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Know that this too shall pass - Every time we go through an ego boosting situation, we need to come back to earth by remembering this important scriptural message.
Remind ourselves that truth has many angles and perceptions are relative - Like the blind men describing the elephant, we must remind ourselves that ours may not be the only correct viewpoint. To find the right approach, we need to be polite and receptive enough to listen to the ideas and view points from people with different cultures and backgrounds. Some times we will discover that we were way off in our approach! Being polite does not mean a total agreement with the view points of the opponent. It only means listening to the other party consciously. Listening with a spirit of reconciliation cannot co-exist with arrogance!
Humility produces positive results - We need to understand that humility generates respect, co-operation and pleasant vibrations while dealing with our fellow human beings. Arrogance on the other hand invites contempt, dislike and hate. Both arrogance and humility show up in our demeanor and dialogue. Our choice should be obvious.
Arrogance obstructs and humility fosters resolution of conflicts. More problems have existed throughout history because of ego clashes. If we show humility to others in resolving a conflict, even our opponents will calm down and show a way to get out of it. On the other hand, if we are perceived as arrogant, our opponents will play hard ball and devise ways to teach us a lesson, thereby lowering the chances of resolution.
Humility produces positive results -
We need to understand
that humility generates respect, Co-operation
and
pleasant vibrations while dealing with
our fellow human beings.
Conclusion Being polite is divine; being arrogant is like committing a spiritual suicide. Looking at the history of mankind and judging from the way arrogant people at all levels have fallen, we should be convinced that arrogance does not pay in the long run. Having said that, let us also accept that very few of us lead a perfect life. We may have become arrogant at one time or the other in our interactions with others. But if we remain alert and examine our own behavior objectively, we will find that every time we became arrogant and asked our inner voice; it would almost always tell us that we were wrong in what we did. We will realize that our mind was overpowering us without being cognizant about it and we will feel sorry about own ignorance.
Going forward, let us be more vigilant and aware of arrogance and other destructive emotions that are our inner enemies. Just being aware of them is a giant step in the right direction. It holds the key to solving our problem. Next time, if we run into any trying situation, let us act with a spirit of conciliation and humility. We may get surprised at the positive results. This should motivate us to keep trying again and again until we lessen the intensity of our vice in a significant way. We will never know about the miracles humility can produce until we try! <>
14th Biennial JAINA Convention 2007
166
PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE
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