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Chapter Having an Open Mind
A truly religious person should have the capability of correct
evaluation; he should be able to make out the pros and cons. This is a bit tough, because we happen to be prejudiced. If we do not like a particular aspect of someone, we are prone to reject him outright. As Jainism, however, says everything has multiple attributes. It is therefore not right to be led by one single aspect; it could even be hazardous.
A religious person is not guided by any isolated factor. If he notices some drawbacks of a person, he also looks for the positive attributes that the person might have. As a goldsmith tries to figure out the purity of gold, so does a religious person try to evaluate the true worth of others. He would resent the vices, but not the individuals. One who is prone to resent several virtues on account of one or two vices, can never make progress in life, because his approach is wrong.
The difference of opinion that we now come across, is mainly due to such wrong approach. We refuse to look at the multiple points of agreement, and concentrate only on an isolated point of disagreement. We need to cultivate a swan-like approach. It is said that if milk mixed with water is placed in front of a swan, it would suck up the milk and leave aside the water. Similarly we should be able to adopt the substance and leave aside what is insubstantial. If
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