92. Don't pronounce the judgment.
Mother asked the son very angrily, 'Did you steal and eat the plum cake?' The son said without any hesitation, 'Yes, I ate it.'
She said, 'Did you know that even when you stole the cake, God was there?' She tried to point out the fault the son had committed.
'Mm... Yes, I know' said the son very casually. For the mother, the son's replies gave her more and more irritation.
'Do you know that whatever you do, God is watching you?'
'Mmm... I know mother.'
The mother asked, 'When you were stealing, do you know what God was saying, seeing your act?'
The son said, 'God said in a mumble slowly, 'only we two are there in the kitchen. So, don't be afraid. Take two plum cakes one for you and one for me.'
Because she spoke a lie, she stood dumb-founded. Can we pass a judgment here as to which is the truth and which is a lie...?
- Whomsoever, whatsoever, at all times,
- 'You cannot pass judgment' is truth.
- 'You should not pass judgment' is advice.
- 'Do not pass judgment' is meditation.
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- How will it be, if a man without hands tries to garland a person who has no neck? One person telling opinions and passing judgments about the other person is also like that.
- It is difficult for us to understand ourselves. On many occasions, it will be difficult for us to come to a clear conclusion about our own selves. Have you observed this?
- When we cannot clearly understand about our own selves, if we begin to assess the world and relations, how will that assessment or judgment be?
It will be like, wearing a 'yellow colour' glass, examining the violet colour and writing the conclusion saying, 'what I found out is 'green'. If this single example is understood fully, we can put a full stop for all the problems.
- Keeping our mental eye blind, when we begin to criticize other's quality and his conduct, then only trouble starts.
A blind man had come to his friend Mullah Nasruddin's house for a feast. After the feast was over, when the blind man started to return to his house, Mullah Nasruddin gave him a lamp.
The blind man asked, 'What is this?'
Mullah Nasruddin said, 'This is a lamp. This will help you to go home without any trouble as it will show you the way.'
The blind man asked rather angrily, 'What Mullah? Are you joking? What for did you give me this lamp?'
Mullah Nasruddin explained, 'No this is not for you. This is for those who come opposite you. If there is a lamp, at least they will know who is coming opposite them. They will know who is coming opposite them. You can reach home without any trouble. Is it not? Only for that reason I gave you this lamp.'
After listening to the explanation, feeling proud about the wisdom and the love of his friend towards him, he started walking towards his house.
As he was walking towards his home, some one suddenly knocked against him.
The blind man asked him, 'Who are you? Don't you see! Am I not holding a lamp in my hand?' said he with anger and vexation.
The man who knocked against the blind man said, 'I have not collided with you on purpose. I am blind.'
"...." Unable to reply, the blind man again started walking towards his home.
Once again as some one knocked against the blind man suddenly, 'What sir, am I not coming, holding the lamp? Why don't you come carefully?' said he with anger and vexation.
The man who knocked the blind man said, 'Sir, it is true that you are holding the lamp in your hand. But the thing is the lamp is not burning at all!'
If full clarity about ourselves is not born within us, each one of us is blind in some way. That is we are mentally blind persons.
While the blind darkness of 'I know every thing' is seizing with its mouth the mind's eye keeping some books available in shops and some ideas (which are mixed with commercial aspects) told by some people, as a lamp, if we attempt to walk in the road of life, like the above-said blind man, we will have to suffer getting knocked again and again only.
Even if a person with a full vision such as an enlightened Master comes before a mentally blind person, the man will not be able to distinguish and recognize him.
There cannot be an act lower than that of pronouncing or delivering a judgment based on only a few things that we know, and saying this person is like this and that man is like that.
Two mistakes which happen because of the fact that about whomsoever or whatever we speak, we do speak only with approximation and also that we fully believe that we speak the truth.
First, you will come to the conclusion about yourself that you are either good or bad; man or an animal.
Second, you will come to the conclusion about others that they are either good or bad; man or animal. But in reality, both are imaginations; both are lies.
Totally honest person is rare; totally dishonest person is also rare.
Our certifying a person as good is only until we come to know of his dishonesty, and our saying a person as bad is only till we know about his inner qualities at his soul level.
In order to pleasantly conduct this drama of 'tied-up attachments', which walks with our opinions as its (walking) stick, judgments as its legs, and clarity of mind as the light, renounce and throw away the legs of judgment and the stick of opinions.
Your mental eve will begin to get the light and full vision. Truth will appear as truth.
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A meaningful incident.
Buddha's very strong and firm explanation for all judgments of the world:
'All of man's limits, explanations and policies are false commentaries of the truth.'
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Meditation chisels. Chisel No.47.