My today’s post on Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement elicited a mixed response, not about Satyagraha but about how good or bad Mahatma Gandhi was…. This set me thinking about Character assassinations that are being done on social/news media by one and all, even God’s aren’t spared, let alone mortals. Today’s social media is dragging Savarkar, Gandhi, Nehru, Buddha etc into controversies and passing judgements on their characters… I wonder who are we to judge?
People seem to have an opinion/ view on everything and want to wear the label on their sleeve but when it comes to taking action whatever is convenient is upheld, regardless of the earlier view/opinion… In other words, people are judgemental about what other people should or shouldn’t have done but when it comes to themselves the scales of judgement are flexible…
Reminds me of a biblical story – Jesus had once said to a mob wanting to stone a woman(not the man) suspected of adultery that “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” and not a single man could even lift a stone…the mob dispersed…
A similar example is given in Ramayan: The story goes that after shooting the fatal arrow on the battlefield of Lanka, Ram told his brother, Lakshman, “Go to Ravan quickly before he dies and request him to share whatever knowledge he can. A brute he may be, but he is also a great scholar”
So you see, no one is 100% right or wrong. There is good and bad in everyone, we must learn to take the good and leave the bad just like the metaphorical Swan that can separate and drink only the milk from a mixture of milk and water signifying that we must absorb what is good (milk)in the world and leave out the bad(water)…
Bodhisattva 