We cannot be God’s servant and someone else’s servant at the same time. So, in order to serve God, we need to reject servitude to any other being or power. This is one of the two main foundations of monotheism. One of the two foundations of monotheism is the negation of servitude to other than God, particularly the negation of servitude to one's carnal self. When this carnal self and soul overtake us, these desires and self-indulgences that are within us and within every human being pull us in this and that direction. These carnal desires bring us down to a low level. People do not become abased except because of their desires. Nations do not fall captive to the blood-stained hands and claws of power seekers except because of their desires – desires in life and desires for pleasures, no matter how low or small they may be. And humanity essentially does not fall from a high peak unless it follows and serves its lusts and desires. Servitude to God negates this kind of servitude. Therefore, what this means in Islam and in most divine religions is that human beings must eliminate all other forms of worship from their lives.
Imam Khamenei
April 10, 1991
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