Page 12 - Bhakthinivedana 2012 July English Magazine.pmd

AN INTROSPECTION

Judge Not By the Cover of a Book

Translated into English by Ramakrishna Toopurani
When we consider a person, we have to include the conditions in which the person lived. Otherwise
we will not able to evaluate the person. Evaluating him in an isolated manner indicates that we are reluctant
to gather the facts.
In olden days, when a person travelled from one When we consider a person, we have to include

village to another, he would pack sufficient food for the conditions in which the person lived. Otherwise
the entire journey! He would take many articles of we will not able to evaluate the person. Evaluating
use along with him and only then think of travelling! him in an isolated manner indicates that we are

When we hear this, we are surprised and tend to reluctant to gather the facts. So are the lives of
laugh at those practices. Taking into consideration the rushis. Though some of the incidents in their
the advanced facilities to travel, arrangements of lives appear farfetched or inappropriate, we must
food all along the way in various hotels, we may understand their lives in proper perspective, without
think that the earlier methods are useless and old prejudice.

fashioned. But there were no roads in those days,
nor were people residing in areas all along the Also, if there are any inconsistencies in the lives of
route. The availability of food was remote, the rushis which we point out, we must remember that

routes were not reliable. How surprising it is to we have come to know them only because they
travel in such unsafe and unplanned manner! have allowed us to know! None of us have ever
visited them; we do not know how they lived. None
of us want to expose our shortcomings. Even if there
are any, we try to cover up them and try to appear

virtuous.

However, our rushis wore no such masks. They

realised that it was their sacred responsibility to
express truth without distorting it. They cared not
if the truth was good or bad, admired by others
or not. Large hearted the rushis were, they did not
want the future generations to lose their hard found

facts. Without caring for any kind of respect, they
put the facts before us without masking off anything.
That is why we can consider their statements to be

authentic.

12 Bhakthinivedana • July 2012