Criticism February 26,
evening darshan [the beginning
of this talk was not recorded.] if some other
person is criticizing, how should we act? If somebody is
criticizing, somebody else, other than you? Yes. Then in a
friendly way, you might tell Him privately, “dear friend, that is not right. “
if you have love for Him, then tell Him privately, lovingly, “That is not
right.” If a child is besmeared with filth, what should you do? Wash Him,
lovingly , that’s all; do not kill Him. Even if somebody criticizing you, for
instance, just look within your own self to see whether that criticism is
right. If it is right, then be thankful. Your failure can be brought to your
notice by either your lovig friend, true friend, or by your enemy. So be
thankful to Him. If it is not so, then send him good wishes. Pray to God for
Him, that’s all. Somebody went
to Lord Buddha and began to call Him names. “He is such and such, such and
such, “ going on vehemently like anything. When night came and he was about to
go, Buddha said, “Look here, dear friend, if anybody brings a present remain?”
he answered, “With Him who has brought it. “ “so dear friend, whatever you have
brought for me, I don’t accept, “ that’s all. You see, when a wave , a current
of water, comes , strikes a rock , the wave will go back. If it strikes some
sand underneath the rock, it passes through. So if anybody tells you something,
and you’ve got love, regard for Him, that will recede, and go back to Him.
Twice. And if you think something against Him, then that thought will be given
a boost within you. if somebody calls you names and you don’t return them,
then, where do they remains? That is not double times, then? No reactions. Send
loving thoughts. It happens sometimes, people go on calling you names without
provocation. If you simply give them loving thoughts, they’ll keep quite. Or
sit near by them but hear, that’s all. That’s the only remedy. So - - - - has
done very hard in ----. Her way of working may be a bit different, but she has
done very hard work, has she not? If you have love for the Master naturally,
you'll love everybody, you see. There’s a difference of opinion sometimes. So
much can be reconciled by loving talk. Similarly, ----- has done very hard work
in ------- bringing so many people on the path. Day and night sacrificing him
everything for that. If there's any difference of opinion as there sometimes
is, it is from the level of ones own thinking and can be reconciled by a heart
to heart talk. So he has done
very hard work in the West. There may be a difference of opinion. May be one
man think, sometimes under misconception, another way and the whole thing
appears to be wrong. ----is doing very good work, too. Italy and Mauritius other points. So in the
West, it is mainly due to – and ---- also, in the beginning. Many of those things were brought to your
notice by them, is it not? We must be grateful for all we get. No matter what
it is. if there is a difference of opinion between the two, all the same, you
should be grateful for what you’ve gotten from any man, should you not? Little
differences of opinion, little modes of thinking, should not mar everything. At
least they have conveyed you the message of the Master's you see. You’ve been
brought round the path. We have to see like that. So in many places in United
States we have got a Satsang. We have also got Satsang in New Zealand, and we
have got in Australia, in Italy, and also in South America. God finds some
means to bring the path of the Master's to your notice. There is help going on. So we should
all cooperate in the interest of the Master work. Little differences of opinion
should be forgotten. Sometimes people write to me complaining, “This is like
that.” I write back, “If this is what you don’t approve of, just talk to him,
heart to heart talk, in a friendly way, but in a straight way. All the same we
are one on the Master's path. We should all progress on the Master's path. And
everybody should put their shoulders to
the wheel. Thank God you are put on the way, the basic teaching of all great
past Master's. these criticisms are only negative thoughts which affect our
meditation. If we criticize anybody, we must first see to our own selves
whether that very thing which we are pointing out is within us or not. If it is
within us or not. If it is within you,
then? If not, have love for him and just point out lovingly. One mother took
her child to Mahatma Gandhi. She said, “My son eats too much molasses; it is
full of sugar.” “All right, you come the day after tomorrow,” Mahatma Gandhi
replied. When she came up, he said, “Well, look her child, don’t eat molasses.”
His mother said, “If that was all you had to say, why did you not say that the
other day?” He said, “Because I was still eating molasses on that day.” If we
look to our own selves, we will find we are still worse than the others in many
respects. In our egotistical way we say, “Oh, we know everything. We are
superior,” this and that. You remember one lady was guilty, declared guilty of
fornication and brought to Christ. What did he say? They all complained to Him,
Christ said, “Here is the lady. What does your law say?” “Our law says a person
should be stoned to death.” “All right, let her stand there. All right, any of
you who has not committed that sin may stone her.” Nobody dared. So these are
our own weakness. Instead, we magnify others and don’t look to ourselves. Then
what did Christ say? “Do no more.” So who is there
who has not committed sin, knowingly or unknowingly, since he has taken up the
physical body? So what is sin? Sin is the breaking of a law of Nature. Too much
eating is also sin. Everything breaking of a law of Nature. Too much eating is
also a sin. Everything taken to the extreme is sinful. Whatever drives you away
from God is all sin, whether it appears good or bad. And whatever drags to God
is all virtue; a very common sense definition. We crow over
other. If we find anything wrong, we spread it like a plagued rat, spreading an
infection. So don’t do the work of the CID; apprentices of the CID of God. if
you find anything wrong – anything – tell him friendly, in a loving way,
privately. Then he may listen to you. Don’t say, “Oh, you are blind.” Of course
he is blind, but there are ways and ways to express. “Well, dear friend, when
did you cease to see?” He is saying the same thing, but he will feel the
sympathy and may even tell you how it happened. Both use the same words. One
way is negative, the other is positive. We magnify, we sometimes make bad
people still worse, by crowing over them. If a thief is there, you might say,
“Oh, you are a very fine gentleman. I never expected anything like that from
you. you are very good. You are ensouled body, the son of God.” what a vast
difference there is! The very words either make you antagonistic or make you
polish down everything. So speech is a very blessed thing, if you know how to
speak. Think twice before you speak. First of all, is it necessary? Is what I
am saying right? Will it have a better effect or only a bad effect? How best to
express? In this way, enemies will become friends. by criticizing others, you
simply invite that very sin which you are criticizing. As you think, so you
become. When the
Christian missionaries first went to Japan, they preached one commandment
of Moses. “Thou shalt not strike a
woman.” The Japanese people were living very innocent lives. “Is it in your
country that they strike women?” After a year or so of preaching, they began to
strike women. So we must learn how to
speak. There are ways and ways of speaking. If you tell the same thing in a
sweet, loving way, in private not broadcasting or anything like that, then it
will carry an effect. Otherwise, it will make matters worse. “All right,
dear friends, go and see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.” Many troubles
in our daily life will subside. In my official career, I was in charge of
co-ordination and administration. About forty officers and a staff of more
than, 3,000 worked under me. They were recommended for discharge; all such
cases had to come to me. so I made those people clerks in the section under me.
I watched what they were doing. They had bad habits, running here, talking, not
doing work. I watched for a few days, then one day, I called them together.
“Well, dear friends, you know you are paid to do your job while you are here,
are you not? Yes. As you have been recommended for discharge, who do you
suppose will be affected? Your families whom you have brought up. It is not
your duty to work hard for that purpose?” Then they would come around. In a
fortnight or a month or so, they began to work, honestly. Then again when an
established position was required by the other sections under me, I’d post them
there. “We don’t want this man; he's worthless.” “No, no,” I said, “He's a
changed man now. Give him a chance and see.” Once it so
happened I was away on leave for a month or so. Some two or three clerks were
recommended for dismissal, and immediate action was taken to dismiss them. When
I returned from leave, those people came to me. “We have been dismissed.” Then
the officer who recommended them from dismissal said, “They are no good; they
have made mistakes, this and that thing.” Then I asked them, “All right, put
the reasons in your application and I will see. I then made suggestions for
their mistakes. Who is there who does not make mistake? Some do more, others
less. I recommended that they should first be warned to be careful. They should
be given proper guidance. So for this reason I recommended to the comptroller,
“Who is there in the office including officer, who has not made mistake? His
dismissal means stabbing his family. What sin have they committed? If he has
committed one mistake, two mistake, anybody is liable to make mistakes –they
should but guided properly, not dismissed.” They were restored. A man can come
around if you treat him like that. Kind words don’t cost anything. as for
dissensions going on in the groups now and then, it is due to that. So all
their recommendations, consultations, did come to me. I told them, “dear friend,
your recommendations is no good. You must improve. Try to improve. It is not
that you are punishing yourself –you are punishing your family, your children
who are dependent on you.” they came around. So we should mete out in a
friendly way and many troubles will disappear. It is not difficult. God will
bless you if you become like that. |