Note 11: Reform and Responsibility

The sun is shining brightly, the sky is clear, and the weather has noticeably improved. The newspapers had already announced this improvement yesterday, and indeed, nature has adjusted itself accordingly. Nature corrects itself without seeking anyone’s advice or demanding intervention; nor does it demand change in others.

Humans, however, are different. They desire change in everyone else, yet resist change in themselves. They wish for transformation across the world, but refuse to transform their own selves.

A ticket checker told a traveler, “Your ticket is for Shimla, yet this train is going to Delhi.” The traveler replied, “Why are you telling me this? Tell the driver.” We wish for others to walk the right path, yet forget that we too must walk it ourselves.

Mungerilal once beat his friend. The friend asked, “Why are you hitting me?” Mungerilal replied, “Because of you, I failed the exam.” The friend, surprised, said, “But I failed too.” Mungerilal responded, “Exactly—that is why I am hitting you. If you had studied a little, we both would have passed today.”

What an irony! We wish for the world to act correctly, yet we ourselves do nothing. We want others to clear our path, while we remain idle. Humans guide everyone toward heaven, yet they themselves do not want to die. They desire success, yet avoid effort.

The question arises: does a person truly wish for improvement in others, or is it merely an attempt to shape others according to their own desires? Too often, in the name of reform, a person infringes upon the freedoms of others. In the name of correction, one may fulfill selfish ambitions.

True improvement, however, occurs only when one allows others freedom while acting selflessly in their guidance. Correction must be accompanied by liberty, and reform must be offered without ego or expectation.

A friend once asked his companion to speak loudly. The companion replied, “But you have a hearing aid in your ear; why do you want me to speak louder?” The friend said, “That hearing aid is fake; the real ones are very expensive.”

Indeed, there is much truth in this: self-improvement is difficult and costly. That is why humans hope for change in others. Even in matters of dharma, we wish our followers to be virtuous, yet we rarely pause to examine ourselves—are we virtuous?