The Reflection of Oneself!

Once a Political leader heard about a saint. So he decided to visit him once to see why people praised him so much. When he went to that ashram, he saw that there was a small room where the carpet was spread and some people were sitting there on it. Saint was sitting in front. People were asking questions and he was answering them.

The leader came to that ashram along with his four bodyguards. Usually wherever he went, to welcome him, people would stand up from their places fold their hands, and bow their heads in front of him. But this time, nothing like this happened here. Saint being busy didn't even look at him.

He felt insulted and got angry. He interrupted the saint and said, "I want to tell you something."

Saint looked at him and said, "Wait for a while, first I will answer his question and then I will talk to you till then you have to wait. If you want you can sit."

Till now, he was talking politely to Saint but now, he started shouting, "Do you know who I am? Who are you talking to?"

Saint looked at him and said, "Whoever you are if you want me to answer your question or talk to you then you have to wait for a while."

Now, he went mad and said, "Whether you want to listen or not I will tell in front of everyone what I think about you.. You are not a Saint. You are a hypocrite. You are fooling all the people sitting here. You have only one motive that is to take money from these people and make it yours. You are using people for your benefit and I am not going to leave you now. I will expose you in front of the whole world.."

Even after listening to all this, there was a smile on the saint's face. Now, he became more furious and said, "Enough is enough. I will not stay even for a minute here anymore. But you still have a chance, if you apologize to me then you can say it." Despite all this Saint was still calm and smiling.

He folded his hands and said, "I have no grudge against you. I don't have any bad thoughts about you. Whatever you said about me is your own opinion. I don't see anything wrong with you. You seem like a very good person to me."

As soon as Saint said this, he got happy because even Saint had the same thing about him as all the people said to him. Now, he left his ashram satisfied.

He reached home and met his father and proudly told him everything that happened at the ashram, how Saint praised him.

His father smiled and looked at him and said, "He didn't praise you. Because what he said was not about you but a reflection of himself. And whatever you said to him was not about him but a reflection of yourself."

Flash: In a peaceful ashram, a political leader, used to being respected, feels ignored by a saint. He lashes out, accusing the saint of deceit. However, the saint's calm response teaches a valuable lesson: what we see in others often mirrors our own thoughts. This encounter shows that understanding ourselves is key to understanding others.

Moral: Our perceptions of others are often a reflection of our own thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes. When we judge or accuse someone, we may be revealing more about ourselves than about the person we're judging. Practicing humility, self-awareness, and empathy can help us see beyond our own biases and understand others more deeply. Therefore, the only way to change the world is, to change your perspective towards the world, and how you see it.

"Be the reflection of the kindness you wish to see in the world."