Self-respect is also a form of the ego. Most of the time it is a Sattwic ego though sometimes the Rajasic nature can also lay hold upon it. Like all other forms and movements of the Sattwic ego this has to be sacrificed only at the altar of the Divine. Once the psychic being comes out and the ego-self becomes soft enough under its influence that one no more feels insulted or at least one is able to brush it aside quickly as a line sketched on sand. A complete freedom from these feelings comes only when the ego-self is annulled and the Divine has taken its place.
This does not mean that one should let anyone insult us with impunity. Even when you are freed from the sense of insult and self-respect since we know that our identity is not this temporary mould of personality, we may yet sometimes admonish the person who is insulting us as it may be just the right thing to do for his progress. But whether we will respond or simply turn away in indifference will depend upon the moment’s truth.
About Savitri | B1C2-10 Condition of the World (p.18)