Consciousness of human service

A state of awareness in which noble and altruistic impulses dominate has been expressed in many cultures. Among the Greeks it was called virtue (arete) which only the best citizens possessed. The Chinese tradition finds the ideal in the character of the gentleman (jen); and among the Arabs it is the praiseworthy qualities that distinguish knighthood (futuwwa). The Sufis define it as a state of mind made manifest by self-denial, immunity against disappointment, liberality and indulgence of other's short-comings; in short, all the qualities of an ethically and psychologically mature individual that open the way to God-realization. The signal feature of this state of awareness is that it builds unbreakable fellowship in service.