36. 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.

Let others correct themselves whenever they can. Just leave them.

Unless the idea, 'I should correct myself' arises in a person, however exactly you may point out his mistakes, he will not correct himself.

When the thought 'I have to improve' has arisen for a person, then there will be no necessity to find out his mistakes and tell him. To that extent he would himself find out his mistakes and would begin to correct himself.

This is the truth of life.

In whatever way you think about it...

Are you able to understand that when you find the faults of others and tell them about it, it will be of no use either to you or to others at any time?

Do you understand that saying, 'I will correct others'; 'I am going to correct the world' are all worthless acts?

The following are the results that are the outcomes of your finding fault with others:

• You may make sad the person who does not want to correct himself.
• As a result of making him feel sad, you may yourself create the environment for him to show his hatred towards you.
• You may harm innocent persons.
• You may make the person become afraid of you immediately after his seeing you, thinking, 'Oh God! Today what fault he is going to point out?'
• Pointing out the thorns as the reason and losing the roses In this fashion, like an innocent person, you may have to be continuously losing out on people and their affection.

Therefore, I say...

It is only sin to suffer and make others suffer.

Correcting ourselves, and allowing others to correct themselves when they can - Both are not only holy acts it is a meditation of the science of life.

The person who does this is holy.

In future you will be careful regarding...

The times when you may be suffering, thinking that you are correcting them and making them suffer!

Undertake all necessary actions for correction instead of letting suffering happen within you, in these times.

Let sin become holy. Let sad times become meditation times.

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Man has to blossom.

• Bud which has not yet blossomed Individuality.
• Even after blossoming, remaining scentless Man's personality.
• Man blossoming as God A great wonder of this world, a surprise, and an achievement.
• A man who has blossomed. His scent will be humanness. His color will be love. And his beauty will be joy.

The Buddha often used to tell his disciples...

'This is the only basic truth. That is that there is no separate 'you' When 'you' itself is not there, You cannot be born or you cannot die.

Beyond all these, when the 'you' itself is not there, how can you suffer...no...You cannot. How can you be caught in attachment? It is absolutely impossible.'

'Are you prepared to understand this?'

After asking this, Buddha will say, 'If you are not prepared to accept this, to understand this for the present, don't try meditation.

Find out the truth if you are truthful or not.

Firstly, meditate on: Why you refuse to accept this? Find the answer!

Subsequent things will happen automatically.

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Fluent English…… Well dressed... A little cash in hand... Ultra-modern culture... Comfortable life...

Based on these, can we say man has progressed? Can we announce that he has obtained what he expected?

Here's a story that can answer that question.

A veterinary research scientist got caught by a group of cannibals.

The group dragged the white man, whom they had caught, into the forest with joyous shouts, to roast him alive and eat him.

With the joy of having got a man for their new feast, they dragged the white man to their leader. There was a tribal sitting close to the leader. As the tribal appeared to have a cleanly cut hair and was dressed as a civilized man, the white man had some hope of escape.

He was thinking to himself, 'In case he knows English, I can escape.'

That tribal spoke to the white man as if he had studied in the Oxford University.

He asked the white man, 'What is your last wish? Tell us. If possible I will satisfy that. Those who are here do not know these formalities.'

The white man asked angrily, 'You have studied in Oxford University, lived in a civilized modern society, have not all these made any change in you?'

For that, shaking his body, he said, 'Why you have asked me this question? Do you know how much I have changed? I don't behave in an uncivilized manner like these people. Even now, after roasting you, I am going to eat you only with a spoon, a knife and a fork. I will not use my fingers. I have changed a lot.'

In the name of civilization, perhaps the outward show might change. There is no relationship between this change and the change that happens within. This story is only to emphasize this point.

It will be very good to say, 'Man should blossom' instead of saying 'Man should change'.

It is easy to make a little change in the way you dress, walk and behave. By this change only our outward appearance might change at the maximum.

Outward change will make only an ordinary mental change. It will not make a change in the quality of a person's inner space.

By change of mind, methods can be learnt to easily face some circumstances. The fun in this is that life always gives new circumstances as gift.

Even after progressing so much in terms of material comforts, technology, wealth, man still struggles to find peace of mind.

If the quality of his inner space becomes total and full, man himself will blossom. One who has blossomed will get that maturity to approach any sort of circumstance easily.

Thinkers of the West always insist on an intellectual approach focusing on the mind, thought and the like. Its effect echoes throughout the world.

What is essentially needed for today's man is only heart-related approach of feelings such as quality and consciousness.

By an intellectual approach, perhaps some changes may be brought about in regard to the personality. Due to such changes we learn

How to do business well?

How to gather crowds for a public speech?

How to attract strangers?

• Replies to such questions may be obtained. That is all.

But, by these things, will the just thirsts be quenched? - If you ask so, psycho-analysts say 'no' to this.

For this also, the solution is only heart-based. That solution is only the blossoming of man's individuality. If the man's justified thirsts of peace of mind, satisfaction and health are to be got in full, individuality should blossom.

For individuality to blossom, this is the solution given by Rishis of Vedic times:

For every thing that happens in life, we should not waste our time in examining it with only a mental orientation, with logic and reasoning. We must begin to respect what is happening inside and outside of us

without estimating or judging. Then we will understand as to how to approach things consciously.

There will be a lot of difference between an ordinary man and a poet in enjoying and appreciating a rose flower, an evening breeze, the moon on full moon night.

You will come to know that as conscious approach increases more and more, the joys around you also increase.

Man should enjoy nature, beauty, comfort and all other things, fully and wholly. For this consciousness, the experiencing energy is required.

The capacity to enjoy and experience any thing fully can be obtained only when the individuality of man blossoms. From today, begin to live consciously. Individuality will easily blossom within you.

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A meaningful incident.

A conversation between a poet and Sakkiya Muni:

'Are you a Mahatma?'

'No'.

'Are you an enlightened person?'

'No.'

'Are you an Avatar?'

'No.'

'Then, who are you? God?'

'Man, living as a man.'

• Man forgetting to live as a man is the root cause for the worldly pain. This is a thing to be rooted out!

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Meditation Chisels. Chisel No. 27.

All those who are in human forms are not humans.

Genial research department began doing research many years ago saying that man possesses genes in lakhs.

Do you know that this department has now published shocking news that there is no difference at all in the number of genes between a rat and man?

If it is so, what is the difference between rat and man?

The energy which is inside an amoeba and inside a rat, and drives them, is the same energy present within you also and drives you too! This same energy is within the earth and stone.

If it is said all are same energy, then how is it that there are different shapes, species, colors of beings being created?

Intellect had not united with the energy in the soil. With the same energy together with a little intellect added what came out was a single cell amoeba. It is a single sense life.

Further when the quantum of intellect being added was more and more, single-sense, double-sense....till six-sensed man, and different expressions were created.

This is a wise explanation.

If man's sixth sense has not attained its fullness, it means he is yet an animal trying to become a man.

Though this is difficult to accept, it is a fact.

You might have watched in the National Geographic channel on T.V. where the behavior of animals are photographed and shown - The cunningness of the fox, dullness of the buffalo, poison emitting hiss of a cobra. At all times when such beastly qualities are exhibited by man, he is not a man. He is an animal.

When the quantum of intellect increases, the quality that is the character begins to mature. Observe those moments when the human qualities of love, peace and joy are being plucked away from you.

Let the intellect become full.

Hereafter, make those times in which you lose your control as meditation times. This will shape you into a beautiful person.

Make those times of when you exhibit animal behavior as times of becoming God.

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