USE THE GOLDEN RULE
The mind is filled with compartments, and because of this, we become judgmental, and the reason for these compartments is because of the experiences that we have gone through. The more experiences you have gone through in various lifetimes, the more compartments there will be, and therefore, whenever we witness something, we try to draw from the memory box. When it aligns with the experience’s objective, we judge it by our own personal standards.
The way to avoid that is to use the Golden Rule: put yourself in another’s shoes. That is known as the Golden Rule. But we do not. We only see things from our angle, and when we do, there will naturally be distortions. It is these very distortions that make us fearful, for there is an energy in everyone that wants you not to be judgmental. So, the conflict arises from the force in the mind that generates these fears.
ACT FOR THE SAKE OF ACTING, AND NOT FOR THE RESULT THEREOF
When fear is created, you naturally will suffer from anxiety. When anxiety is there, you will worry about the minutest little thing, which holds no water at all. The first perception you have of an object, you will compare with these various compartments or cubbyholes in the mind, and when you come to a judgment, you are creating more compartments. And as we create more and more compartments, more fear arises, and in this anxious state, we project ourselves into the future, which makes us even more fearful.
Most people worry about or are afraid of things that might never materialise, things that will not materialise at all. By being judgmental of the object, you are also becoming judgmental of yourself; will I achieve this, or will I not accomplish that? It is a projection. Then the idea of achievement or the result that will occur puts you into greater worries and sleepless nights.
But if you do not have expectations for the result of any action, you will sleep very peacefully because anxiety will not be there. It is said in the scriptures that ‘act for the sake of acting and not for the results,’ because the results will come naturally. When you focus solely on the action itself, your mind remains calm and centered, fostering inner peace.
This is how the mind should really function. Not worrying about the results, not worrying about the paycheck; keep on acting, and every action you perform becomes more stabilised in the mind. First, it comes out in the form of a thought, and the action performed or based on that thought will further stabilise that samskara, and that is why the scriptures teach of love, compassion, and sympathy.
REGARD YOURSELF AS AN INSTRUMENT, AND EVERY ACTION YOU PERFORM WILL BE A PURE ACTION
So, you are being kind to yourself by avoiding thoughts that are contrary or adverse. If you are compassionate to someone or kind to someone, you are benefiting more than the object to which you have or to whom you have extended the kindness. Like that, by action, one removes the old impressions in the mind, and as the impressions become moved away or thrown out of your system, the less fearful you will become, and the less fearful you become, the happier you become. And that is what everyone is seeking.
So, scriptures have their value, but action must be totally unmotivated. When you do good for someone, never think, “I am doing it,” because, as we have said before, you are not really the doer. There is a force within you that is using you just as an instrument, for you are nothing else than an instrument. So let that force work through you and regard yourself as an instrument, and if you regard yourself as an instrument, then every action you perform will be a pure action because you are not the actor. And purity lies in the absence of motivation. If you do some good work and say, “I did such and such a thing,” then there will be no result of that action.
I remember arriving in South Africa and being totally broke. I was standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus, and at that time we never had rands and cents; we just had pounds, shillings, and pence, and I had six pence in my pocket. Here, a woman with a baby in her arms came up to me and said, “Sir, can you help me out with bus fare?” Because she had a long way to go. So, I gave her the sixpence and never thought about it at all. I took a walk home, which is about five miles away. In those years, things were much cheaper than they are today. I walked home five miles away. But what a beautiful feeling I had within me, and the very next day I got offered an excellent job out of the blue, as one would say.
So, if we do not worry or take to mind any action we perform, the result will always be there because you did it totally unselfishly. You did it with feeling, you did it with sincerity, that when the evening was cold, why must this woman walk all those miles with a baby? So that is self-giving in some form or another.
JUDGE YE NOT SO THAT YE BE NOT JUDGED
There are many ways in which we could give ourselves to others. Sometimes, just a kind word can transform another person’s life, and his transformation in return would rebound on you, so you would also gain some transformation. But when we keep on compartmentalizing our minds, then these actions will not happen. Then we become judgmental, and we say, “What right does that woman have to be out late at night with a baby?” That is her business, and I would be judging. Who knows, she might have had some very urgent errand to do, like visiting her sick mother or father or something of that nature.
So, we do not think of the act at all; we act, and when we act, no karma is attached. It is water running off a duck’s back. And when you reach the stage of being karma-free by acting without asking for the reward, then no karma is created, and no impressions are put into the mind that make you react. So, every action has its reaction, and an unmotivated action will also have its response, but in a good, beneficial way for you. Then, as the scriptures say, “Judge ye not so that ye be not judged.” The scriptures say it very clearly, and this is what that saying means. These are the mechanics of being non-judgmental.
WHEN WE STOP JUDGING OTHERS, WE ALSO STOP JUDGING OURSELVES
I was telling the story at some course one day, where in my offices in Cape Town, we have a glass window right through, and on the other side is the waiting room. So, a woman came to me for consultation, and she was in a hysterical state. So, I gave her a hard slap. The people sitting in the waiting room said, “Oh, how can Guruji do this? Slapping a woman? He must be cruel.” They are being judgmental. They are only observing the act itself. But why did I do that? It was to shock her to get her out of the hysterical mood, and she quietened down so that I could speak to her. Then she could understand, because in that state of hysteria, she would never be able to understand or accept what I was trying to tell her. So much so that from that day on, she has not become hysterical again. She had been to so many psychologists and psychiatrists, and she could not be helped. Of course, what psychiatrists usually do is plug you up and give you an electric shock. I think the shock I gave her was more kind. Do you see? Shock Treatment.
Therefore, anything we observe, we should not be judgmental about it because every person has their own particular compartmentalised area in their mind. In that mind, the impressions keep on boiling up and brewing up without using any yeast.
When we stop judging others’ actions, we will also stop judging ourselves. People go through so much suffering because they try to judge themselves, and when you try to judge yourself, you will have all the feelings of guilt in the world. If something we have done, you say Well, forget it, I have done it, and it was wrong. You come to that realisation, and when you come to that realisation, you will not repeat the same action, because when you do not repeat the same action, you become repentant. When you repent, it does not mean you will suffer from guilt. In other words, you have resolved the problem in your mind.
Thank you very much.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang US 1985 – 03
