We have this wrong habit of dividing and compartmentalizing. We need to stop this game of division. It is not real. It is maya or Illusion. We wrongly attribute certain qualities to certain people. Some are evil. Some are bad. Some are kind. Some are lazy. Some are foolish. Some are good for nothing. Some are brilliant.
A single person cannot have only great qualities. Neither can a person be tuned to have only certain qualities. A person is a mixture of good and bad. Bhagavad Gita calls it the play of Gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
Sattva, rajas and tamas are present in all of us. When we are able to realize it and channelize the right Guna we attain peace and prosperity. Some develop qualities like love, compassion, sympathy, kindness…Some people develop qualities of courage, fearlessness…some develop lethargy, laziness, greediness etc.
What this means is that all qualities are present in human beings. It is just that we only develop some of these qualities.
Some are only taught to be competitive. It is fed in their mind from a young age that you need to be hard and tough. You should not be emotional or sentimental. Some parents and families go a step further and teach boys that emotions and sentiments are for girls. Such families and parents end up creating a miserable man. Nature has given all human beings emotions and tear glands. There is some purpose to it. Get emotional and cry when you feel like. Being competitive, hard and tough is good but it should not be a mask to hide weaknesses. Be competitive and tough and at the same time have empathy and kindness.
To be a complete man or woman, we should have all the qualities.
All the qualities are needed to survive in this world. We will need to use these qualities wisely. We should not be attached to one emotion. For example, people will take advantage of our kindness and compassion if we are not intelligent enough to see through the evil-minded people.
We need to be both the rose and the gun. Depending on the situation, we should be able to present the rose or take out the gun. We need to be flexible. We need to adapt.
When we are in the trap of a particular character or habit or emotion or behavior we lose great things in life. We become stagnant, stale and finally rot.
Sometimes we need to rebel and we need to get angry. May be we might have to raise our voice or hands. There is nothing wrong in it. Raise your voice and hands to protect what is right. Shying away from important matters will not solve the problem. The problem only multiplies. Each time we shy away, we are giving the opportunity for adharma (evil) to flourish.
We should have an equal amount of love, compassion, sympathy, kindness, courage, adventure and rebelliousness in us.
So instead of dividing people into different categories, we should make them understand that they are only practicing a part of their character. Inspire them to become the whole.
Do not prevent anyone from trying out something new just because his or her ancestors or parents or their community never did it.
There is no division in nature. All qualities should be practiced and used depending on the situation.
www.hindu-blog.com
Abhilash
www.hindu-blog.com
Abhilash