71. For mistakes that you make, don't feel sad, correct yourself.
- It is not wrong to make mistakes. Reason: Mistakes are unavoidable. Doing the same mistake again and again is only wrong.
- We can look at people in two ways:
- 1. All are sinners.
- 2. All are holy persons.
- Sin and holiness change from place to place, religion to religion. Why? Limitations regarding sin and holiness change even between the various sub-sects of the same religion.
- Don't suffer, thinking about old mistakes. Don't make others also suffer.
An ascetic was living outside the town. He was a strict disciplinarian. He tried his best to live in a just and fair manner.
One night a stranger came to his hut. He asked, 'Sir, will you please permit me to stay here for tonight only?' The ascetic, in addition to having given him permission to stay, also gave him food for the night.
Before the ascetic got up the next day, the stranger had slipped away without informing him. In the morning the guards came, they enquired in detail as to whether anybody had come there the previous night. At the end of the enquiry, when the ascetic asked, 'Who was he? Why are you making such a detailed enquiry?' They replied, 'He was a thief'.
That just and fair ascetic was lamenting, 'Oh! It is a sin, having helped a thief!' A louder voice, which was also lamenting, was heard. He stopped his laments and asked, 'Who is that?'
The reply came, 'God'.
The ascetic asked, 'Oh God! Why should you lament?' God replied asking, 'If protecting the thief by helping him for just only one day is wrong, I have protected him for the last thirty years, have I not committed a greater mistake? Am I a great sinner?'
- The wrong notion about wrong, got broken from the mind of the ascetic that day itself. Find out the wrong ideas about wrong in your mind, break them to pieces and throw them away.
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I begin with a beautiful message.
Leaving aside the good deeds done on 99 occasions and taking into account the bad deed done on only one occasion - becoming angry – That is Man.
Leaving aside the bad deeds done on 99 occasions and taking into account the good deed done on only one occasion and blessing with thanks – That is God.
Are you man or God?
Finding fault with those around is an interesting matter like eating sweets for many people.
Going on continuously finding fault with others - is proof that we are living badly!
A man who lives correctly will find, first of all, the good thing only in others. For them faults will appear only secondary.
If we are able to recognize the good in others, it will be visible to our eyes that the whole world is filled with good people. We may come to think, 'Oh, what a wonderful world!'
If we are finding only faults in others, it will appear that the whole world is full of bad people. We may come to think, 'Good people are rare in the world. World is itself bad.'
Once, a crowd of people, who lived badly, by exaggerating the faults of others around them, happened to meet Jesus.
Jesus was seated under a tree in peaceful penance. With a loud cry of 'Save me', a girl fell at the feet of Jesus.
When the persons who were chasing her, saw Jesus and stood still not knowing what to do.
Without disturbing his calmness, Jesus saw the crowd as well as the persons who came in pursuit of the girl.
The crowd spoke, as if they are duty-conscious and respectful men, 'She is a prostitute. We caught her red-handed. As per our law she has to be killed by stoning. That is why we are pursuing and stoning her. You only have to tell as to what punishment should be given to this fraudulent woman'.
The crowd was hugely disappointed as it was waiting for Jesus to give a good judgment. Jesus started playing with the earth.
He was drawing some thing on the earth with his fingers and was writing. The people in the crowd lost patience and began disturbing the silence.
Jesus, without lifting his head, said, 'Amongst you whoever has not committed any mistake so far can throw the stone at this girl first.' That was all.
Each one in the crowd silently dropped the stone and moved away from that place.
The words spoken by Jesus just after this are beautiful; filled with deep meaning.
Jesus said only one line to that girl who was weeping in great fear. 'Hereafter, don't do wrong.'
That created a great mental enthusiasm within that girl. It changed her life itself. Whatever wrongs she had committed so far melted away in the single sentence – 'Hereafter don't make that mistake.'
Her mental burden disappeared entirely with that day. She spent the rest of her life happily without doing again the mistakes she had committed earlier.
The crowd which had chased the girl, appearing as perfect and dignified men, went on finding faults with other people, and spent the rest of their lives, sadly murmuring, 'World is bad; world is filled with sinners!'
Understand this one truth:
In whatever manner you find the mistakes in others and scold them, you will, in your sub-conscious mind, scold yourself also in the same manner, when you do the same mistake.
It is a wrong action to be going on finding faults. It is a foolish act to dig again and again and find out our own faults and repent for them even today.
A Zen statement explaining correctly about wrong:
'Know it! Understand it! You are born to do mistakes. Not consciously!'
Yes! Man cannot avoid doing wrongs in his life. Reason: Doing a mistake is a method of life science to learn which is right. But, a mistake once done should certainly not be done again.
It is only for not doing the same mistake again and again, that God has given 'intellect' as a gift to man.
To repent for the wrongs done is all right, in the beginning. It is wrong to go on repenting for the mistakes. It is prudent to correct oneself instead of repenting for the mistakes.
If we bring our attention to ourselves it will be possible not to repeat the same mistakes again.
'Don't feel sad for mistakes of the past! Correct yourself' – This is the secret when Jesus tells the prostitute, 'Hereafter don't do mistakes.'
Instead of feeling sad for the mistakes, correcting ourselves is the medicine for 'self'. This is an easy way for the well being of life.
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A meaningful incident.
Nitti's wife asked,
'What is it that you like in me?' 'The mistakes you commit.' 'What is it that you don't like in me?' 'The mistakes that you do again and again.'
- Hereafter, when you commit a mistake, don't forget to see whether it is the same mistake done again. You will grow. You will live.
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Meditation chisels. Chisel No. 26.