People may think that greatness comes from waging a war or ending the existence of one’s foes. That simply is not true. Greatness is that compassion which stems from inside you. It is not about how well, or how many, people you have vanquished.

L. Ron Hubbard wrote a message decades ago called What Is Greatness? It is a lesson for Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike. This is my review of it.

People get attacked and hurt for no apparent reason often enough. People are hurt unjustly. So what does a truly great person do when this happens to one?

He does not strike back. Revenge is not on the road to greatness. L. Ron Hubbard states that the true sign of sanity and greatness is to continue, despite what has happened.

It is true that when one is attacked, to a degree the attacker is partially mad, perhaps insane. The road to strength is to love his fellows regardless of all the reasons of why not to, despite the bad actions done to one.

What Is Greatness explains that people are all in the same trap. The presidents, the street sweepers, are all in the same trap, and to strike out against them, when they do bad, is not really understanding them. They are in a mental trap. The best we can do is to acknowledge the trap they are in and love them anyway. This has been the message of great religions and philosophers down the centuries and it does not change now.

Certainly people can do bad things while trying to save themselves. And by not seeing the greater good needed for, one can be short sighted and can also implement justice that harms others. But if we are caught up in that mis-justice, we can at least see what caused it and continue anyway. We should never use what has been done to us as an excuse to harm someone else. This is an inspiring message.

Hate destroys. It not only destroys those around one, it destroys one too. Have a look at those people who hate and see they are being consumed by not only what has happened to them, but their own hate consumes them too. The same applies to nations and groups. Those groups that use hate as their vehicle to travel in will soon be destroyed. It always happens.

"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe."

I think this message can help many people. It helped me. I hope it can help you.