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Put yourself in the position of others

A spiritual discourse on judgment, empathy, and understanding human nature.

"We are experts at judging the faults in others, not in ourselves."

"Always place yourself in that picture, and then you will understand. Even if you are right and the other person is guilty, you will still understand why."

The speaker explores the human tendency to criticize others while excusing ourselves, using analogies like a stained dress and the need for two hands to clap. He advises withholding negative judgment by consciously empathizing with others, illustrating this with examples of a broken heirloom and the immense challenges faced by political leaders in diverse nations like Australia and India.

Recording location: Australia, Dungog, Australian tour

We are experts at judging the faults in others, not in ourselves. For our own mistakes, we prefer to forget and wish others would not remind us. Yet, we do not forget the mistakes others have made. A mistake never happens one-sidedly. To make a sound, you need two hands. One hand will not make a sound—except for a slap, and that too you should not do. Human nature is always to search for a black spot. Imagine I have a beautiful orange dress. I am sitting under a tree, and a bird leaves a dropping on my shoulder without my notice. You are sitting in front of me. You will not see my whole beautiful dress; your eyes will always go to that one spot. So, we are experts at finding mistakes in others, and if we find one in ourselves, we prefer to ignore it. The best approach is to withhold negative judgment. When you recognize something as wrong or right, it becomes clear to you. Yes, negative is negative, and positive is positive. Yellow is yellow, and green is green. You cannot say green is yellow or yellow is green. But you should strive to be that light which dissolves or removes all kinds of darkness. This means using your wisdom to place yourself in another's position or condition. Consider this example with your husband. Let us say a question arises concerning him. He accidentally breaks a beautiful flower vase, a family heirloom passed down from your great-grandmother through generations. It was not intentional; the vase fell and broke by mistake. Now you shout at him in anger. He says, "I am sorry," but you reply, "Yes, but you should have been more careful." In that situation, put yourself in his position. If you had broken the vase and he shouted at you, how would you feel? So when certain things happen in life—what you see, hear, or experience—try to put yourself in that other position, and then see how it feels. In a certain way, I always defend politicians. Suppose you are the Prime Minister of Australia. He is the Prime Minister of a vast country with over 20 million people. Everyone, including visitors, has a suggestion for him. If you do more for the Aboriginal people, other immigrant groups become angry. If you do more for the people who came and occupied the country, the Aboriginal people become angry and sad. It is very hard for that person to make everyone happy. Take India, for instance. To be the Prime Minister of India is not easy. A politician from Austria named Kreisky once said, "India is a country that cannot be ruled." There are so many castes: Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Parsis, and so many different cultures, with 35 official languages. If the leader does something for Punjab, Tamil Nadu is angry. If something is done for Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan is angry. So his or her position, whoever holds it, is not easy. One must maintain balance. Additionally, there is pressure from other countries, from human rights organizations, from Amnesty International. There are many, many things. This person has to harmonize everything and try to do their best, but they cannot cater to every individual while neglecting all others. India has nearly one and a half billion people. So, put yourself in that position and then pass judgment. You will not give the same judgment you would as an individual person. Always place yourself in that picture, and then you will understand. Even if you are right and the other person is guilty, you will still understand why he is guilty, or she is guilty, or why they are guilty. Recording location: Australia, Dungog, Australian tour

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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