17/10/2024
Everyone has a past, but don't let it determine their future.
The easiest thing to do in this world is to find a fault in others. No matter how good a person is, for someone who dislikes them, a fault will always be found.
Not everyone has a great start in life or starts off on the right path due to circumstances or previous karma. Their behaviour may not be up to social norms or acceptable sometimes. This, however, doesn't mean that people will always remain the same way. Just because a person is evil now and isn't of good character, it doesn't mean they won't be a great personality in the future.
In the Valmiki Ramayan, we find the story of Maharishi Valmiki who was originally a thief, but due to the positive association of Devrishi Narad and chanting Shri Ram's name, he became the great Guru of Shri Ram's sons.
Even Lord Krishna Himself was very mischievous when He was young. There was hardly anyone in Vrindavan who hadn't fallen for one of His pranks. Despite this, Lord Krishna became the Great King of Dwarka and killed many demons for the benefit of mankind.
In the Navdha Bhakti (9-commandments of bhakti) of the Ramcharitamanas, Shri Ram told #8 as "...Sapnehu nahi dekheu pardosha" - 'even in your dreams you shouldn't look at the fault of others'.
"Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini, śhuni chaiva śhva-pāke cha paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśhinaḥ" - 'The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]' (BG-5.18).
Swami Sivananda reinforces this teaching of Shri Krishna that with true knowledge, we will see everyone as equal; we will see everyone the same as us. And when someone else has a fault in them, then so do we within us. Hence, let go of fault finding in others and look at the faults of the self to improve and rectify.
A good person will see good in all, so let us all practice finding the good in every person and in every circumstance.
