Message or the messenger?
We see situation like the following often.
Looking at the crooked finger
A sufi teacher was pointing his crooked index finger, bent due to arthritis, at the moon. He asked his student to look at the beautiful full moon in the sky. The student was focusing on the crooked index finger. He could not see the moon as he could not detach his attention from the crooked finger.
The communication between them was a total failure. Who is responsible? Who is the loser?
Repulsed by the dirty envelope
I receive a partially damaged and dirty envelope from the tax department. I feel like throwing it in the trash bin. But wait....
What if it is a notice of an audit of my tax return?
Or it has a check for the tax refund?
Should I ignore the dirty condition of the envelope and open it, pull out the letter and then toss the envelope in the trash bin?
Jarring note on my car's windshield
I parked my car crossing the dividing line between the two parking spots, close to the entrance of the famous Bridgewater Venkateswara temple in New Jersey. I went inside with my family. The adjacent parking space was wasted due to my careless parking, as it was risky for any one to park in that narrow space.
That being a week end, there were many visitors and the parking was very tight.
When I returned after the worship, I found a paper under the wiper of the wind shield with the pungent message “Stupid! Don’t you know how to park?” I felt very bad. Several questions cropped up in my mind -
Should I curse the hot blooded person, may be a youngster, for his crude message?
Should I regret my negligent parking, depriving another devotee of a convenient parking space?
Should I etch this incident in my mind and not repeat the parking negligence any time in future?
Should I thank the youngster for teaching me an important lesson that I definitely needed, though in a conveyed in a crude manner?
Could I have realized my inappropriate action affecting other people on my own, if I did not get that crude message from whoever it may be?
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