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DISCOURSE 43
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they keep praising. If you want to become an angry man, keep praising an angry man. If you want to be forgiving, keep praising always a man who forgives others. If you want to become proud, keep praising proud pepole. If you want to become humble, keep praising humble people. If you want to become deceptive, keep praising deceptive people and if you want to become plain and candid, keep praising candid people. If you want to develop attachment, praise those who have attachment. If you want to discard attachment, praise those who have discarded attachments.
First, decide what you want to become. Then keep praising such people. If you want to become ignoble, keep praising ignoble people. If you want to become noble, keep praising noble people. If men want to live an excellent, exemplary and praiseworthy life, they should necessarily become noble. In order to lead the life of a noble householder, man should attain nobility and culture. If a man wants to live a righteous and spiritual life, he must attain nobility. Do not get into a confusion. Discard the habit of desiring the happiness of ignobility as well as nobility. Give up the propensity of being inwardly ignoble but outwardly noble.
SEE THE FUN OF IT
In order to attain some kind of happiness, man acts ignobly. Man commits the sins of violence, uttering falsehood, stealing, ignoble conduct etc., with the idea of attaining happiness. “If I speak falsehood; I can earn money; I will not have any difficulties and I will attain freedom from difficulties". With this belief man utters lies. There are many other such false notions in men. But uttering falsehood, stealing and ignoble conduct are considered evil by his family, his society and his country. Therefore, man tries to hide such ignoble acts of his. He loves evil and ignobility but puts up a show of being noble. He keeps loving wickedness and one day, the curtain of his pretended nobility is torn and the truth about him is seen. As long as you keep loving wickedness inwardly and pretending to be noble outwardly, you cannot attain nobility. Nobility is not a thing to be exhibited outwardly...
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