Hazrat Inayat: Do not trouble about another’s fault

When one is developing on the spiritual path, what must be remembered most is to let everyone else go on his own path. The ones who tread the spiritual path must always remember that by criticizing another they are not doing any good to themselves or to the others. If another person has a fault, an adept must know that his very fault will teach him, sooner or later, or his fault will ask of others to teach him, and the adept must let another get that privilege of correcting him. As soon as an adept exerts his power to correct others, he loses his path. An adept must be concerned with his own path, and not concerned with others.

You might think it is a lesson of remoteness, it is an advice to be exclusive, it is a teaching of indifference. Whatever you may call it, that is the way. It is so heavy on an adept to keep his own personality in the right way, as it ought to be; in other words to keep his own heart in tune, to keep his own spirit in the right rhythm. And when, instead of doing that he troubles about another, he loses his path. There is no kindness, there is no goodness in trying to correct another. There are many in this world to correct him. The first thing that will correct the wrong-doer is life itself. Life slaps a person more strongly than a person may punish another person. One need not trouble about anybody’s fault. And however far one has advanced, one must know that the more advanced one is the more faults one will find with oneself. I do not mean that advancement adds faults; I only mean that advancement makes your sight so keen that at every stage further, more faults manifest before you, which were perhaps unknown to you before.

The attitude of the one who treads the spiritual path toward the wrong-doer must be one of tolerance, of forgiveness, also of indifference, just like the Japanese symbol of three monkeys, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” From the moment one takes his first step in the spiritual path, evil finishes. Finishes in what sense? That he recognizes no more evil! What does it mean? Does it mean he encourages evil?  Does it mean he recognizes evil as good?  Does it mean he loves evil? No, far from it. It only means he does not judge! And by not judging, does it mean that he knows no more justice? No, it means he knows more justice, he is now a greater judge. The moment one has left judging, from that moment he becomes judge. Then he knows what justice means. Does justice mean to condemn anyone, does justice mean to criticize anyone, does justice mean to insult anyone, does justice mean to correct anyone? No, justice means to know without knowing, to see and not see, to hear and not hear! And one might think, ‘Will this negative state not make a person quite a different being?’ And what does it matter if he becomes a different being! What is one striving after? Is it not truth? That is what one is striving after. If you are going toward truth, you engage your personality, your attitude, your outlook, your action. What does it matter? On the contrary, it is what it ought to be. You should change. Life means change!

But one might say, “Shall I not be different from others?” Yes, naturally you shall be different from others. You ought to be glad to be different from others, as long as you do not show to the world that you are different from others. When you begin to show and cry aloud, “I am different from you all,” then you will fall. And if you do not fall, they will pull you down. But in being different from the others in your outlook, you do not harm anyone. The principle of anyone who journeys on the spiritual path must be that he is unassuming, that he is not inclined to judge, that he is not trying to be a teacher; in other words, he is not trying to correct others, that he is ready to tolerate, that he is ready to forgive. Also, he makes no pretence of anything, of knowing something or of being something. Outwardly to be like everyone, inwardly to be what one is.

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