Long ago, in a monastery, lived a rebellious young monk who despised the ascetic way of life. He used to sneak out at night to pursue worldly pleasures. As the monastery wall was high, he used a footstool to climb out.

One day, while climbing down the wall, after a few hours out, the young disciple stepped on his footstool and froze! He realized that he had stepped on his master’s hunched back. The master saw him slipping away, replaced the footstool, and stood there waiting for him.

The terrified disciple expected detention. But he was stunned when he heard the old sage’s soft words, “It is snowing outside. I do not want you to catch a cold. Go inside and sleep well, my child.”

Stricken with remorse, the young monk cried out loud and gave up his wayward life forever.

The sage, with his compassion, demonstrated how to influence people. Undoubtedly the disciple will be eternally thankful for redeeming him from his addiction to hedonistic pursuits. If the sage had reproached or punished the disciple, the result would have been different.

All of us want to correct someone; our children, spouse, friends, or someone from an opposing political ideology. We believe using force is indispensable for this. So we debate and argue with these people. Still, we see no substantial change. On the contrary, these lead to more confusion, hatred, and violence. Why is it so?

Indeed, it is not easy to handle conflicting interests. There will be many who disagree with our opinions and have different outlooks altogether. Naturally, we feel threatened in such situations and succumb to arrogance and violence. But is this the right way?

The barrier of ego

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humans are egoists. Our anxiety to correct someone stems not from benevolence but from our want to satisfy our ego. This can be a barrier in the process. If our intention is the welfare of the other, we should be patient and set aside the inflated self-image.

However, change is difficult. People get irritated when someone questions their beliefs and prejudices. Some may even get abusive. To withstand all that, we should be selfless, like the sage in the story.

Violence is not the answer

In the drive to correct someone, we might get agitated and resort to anger and violence. It is easy to respond emotionally, especially if the person is arrogant. True, such reactions can sometimes have temporary success. But, with time, the resentment in the other will surely bubble up and cause more problems. Hence assertion using violence is like treating the symptom rather than the disease.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

On the other hand, a non-violent and loving approach, though slow, would surely bring about positive change. If our intention is pure, we can influence anyone.

Strength of character

In the story, instead of the master, if it was another disciple in the monastery who tried the same trick, would it have worked? I doubt that. It is the moral superiority of the master that ameliorated the character of the young monk. Similarly, we should have integrity, before venturing to correct another.

I sometimes feel that the lack of integrity in masters is the sole reason for social immorality. Gandhi, Jesus, and Buddha could influence the masses and change the course of history by the virtue of their moral rectitude. Contemporary society is in dire need of such teachers.

Respect is key

Something that stands out in the Indian epic ‘Ramayana‘ is the mutual respect the rivals give each other. Whether it be a debate or a friendly conversation, the dignity of the other should not be vitiated. Mellow words appeal more to the listener than harsh and arrogant ones.

“When you are right, you have no need to be angry. When you are wrong, you have no right to be angry.”

Mahatma Gandhi

In the story, the master neither scolded nor shamed the disciple. If he had, the outcome would have been different. But his affection towards the young monk is evident from his words. The love and care of the master transformed him once and for all.

However, we should accept that we are fallible. Always consider the possibility that you are the one driving on the wrong side of the road, not everyone else. An empathetic and unprejudiced approach should be practiced so that we do not hold on to blind beliefs. 

Many a time, everyone does not necessarily have to agree on everything. Be it religion, politics, or personal beliefs, each has the right to choose what they believe in. We can always exercise the freedom to ‘agree to disagree’.

If we can co-exist despite our differences, accept the other for who they really are, guiding each other through love and patience, wouldn’t the world be a beautiful garden to live in?

Feel free to express your opinion in the comment box below

45 thoughts on “Shaking the world gently!”

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  5. Nice job! I think people tend to reciprocate communication styles, so a gental nudge in a different direction can lead to exploratory communication rather than ego driven communication.

    1. That is so true. We can avoid a lot of conflicts if we can resort to soft words. An attitude of altruism as opposed to anger is the primary requisite here.

  6. You raised some really important point’s here especially “Mostly we try to correct people, not because we want to help them, but because we want to satisfy our ego.” I’ve definitely been guilty of doing this- wanting to win an argument as opposed to offering valuable insight to a topic which they can learn from. And you’re right it doesn’t solve anything only causes more problems. Great post 🙂

    1. I am also guilty of the aforementioned mistake. But to err is only human. To admit and correct it is the greatest achievement. Thank you for your interest in the blog.

  7. I love your story because both people can have their own approach to what is right both of us can be on the opposite sides of the story of opinion and yet it is done with out violence and in the end we both are right!

    1. Exactly! We don’t have to antagonize someone because he or she has a different opinion. Thank you for reading.

  8. I love it because it shows we are really human and not robots with the program mind set of yeah. I think people forgot to really have dialogue, really speak from their hearts and stop following the leader. We are both right that’s the greatness of it.
    Shaking the world gently! Is a beautiful thing.

    1. Thank you for your kind words. It is true that people are more pretentious now. Hope we can speak from our hearts, as you put it.
      Please follow my blog if you feel it is worth reading

    1. I do really hope we can all live in love. As you said, we are killing ourselves. Thank you for commenting Liz.

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