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778. The Other Man’s Point of View

Ordinarily, it never strikes us to take another man's point of view. Having listened to a long discourse on the spiritual magnificence of taking another man's point of view, one man exclaimed, "I wish everyone I have to deal with takes my point of view." Even within the family, it is not so easy. Man's ego is so pronounced that even with a child, he sometimes wishes to assert that he is superior. Most people are unconscious of it and act on normal biological impulses. An elderly devotee took upon himself to relieve his young acquaintance of a knotty problem. The young man was also a devotee, but the anxiety of the problem overtook him powerfully.

The young man had a dispute with his brother five years elder to him. The elder brother was rude, selfish and irrational. For a long time he had been taking advantage of the obliging younger brother who was submissive in his affectionate behaviour. He did not want to press upon his rights or bring them to the notice of his parents. He did not want to ask for his right or even appear to be in a position of asking. The boy was tender in his emotions and cultured in his behaviour. The selfish elder brother found the atmosphere conducive to exploitation. He ruled the roost. Issues came to a head. The youngster was resolved not to raise it, but was suffocating under oppressive circumstances. It is at this time that he heard of The Mother from an elderly devotee. It gave him hope for the first time. The elder took pity on him and wanted to promise his own help to relieve him of the tangle. The boy learnt from his mentor about the Mother, about consecration, hearing several examples. As he was listening, he found a weight off his young heart. He was determined to avail of all that he had heard that day. The ALL was to entrust Mother with his problem. There was nothing more. He went home and started praying for relief.

His brother was a selfish specimen in an otherwise affectionate, selfless family. The boy knew the parents were ashamed of the elder brother. Anyway, his prayer was gaining in intensity and a vibration of joy gathered inside. He felt relieved. A few days later the elder brother himself brought up the issue and announced a fair decision. The young devotee was all surprise. The first thing he did was to call the mentor on the phone and give him the good news. The elder devotee had put his entire concentration on behalf of the new recruit and was pleased to know of the smooth solution. He was so happy that his own prayer was granted. He could not bring himself to see the issue from the boy's point of view, that the boy had prayed, that Mother had answered his prayer, that he would be pleased to know that his own prayer was readily answered. In his unconscious oblivion, the elder devotee blurted out that he had been working on the boy's problem and he knew Mother would respond. The youngster was deflated and was dismayed. More than the relief, it mattered to him that his own unaided prayer had been answered. It requires a magnanimity of heart's emotions to appreciate the other man's point of view in such delicate affairs.



story | by Dr. Radut