“Only people suffering from [an] inferiority complex want to impress others. A really superior person never compares himself with anybody else.” ~ Osho
Really? How does one assume their superiority without judging others as inferior? If we declare that someone is superior, then this assumes that others are inferior. You can’t have one without the other, right? Who is labeling others as having an inferiority complex? The one who calls himself superior?
Okay, I will cut Osho some slack here. Most of us humans want to think we are really good at something, maybe even better than others at that something. And I’m sure that Osho is a really intelligent guy with pearls of wisdom to offer humanity, but anyone implying their superiority seems rather egotistical to me. I’m not saying that Osho is doing this, but the quote bugs me.
Granted, Osho’s been pretty successful with his published books, and I love his Osho Zen Tarot Deck – some really cool imagery on it, with intriguing ideas to ponder. Personally, I’ve not progressed any further than posting my philosophical ramblings and stories on Twitter, Facebook, and this really neat blog you are visiting at the moment. So yeah, Osho, the man – and he is just a man – has surpassed me in the domain of marketing. I admit that I suck at promoting myself, as my dad’s business acumen never rubbed off on me. In fact, I suck at many things, but I rather not dwell on that here – saving the discussion for people who know and love me, or charge a fee for listening to people like me whine about myself.
Most of us recognize that we have “challenges” in one area or another. These challenges are difficult to miss, especially when we do the “all too human thing” of comparing ourselves to others, and thus noticing what stands out like a sore thumb. We don’t necessarily label these challenges as inferiorities, but the judgments and self-judgments are there, setting in motion the pursuit to overcome our perceived handicaps through various means, such as improving ourselves, fine tuning our appearance to others (marketing), influencing the social perception of others in our favor (manipulation), or changing our self-evaluations (the domain of cognitive behavioral therapists).
This is humanity’s status game: to compare, judge, and make things better for oneself – sometimes at the expense of others. Most everyone is playing this game in one form or another, consciously or otherwise, including the so called “superior” ones.
© 2021 David M. Rubin. All rights reserved.
Notes from David 