselves above others. This is partly due to the fact that even the most difficult character associated with vanity often gives weakness, since its owner objectively realizes that sometimes there may be no reason for pride in himself, since the people around him look much more modest, although smarter and more presentable. suffering from this feeling.

How to get rid of vanity and pride

This question is important from the point of view that a person with such a quality later begins to experience difficulties in communication, because they are treated with caution, implying his superiority. Therefore, the desire to be equal to them pushes and fight with their character, which requires flattery from everyone around.

The desire for flattery arises in a person when he takes great care of himself and his appearance, about which you can most often hear flattery. At the same time, I really want those costs of money or time, through which their appearance is formed, were evaluated. The introduction of this concept into everyday practice requires daily admiration for your qualities.

After assessing the reason for your vanity given above, the logical conclusion is less effort about your appearance... At the same time, this saying does not say that it is necessary to greatly reduce the importance of this aspect, but it only implies that it is necessary to treat her a little less anxiously and not so expensive to value caring for her. This will allow you not to demand flattery from people, since all the means by which it was achieved are less important specifically for you. Then, for those around you, who already appreciate your tastes and manners, you will not need to tell you provocative things.

If vanity is not related to your appearance, but is a projection of your capabilities or official position, then in order to get rid of vanity it is enough to single out the person who in the long term can compare with you... At the same time, never give him your own advice, because it is likely that he is already oriented towards you. Therefore, communicate with him on an equal footing and wait for him to show you how to be more modest. Then you will come to the obvious conclusion that he achieved a similar result without vanity, but is a person like you.

Have you ever wondered what vanity is? The definition lies in the word itself: it is a thirst for vain, or, in other words, vain glory. Earthly reverence, widespread fame, passion for universal worship - that is what empty vain glory is.

In pursuit of her, a person does not gain anything for his soul, but often gives it his last strength and comes to the end of his life tired, devastated, but never satisfied his ambitious desires.

For what purpose is a person looking for a high position, thirsts for fame, dreams that his name will not leave the pages of newspapers? Thus, he asserts himself among the people around him.

Recognition, popularity, reputation, passion for recognition - that is what, in his opinion, a worthy goal. But Christianity sees the true meaning of life in something else - in union with God.

Generations of people change quickly, their thoughts are changeable, memory is short. That is why both the recognition and the honors given in human society have the same properties. They are just as changeable and perishable. Striving all his life for material success, a person wastes precious time in his short life in vain.

His childhood, adolescence passes, the period of growing up begins. The Lord endowed man with His immortal Image, gave him time, commanded him to acquire eternal life. And we spend our days in eternally fruitless pursuits, gaining vain glory, fostering our passion for vanity, and therefore, eclipsing the image of God in ourselves.

As a result, towards the end of our life we ​​come without spiritual baggage, we have nothing to appear before the Lord with. That is why the search for earthly regalia and honors alienates us from God, and therefore is contrary to His will.

Important! The Holy Fathers say that the sin of vanity is one of the eight mortal (leading to spiritual death) sins, in which it is imperative to repent in confession. Here they are: gluttony, love of money, anger, sadness, despondency, pride, fornication.

Explicit and hidden vanity

Vanity has another definition: passion. What it is? Passion is a habitual evil.

Wikipedia describes the passion of vanity as the desire to always look good in the eyes of others, the desire to be confident in one's superiority, confirmed by flattery from others.

Orthodoxy calls her the queen or mother of all sins, since from her many other, no less dangerous sinful passions are born:

• love of money,
• condemnation,
• gluttony,
• man-pleasing.

What does sheer vanity mean? This passion is on the surface, it contains the meaning of life for a person. His striking example is the desire for wealth, the passion for fame. A vain person lays down his life in order to achieve professional or sporting success, to occupy a high position, to achieve popularity.

From the point of view of ordinary people, at first glance, such persistence even looks like a dignity. She seems to be the incentive that allows people to achieve great success, to become an example for others.

Attention! Sometimes a person is ready to give for the sake of his temporary goals everything that is eternal values: to sacrifice motherhood, health, family. And all this in order to bask in the rays of the longed-for glory.

Hidden vanity, what is it? This is an everyday, everyday exaltation. This passion can be traced in life's little things, everyday actions. It often happens that the person himself is invisible, but others can clearly see it.

Examples of domestic vanity can be seen in everyday life. A person possessed by this passion serves it even in matters that seem to be completely incompatible. This can be manifested, for example, by striving to lead a godly life.

Insincere humility is called humility. Humbled for show, a proud person, as it were, sees himself from the outside, admiring his own virtue. He is not abandoned by vain thoughts.

Examples of false humility can be found in Luke. The parable of the publican and the Pharisee tells of the vain Pharisee (lawyer). He stood at a prayer that sounded like this: “God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this tax collector: I fast twice a week, give a tenth of everything that I get. "

At the same time, the publican (sinner, tax collector), who was standing at a distance, was praying in a completely different way: “God! Be merciful to me, a sinner! " Both of their prayers were answered by the Lord. But as a result, the sinful publican was more justified by Him than the righteous Pharisee in his own eyes.

Another form of manifestation of hidden passion is condemnation of one's neighbor. By judging another, we excuse our sins and weaknesses. Trying to try on the role of a righteous judge, we are not doing our own thing, because the true Judgment can only be done by God.

While cultivating spiritual qualities in ourselves, we must gradually change the feeling of righteous anger into compassion, sympathy for a person in whom sin obscures the image of God.

Vain man

A good criterion for determining whether the degree of hidden vanity is great is a person's reaction to criticism. At the moment when sick pride is touched, superficial piety will immediately disappear, and the true face of the proud man will be revealed. He immediately retorts indignantly, saying "he is like that!" A man overwhelmed by passion, it is hard to experience the lack of praise that feed his insatiable pride.

We can say that each of us, to one degree or another, is sick with vanity. His traces are visible in every good deed. It is not for nothing that Saint John Climacus said: “... I am proud when I fast; but when I permit fasting in order to hide my abstinence from people, I again take pride in myself, considering myself wise. I am conquered by vanity, dressing in good clothes; but even dressing in thin, I am also conceited. I will speak, I am conquered by vanity; I will shut up, and again he won. No matter how you throw this tri-ram, all one horn will go up. "

Vanity, writes Wikipedia, has another name: "star fever." The life of a person suffering from this ailment pursues one passion: to be in sight. But even if all the intended goals are achieved, he will not calm down. Passion requires constant replenishment, otherwise the meaning of his life is lost. The result of this condition is severe depression.

Important! The passion of vanity always leads by the hand its "friend" - envy. Where one is, there is another. Arrogance breeds competition, which, in turn, is a source of impure thoughts, regrets that someone else is doing better. There is a desire to catch up and overtake a competitor in any way.

Many people know that a conceited person is very difficult to communicate. He is all turned inward, selfish, his favorite pronouns are "I", "me", "mine." The Apostle Paul said: "Do nothing out of ambition or vanity, but out of humility, considering each other to be greater than yourself." The fact is that at the Last Judgment, the Lord will judge us not by our deeds, but by our heart's intentions.

If a person works not in order to serve the Lord, to do a good deed, to provide help, but only in order to gain praise, recognition, and praise for himself, then such a deed is not acceptable to Him.

The expectation of vain glory destroys the good fruits of labor, and there is a danger at the end of life to remain "at the bottom of the trough."

The Holy Fathers say that the absence of gratitude for one's work and reproach are very useful for gaining true humility.

It is difficult for an ordinary person to accept this, but it is true. Saint Isaac the Syrian said: "Drink reproach like the water of life." And these are the words of King David, which he uttered in response to the praise: "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but give glory to Your name."

Fighting vanity

Consider how to deal with vanity. Passion can only be defeated by opposing it to the opposite virtue.

Vanity can be removed by adopting a humble mindset. There is no more beautiful feeling, more pleasing to the Lord.

Humility opens the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven. One holy father said that reward is not a virtue, not labor spent on it, but humility born of it. This is the main result of the work.

The main ways of acquiring the virtue of humility and victory over the passion of vanity are as follows:

• Cut off your sinful thoughts. It is necessary to take care of yourself and, when performing any business, prayerfully reject arrogant thoughts about your merits.
• Do not arrogate to yourself any merit. Always remember that both strength and understanding for any good deed are given to us by the Lord. Don't expect praise from people.
• Learn to be humble and generous. A good deed will be truly good if it is done in secret. An example of selfless deed is St. Nicholas the Pleasant. From his life, an episode is known when the saint secretly threw three bundles of gold to the father of a poor family so that he would give his daughters in marriage with this money.
• Learn to truly love yourself. Yes, yes, oddly enough, the lack of self-love prevents a person from freeing himself from the passion of vanity, disinterestedly performing deeds of love and mercy. It is not in vain that the Lord calls to love your neighbor as yourself. True self-love means accepting yourself as you are, with flaws, without merit or praise. You must always remember that the Image of God is in you, as in every person.
• Criticism, reproaches addressed to oneself must be treated with patience. It is difficult, but one should learn not to respond to rudeness with evil, irritation.

Useful video

Let's summarize

Whoever accepts all these rules will conquer empty passion in himself, get rid of pride and vanity. It is not easy to put this knowledge into practice, but the main thing is to get started. The Lord will give His help, and gradually the results will appear. The road will be mastered by the walking one.

1. Vanity is a waste of labors, a loss of sweat, a thief of spiritual treasures, an ant in the threshing floor of life, which, although small, is always ready to steal the labors and fruits of our exploits.

2. Vanity clings to everything: I am proud when I fast,

but when I permit fasting in order to hide my abstinence from people, I again take pride in myself, considering myself wise; I am conquered by vanity, dressing in good clothes; but even dressing in thin, I am also conceited; I will speak, I am conquered by vanity, I will shut up, again I am defeated by it. No matter how you throw this trident, it will all become a sharp top.

3. A vain person is an idolater. He thinks he honors God, but in fact he is not pleasing God, but people.

4. Every person who loves to show himself is vain. Fasting of the vain one remains without reward, and his prayer is fruitless; for he does both for the praise of men.

5. A vain ascetic makes a double offense to himself, because his body wears out, but does not receive a reward.

6. The Lord often hides from our eyes those virtues that we have acquired; and a person who praises us, or rather, flattering us, opens our eyes with praise, and as soon as they are opened, the wealth of virtue disappears (it can be eaten from the eyes).

7. A flatterer is a servant of demons, a leader of pride, a destroyer of affection, a destroyer of virtues, a diverter from the true path. The blessed ones flatter you, and the feet of your feet resent, says the Prophet (Isaiah 3:12).

8. I have seen those crying, who, being praised, burned with anger for praise, and, as happens in trade, exchanged one passion for another.

9. When a neighbor, or a friend, reproaches you for your absence or presence, then show love - praise him.

10. It is a great thing to reject human praise from the heart, but more is to turn away demonic praise from oneself.

11. He is not the one who shows humility who cools himself (for who will endure reproach from himself?); but one who, being rooted by another person, does not diminish his love for him.

12. When the demon of vanity sees that the ascetic has acquired, albeit a little, peace of heart, he immediately prompts him to go into the world, saying: "Go to the salvation of perishing souls."

13. Vanity encourages the frivolous, in front of strangers, to clothe themselves in humility, and in their actions, in face and voice, to show reverence; at a meal, it makes you noticeably abstain; on psalmopenia - makes the lazy zealous and the voiceless kind-hearted.

14. The vanity of the preferred makes them proud, and sows memory malice in the despised.

15. Vanity is very conveniently grafted into natural gifts, and through them it often casts down its unfortunate slaves into ruin.

16. Once I saw how the demon of vanity drove out his brother - the demon of rage. One brother got angry with the other; but the laity came, and he suddenly calmed down, selling himself to vanity; for he could not work for both of these masters at once.

17. He who has become a slave to vanity leads a double life; one in appearance, and the other in the way of thoughts and feelings, one alone with oneself, and the other in public.

18. He who anticipates heavenly glory naturally despises all earthly glory; and I would have wondered if someone, having not tasted the first, utterly despised the last.

19. I saw how others began spiritual work out of vanity; but then, having changed the intention in doing, the reprehensible beginning was crowned with a commendable end.

20. He who ascends by natural talents, such as: wit, intelligence, skill in reading and pronunciation, quickness of mind, and other similar abilities that we receive without difficulty, will never receive higher than natural benefits; and a faithless person in little ways will be unfaithful because of his vanity (Luke 16, 10).

21. He who asks God for gifts for his labors is established on a dangerous basis; and who, on the contrary, looks at himself as at an everlasting debtor before God, he is beyond expectation

his, suddenly sees himself enriched with heavenly wealth.

22. Do not listen to this blower when he teaches you to declare your virtues for the benefit of those who hear; what benefit is it to a person if he uses the whole world, but he will take back his soul (Matthew 16:26)? Nothing benefits others as much as a humble and unfeigned disposition, and the same word. In this way, we will encourage others, too, so that they do not ascend; and what else can be more useful than this?

23. Praise uplifts and puffs up the soul; when the soul ascends, then pride embraces it, raises it to heaven and brings it down to the abyss.

24. Bad vanity teaches us to accept the image of virtue, which we do not have, leading to the deception of us the words of the Savior: so let your light shine before men, as if they see your good deeds (Matthew 5:16).

25. Do not hide your shame with this thought, so as not to give your neighbor a reason to stumble; although it may not be in any case useful to use this plaster, but depending on the special properties of sins.

26. When our praises, or, better to say, flatterers, begin to praise us, then let us hasten to remember the multitude of our sins (and God's judgment, which is not similar to human judgment), and we will see that we are unworthy of what they say or do in our honor ...

27. Simple hearts are not very susceptible to poisoning with this poison; for vanity is the destruction of simplicity and a pretense of living.

28. It often happens that a worm, having reached full age, receives wings and flies to a height; so vanity, being strengthened, gives birth to pride, the chief and finalitress of all evil.

29. The beginning to the destruction of vanity is the preservation of the mouth and the love of childlessness, the middle is the cutting off of all mental ambitions of vanity; and the end (if only there is an end in

abyss) - without embarrassment in front of others to do what is dishonorable.

30. Conceal your nobility, and do not be magnified by your nobility, so as not to be in your words in one, but in deeds in another dispensation.

31. I saw an unsophisticated disciple who, in the presence of some people, boasted of the virtues of his teacher, and, thinking of appropriating glory from someone else's wheat, acquired instead one dishonor, when everyone said to him: "how did a good tree produce a fruitless branch."

32. Vanity loves to appear solemnly in the seat of verbosity; the silence of the lips abolishes vanity.

33. Those who submit to the demon of vanity are subject to timeless movements of lust, when, having temporarily freed themselves from prodigal thoughts, they begin to think a lot about themselves. The prodigal movements who rebelled for this lead him to see the vanity hidden in the depths of their hearts, and teach others not to attribute the sometimes purity of heart to their own diligence and effort, following the testimony of the Apostle: that Imashi, he also took him (1 Cor. 4: 7), tuna , or directly from God, or by the help of others and through their prayer.

34. Silence and silence are enemies of vanity; but if you are in a hostel, then endure dishonor.

35. If there is extreme vanity, when a person, not seeing anyone with him who would praise him, and alone reveals vain actions, then there is a sign of complete non-vanity, so that in the presence of others he does not hide himself with a vain thought.