Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
– 1 Peter 3:9 (New Testament)
“Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.”
-Fyodor Dostoyevski
Kabir – The couplet
आवत गारी एक है, उलटी होत अनेक ।
कहे कबीर न उलटिए, रहे एक की एक ॥
transliterated:
Aawat gari ek hai, ulati hoth anek|
Kahe Kabir na ulatiye, rah ek ki ek||
Translation:
A verbal abuse is one, but responding to it will make many|
Kabir says: “Do not respond to the abuse and it will remain one.”||
My understanding:
In our daily life, we often find ourselves surrounded by negativity in some form. A look may seen accusing, or a stray comment may seem to dig into our deepest secrets to lay us open and bare for the world to see.
Too often, we seem to ignore our relative insignificance (1 of 7 billion people) and instead, behave as if the world centers on us. In the real world, how many of them know me? How many should? And will they all be interested in my daily life?
If I can teach myself to respond back to the perceived jibe with a smile, or take it a step further and respond with a heartfelt thank you, I have taken a step closer to realizing the God within me.