Who is Right?
How many time have we come
across situations where we argue among ourselves and hurt others. Have you
ever thought that someone else can be right? If we try to understand what
someone else is saying many of our problems can be resolved.
Anil asked his sister, Rita,
to get him a coke at dinner. Rita only gave him half a glass as a joke. Anil
was very mad and threw a fit saying the glass was half empty. The word empty
annoyed Rita, and she screamed back, "No glass is half full." Soon they
started fighting. Anil and Rita told their parents why they were screaming.
Their mother said, "Both of you are right. Anil is looking at the empty
aspect and Rita is looking at its filled aspect." They were both happy when
they realized that they were both right.
If we accept the fact that
someone else can be right, we can avoid many quarrels. Lord Mahavira said
that every thing can be seen from seven different aspects, and there is
truth in every aspect. Lord Mahavir's thinking is called Anek�ntv�d or
multiplicity of view points. When we accept this style of thinking, we
become tolerant of other views and our life is much happier. This lets
different people with different ideologies live together with respect for
So the next time your friend
says something which you do not agree with then instead of telling him, "You
do not anything," give him a chance to tell his side of the story. You may
be surprised and think, "He is right too!"
1) Why did Anil and Rita fight?
2) What did Anil and Rita's mother tell them?
3) What does Anek�ntv�d mean?
4) How does Anek�ntv�d help us?