Why don’t they listen? You keep on telling them and still they never listen. It’s no use talking you say, because any which way no one will listen. So why talk and waste your breath?
Yours is a sage’s advice and still no one takes it. You know that you have gone through similar situations and made mistakes. So you don’t want the others to do the same. So out of your goodness, you want these people not to repeat your type of mistakes. It has been costly mistakes and you have been suffering because of them. So you don’t want these folks to err, so you want to help them. But no one wants to do that. Their big fat ego comes in the way and they never for once listen to your sagacious advice.
After they did that several times, you have stopped telling them anything. They don’t care for you and neither do you give a damn if they are alive or not. You feel sad for them so many times that you go and open your mouth to genuinely stop them and again commit the grand blunder. Don’t you?
Do you see you don’t listen to your own advice too. You keep on doling advice when you have vowed never to advise again. It’s a sheer waste of time.
So now think about it. If you never follow your own advice, why do you expect someone else to listen to you? Silly! Isn’t it?
But your human nature is never to learn. Of course, you know you have made a mistake but do you learn? Does anybody ever learn?
I know of a woman who got married with stars in her eyes but soon they became bleak and dimmed out. She took a divorce but even before the ink on the divorce papers was dry she fell in another dreamy relationship. How long does it take to become a nightmare? She was chugging along one day and the next day she had a breakdown. She goes around telling everyone how bad her marriage was and that no one should ever get married. The irony of it all is that she has again fallen into another love trap.
Once you took a loan and got into deep trouble. You tried getting out of it so you went and borrowed again. You went into a bigger hellhole. Once out of it, you vowed never to take another loan. But you again took another big loan and now you tell everyone how bad is your life.
Both these great folks advise you not to fall into similar traps. But they themselves cannot extricate out of it. So what good is their advice? Tell me!
So doesn’t it tell you that man never learns. Look at gamblers or drunkards. They promise never to do that again and they fall into it again and again. The drug addicts can never leave their habit.
I still remember Robin Williams in so many movies giving advice as the main character about life and how to live it with dignity. Yet, when his time came, he took the easy way out. He could never take his own advice. So what about others?
In spiritual, we train so many disciples and yet there is either a single person or none who will ever listen to the Guru. Remember, the teacher or the Guru has been given the duty or job of being one. It’s their profession or calling. They keep on giving knowledge but how many actually take it? Hardly any!
To find a perfect devotee or disciple is the biggest manhunt. To find one like Shree Ram or Krsna is impossible. To find another Parshuram is still tough.
Even Peter didn’t listen to Jesus. Neither did Devadatta listen to Buddha. Hriday had the penchant to disregard Ramakrishnaji.
So what use is teaching or telling someone something that could change that person? So do we stop doing that?
No way. That which has to be done has to be done. Whether someone listens to them or not. If it’s your duty to do that then you better excel in your duty. As a teacher, you got to explain and do it over and over again. Whether the person understands in the first attempt or maybe it takes numerous attempts, it’s the c and the teacher who is true to her calling, to be benevolent, compassionate, kind and patient with the disciples or students. So even if someone wants to listen or not, it’s our duty to caution that other.
On the part of the disciple or student, it’s his or her duty to listen to their teacher and do what is righteous. It’s important to be attentive and become a good listener.
Any which way, both the teacher and the taught have to do their respective duties and be true to their own calling also. So pay attention!
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