In a perfect world, why is man so imperfect? This is so that you can become more perfect! The recognition of imperfections leads you to more perfection. This is a very delicate point. If you recognize imperfection, you may just sulk and brood over it – “Oh! I am imperfect, imperfect and imperfect.” Recognize the imperfection in you and overcome it, by seeing more perfection.
You have heard before that all is God and all is love – then
what is the purpose of life? If everything is God, then where is life
headed? Life is heading towards perfection! Isn’t it? We want perfection, and
there are three kinds of perfection:
Perfection in action or work (kriya)
Perfection in speech (vachan)
Perfection in feelings or intention (bhaav)
Some people may be very good in their actions, but inside,
they feel very grumpy and angry. Some may lie; their speech is not perfect, but
they do their job right, or they feel right. A doctor may tell a patient,
“Don’t worry! Your disease will be cured,” though that may not be true. At
times, the intention behind lying is perfect. For e.g., a child asks his
mother, where his baby brother came from, and the mother replies that she
bought the baby! The mother’s intention behind lying is perfect. If someone
lies intentionally, the feeling is imperfect, the speech is imperfect and so
the action will reflect the same.
Suppose someone makes a mistake and you get angry, looking at that mistake, then, you are no better than the person, who made the mistake because there the action was imperfect, but here your feelings have become imperfect! Any action will have some flaw, but when feelings become imperfect, they stay for a longer period. The innermost perfection is lost.
Many people, who fight for human rights, are fighting for a
cause, but they get angry inside, and anger is as bad as lust; jealousy is no
better than anger. Amongst the six imperfections – lust, anger, greed,
entanglement, arrogance and jealousy – you think one is “better” than another,
but they are not.
Spiritual practice (sadhana) helps you maintain your
centeredness and not be shaken by small events. When someone screams at you,
his or her speech is imperfect, but don’t assume that his or her feelings are
also imperfect. Don’t see an intention behind other people’s mistakes as that
brings more impurity to the mind; this is also “vikara” or distortion.
