Is every person we meet our teacher?

[Guest guest]

Can we be so receptive, so empty of notions and so willing to learn

that we can consider everyone we meet as our teacher? If we observe

with utter humility and honesty, we may find that every human being

we meet may have several qualities that we lack. Rich and poor,

beggar and king – each of these may have a quality worth emulating,

may have something to teach us.

 

 

One may come across a person who brings with him miles and miles of

smiles. Most of us may have met just such a person – one who smiles

most of the day. It is not a put on smile, not an effort to achieve a

desired result. There is a smile of genuine happiness and that is

shared by smiling. I have found it remarkable to observe such people

and have been grateful for having them around. They seem to have so

much to smile about. Without words, without pomp or grandeur, in

utter simplicity and even poverty, even in the midst of difficulties

of various kinds, one can see those with such ability, smiling as if

they are most pleased with the world and with themselves.

 

 

 

There are people who refuse to lose their temper. They may stand up

for what they believe. Yet, they refuse to throw a fit or have a

temper tantrum. It is as if anger has completely disappeared from

their mental make-up, or, they have deeply discovered the futility of

anger. The destructive nature of anger has been deeply understood by

these people who can be extraordinarily assertive without becoming

angry.

 

 

 

There are those who are extraordinarily generous, never letting go of

an opportunity to help another. There are those who are

extraordinarily disciplined. There are those who are most kind and

compassionate. If we can observe with complete receptivity, we can

celebrate the extraordinary range of human qualities that are

constantly on display when we meet various people. These may not be

famous people. These may be the great acts of common people,

unnoticed as we focus on notions of greatness.

 

 

 

There are also instances of cruelty, of anger, of jealousy and

insecurity, of bitterness and hatred. We see many instances of these

being demonstrated as various people are consumed by negative

emotions in the course of their lives. Here again, if one is

observant, one can see how the mind nurtures hatred and bitterness,

how its own fragmentation is the root of conflict. One can see how

each individual tends to blame another for his pain, misery,

unhappiness and failure. It is rare to see a person owning

responsibility for his own failure or misery. To blame and slander

another individual, group or country needs no effort and might

momentarily give us a sense of being better than those being

slandered. Our need for self esteem may be satisfied in dubious ways

that leave the problem compounded. One can observe how pain, failure,

sickness and misery of various kinds are as inevitable as joy,

success and victory, how the inevitable polarity of opposite forces

make up life. One also understands that the awareness that can

observe joy is the same awareness that can observe sorrow. Moreover,

the same event can make or break us depending on how we choose to

perceive it. Much depends on our perception of events and the

underlying assumptions that determine and drive our beliefs. Yet,

sustained observation can reveal how we often interpret events to fit

our basic patterns of conditioning. We also see how the beaten tracks

of conditioned responses colour the lens through which we see the

world. By watching these without bias, without pride or prejudice,

without the filter of preconceived notions, one can learn from

success and failure alike, from success and adversity alike, from the

so-called good and great as well as the so-called lowly and bad.

 

 

 

What are fundamental are our own receptivity, our humility and our

willingness to observe and learn from people and events. To consider

every event and every person as a teacher can be a rewarding

experience, if only to enhance our receptivity, our humility and our

willingness to see with new perspectives and to continue to learn and

grow.

 

 

2003 Ashok Gollerkeri

 

 

" Freedom from Thought - Book.1 " can be ordered online right

now. " Freedom from Thought " Book.2 & 3 will follow in the months to

come. The three books together include 105 essays.

 

http://www.truborn.com/FREEDOM_FROM_THOUGHT.html

 

My writing reaches out to the essentially human element we all share.

Therefore, it is only appropriate that word about the book will also

be spread through the human channel. Your love and support is

precious to me. Thank you.

 

Ashok Gollerkeri