To err is human. All of us commit mistakes at some time or the other - some through negligence or oversight and some deliberately. None of us are perfect. We have all had vices or some unholy desires. We have all sinned - sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. Yet, we cannot lose hope. If we so desire, we can become saints from this moment onwards. All it takes is a strong resolve.
If the above is true, do we have a right to judge others? When we ourselves are still striving for perfection and correcting our faults, do we have any moral standing to look at others and form a judgement? Most of the times, we do not know the circumstances that lead a person to behave in any particular manner. We have no knowledge of the intentions behind their actions. Even hypothetically if we know that the intentions were wrong and the actions likewise, can we say that the person will always be like that?
I remember an incident in my childhood. A friend of mine told me to accompany him to the vegetable market and convinced me to pick up a lemon from the basket when the vendor was not looking. I must have been about 7-8 years old then. We went and I picked up a lemon and as we were about to leave, the vendor caught my hand which was still holding the lemon. Without saying a word, he shook my wrist to make the lemon fall back into the cart and then let me go. He taught me an invaluable lesson that day...
It takes a mature mind to recognise a mistake and forgive it. If you brand someone as bad or as a criminal, you tend to ignore the possibilities of correction that can happen in course of time. In our minds, we all want to be good and lovable. Only, some of us take time to get over our tendencies and habits. If we set high expectations, we will get high results. Treat everyone with love and respect for they deserve it. Give them space and time to become the best that they want to be.
Until then, reserve your judgement.
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them” – Mother Teresa
“The multitude judge a man more on his external sheen rather than his inner light” – Pitigrilli
“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers” - Voltaire
7 comments:
We are inclined to judge others by their acts or by their behaviour and judge ourselves by our ideals and intentions..We are no one to pass judgement on others..
"We cannot criticize or judge others because it is always possible that people can change"
Tyaagi
This is a wonderful lesson to learnt. We simply have no rights to judge others with our own imperfections. Very well said :-)
BTW, even I had similar experiences as a small boy :-))) It's very admirable of you to share the incidence!
Cheers!
Very true Vish. We should never hasten to judge people.
We can never brand one as Good or Bad. People can change.
Even sage Valmiki was a thief once. He became so sacred, that he was the first to the write the most sacred stories of all which still remains matchless as a literary work!
I think it is appropriate to share a link to one of my posts about him.
http://smilemakerkrishna.blogspot.com/2008/10/thiefs-redemption.html
HI Vish,
i wonder how would you get such a good thoughts every day :) keep it up..i'm completely enjoying ur wite ups ..:)
**It takes a mature mind to recognise a mistake and forgive it
very true :)
and one thing...we may not be judge every one correctly, but we cant lead life with out judging the situations.
Pramoda
very nice post indeed.:)
I think Our judgement about others are no more than a reflection of our own personality.
Your posts help me see through my personal troubles lightly.It molds my thinking process and helps me relate it to see the personal life in a distinct way positively.
Thanks Mr.Positive :)
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