Don’t judge quickly – Story
There was a man who had four sons.
He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree, that was a great distance away.
The first son went in winter.
The second in the spring.
The third in summer and the fourth son in the fall.
When they all had gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.
The second son said:
“No, that it was covered with green buds and full of promise.”
The third son dis-agreed;
He said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them.
He said it was ripe and drooping with fruit – full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree or a person by only one season.
Moral of the story:
Sometimes it so happens that we come across certain bad qualities in the people we meet. In such situations, it is important for us not to meditate on/brood over these qualities and judge their behavior.
If we take pleasure in such activities, then that’s the beginning of our down-fall.
The moment we start judging them, we pass unnecessary comments about them, insult them and discuss about them with others and unnecessarily waste our valuable time and other’s time in such gossips.
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Judge for all of us and our duty here in this world is to just simply engage in serving Him.
We need not take His role and start judging people in a hasty manner.
Instead, we should just meditate upon good qualities in them.
While warning her father Daksha for finding faults in Lord Siva, Mother Parvati says in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 4.4.12:
“Twice-born Daksha, a man like you can simply find fault in the qualities of others. Lord Siva, however, not only finds no faults with others’ qualities, but if someone has a little good quality, he magnifies it greatly. Unfortunately, you have found fault with such a great soul.”
In one of his letters to his disciples, Srila Prabhupada writes: “Our business is to raise ourselves to the highest status of life as preachers of Krishna’s message, and one should behave himself rigidly, then he should instruct others.
Two things: Be himself exemplary, then teach others to be exemplary. If one has not come to that high standard, he cannot judge or criticize others.
There is one saying from Bible: ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged.’
So how we can preach unless we are able to make judgements? That will not be possible.
Only those who are above suspicion can judge others.
One must himself act in such a way that he is always above suspicion. Then he can judge, then he can preach.
But now you have no power to instruct. One who is not following himself, how he can instruct others?”
Let us remember the words of His Divine Grace and first correct ourselves.
Like the greatest Vaishnava Lord Siva, let us imbibe the quality of looking for good things in others, for by doing so, we will constantly meditate on good things and ultimately our character will also become good.
(Be happy with Contented life – Story! READ HERE!)