We often see
many people around us who cling to false beliefs that give them short term
peace of mind, but misery in the long term. The question is – do we need to
tell them what is ‘right’ so that they avoid ensuing misery?
Educating
the ignorant is necessary but we need to be cautious to ensure that the advice
is taken in the right spirit and it really helps them.
I remember
an old story where a group of monkeys gather around a heap of red seeds on a
cold winter night, hoping that the red seeds would warm them up, the way
glowing embers do. It never happens that way. A small bird sitting on a nearby
tree, that was watching the foolishness of the monkeys, tries to advise them on
their folly. The monkeys ignore the bird’s advice and kill the poor creature
for questioning their intelligence. But they too die due to exposure to severe
cold conditions since the red seeds don’t help them in any way.
If the
monkeys had heeded to the bird’s advice, they could have saved their lives. The
fault of the bird is that it was giving advice to ones who are unprepared to
accept it. Secondly, the bird was merely pointing out the mistake without
suggesting any alternative.
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