The Main Commandment

Each of us has our own purpose in life, our own trials, and our own temptations.

But the main task for all people is to overcome pride and preserve love in the soul.

We constantly receive true, real love from the Creator.

When our «self,» our problems, and the world around us become too important to us, we forget about God, begin to drift away from Him, and pride arises within us.

The less love we receive from the Creator in our soul, the more actively we seek love from those around us.

Love for others is a condition for our survival in this world: we are collective beings, and without love for our neighbor, we cannot live.

Christ said, «A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.» The Vedas state that the most terrifying chains binding a person to this world, causing them to forget about God, are attachments to loved ones.

The more we worship a beloved person, the more we become attached to them, the more pain they must bring us, so that we do not lose our love for God and save our soul.

Through this pain, we learn to love, forgive, and rebuild our value system, gradually realizing that everything passes, but love remains, understanding that our true, divine «self» comes first, and everything else comes second.

The overcoming of pride begins with fulfilling the first and greatest commandment: «Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.»

This is the fundamental, central idea for overcoming pride. Violating this commandment gives birth to lust and attachment to this world.

Attachment gives rise to dependence and aggression, and aggression ultimately turns against the person themselves, leading to problems with health, destiny, and future generations.

By learning to fulfill the main commandment, we will be able to overcome sin at its very root.

S. N. Lazarev, «Overcoming Pride»