Discourse on Human Nature

When you have ears to hear a bird singing, you don’t need to look at its credentials.

Seeker:  Kindly elaborate on the same.

Maladkar: When you are able to understand the nature of a person, you need not depend on the opinion of others. You should have self-confidence in your capabilities first and then you can take the right decision about a person, whether that person is good natured or not, whether that person is capable of fulfilling the aspirations that you have from the role the person may have in your life. You should have the art of discretion, the science of understanding, whether the person is upto the mark or not. Yes, you are bound to make some mistakes. But worry not, those mistakes will teach you for better and you will learn from them. You will, with experience gain the insight to know the nature of a person just by interacting with that person. When a bird sings, you can make out whether it is a nightingale or a cuckoo or a crow or a duck ! Same way you can make out whether a person is good natured or not. It takes time to understand a person but once you master the art of knowing, then it is easy.  You will gain the insight and know by the tune which bird is singing. Body language which is said to be 70% of one’s communication with the other person speaks a lot. So, the way a person speaks, projects, and interacts will go on to determine whether that person is worthy of you. Needless to say, time is the best teacher and time will teach you whether your choice was right or wrong.  Framroz Noo rightly said, “Consciousness and understanding are distinct dependent things. One is food, the other digestion. One the air, the other the bird’s wings.” We need to develop deep understanding to know how people behave. I will like to quote an example of how people can behave in different situations, especially if they are trying to imitate someone blindly, without having an intrinsic nature of that behavior. Imitation cannot stand the test of a crisis and that is when a person’s true nature is exposed. Once Aman tried to imitate Jesus Christ. When he was slapped once, he turned the other cheek. However, when slapped on the other cheek, he retaliated with a hard smack. On being asked why he was not following Christ, he said, “Jesus said turn the other cheek when you are hit. But he did not say what to do when the other cheek is also slapped. So I gave it back.” Thus, we cannot imitate others so easily for a person’s true nature will always come out someday. Intrinsic nature of a person always gets projected, whatever the mask is worn. Yes, the mask can cover for sometime, but then the mask will wear off one day to expose the person’s intentions and his inherent nature. So try to be good, kind, compassionate, non-manipulative always. Be true, be you.