MADNESS OF JUDGING OTHERS

O Nanak, if someone judges himself, only then is he known as a real judge.
(ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਪੜਚੋਲ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਥਾਂ, ਦੂਜਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਵਿਕਾਰ-ਰੂਪ ਰੋਗ ਲੱਭਣ ਦੇ ਥਾਂ,
instead of looking for others' faults, etc.). (sggs 148).
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Judging others through false ego is a symptom as well as pastime of a worldly person (Mayadhaaree). Also called Manmukh — material or unenlightened being, etc. — the daily life of such person engrossed in evil ways is full of its natural contentions, contradictions, jealousy, usual competitions, selfishness, corruption, falsehood, baser desires and fears. Consequently, he ends up living a wrong life in all his worldly contacts and experiences; thus wasting useful time and energy by undergoing tensions, strains, and creating chaos within for himself and confusion without for others.

We are strongly urged by the Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) to renounce such "evil ways". Instead, we are challenged by the Gurbani to look within to examine and judge ourselves. If we dare doing what the Gurbani asks us to do here, then and only then we will be known as "real judge". Judging (Parkhanaa, Parakh, etc.) oneself means to know "Who Am I?", and then inmprove himself. To know the time as time, to know the space as space, to know the world-appearance as world-appearance, to know the Source as Source, and to know oneself as the Source (Mool, Joti-Svaroopa...) is being the "real judge" (Paarkhoo). This only is Mool-realization — to know one's essential nature as Pure Awareness. Unfortunately, however, the majority of us do not want to know ourselves. But we want to know everything about others! We want to find faults in others, but not in ourselves. We want to see Divine Virtues in others, but not in ourselves! We want others to forgive and forget our demerits, but we don't want to forgive and forget theirs. Hence, on account of false ego-sense, instead of investigating and judging our own conduct, we commit the error of judging others. In other words, we are unaware of our own house being on fire, but we go out of our way to see if someone else's house is burning out there! According to the Gurbani, such practices only tantamount to madness. The Gurbani's diagnosis of our instinctive mind is that we are "Kache" (unripe or false) and "Kach Nicach" (falsest of the false). It's this unripe ego-sense that enjoys falsehood such as judging others. In other words, because we are "Kache" and "Kach Nicach" ourselves, our unripe ego goes judging others as such. In such deceptive and shallow intellectualism, we get stuck in "Kathanee Badanee" — babbling and speaking in egoity... The purpose of this rare gift of human life is to look within to judge ourselves so that we may Realize our Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...). But the majority of us (more than 99.9 percent) are unwilling to do it. Why? Because our inflated ego-sense is afraid to face the truth our inner mind would reveal to us — our shocking crookedness, perversions, weaknesses, shortcomings, corruption, ignorance, untruthfulness, selfishness, demoniac instincts, duality, Vaasnaa, fear, falsehood, and so on. As a result, our ever expanding psychological construct self-image or ego-consciousness finds it easy and more pleasant to judge others and find faults with them! To the spiritually blind-mind preoccupied with material temptations (one with Kachee Matee - "ਕਚੀ ਮਤੀ"), the nectarian Divine Name (Gurmat-Aatam Giaan) tastes bitter and the poison of judging others sweet. In such deluded frame of mind, we take those engaged in seeking the Truth as no-Sikh or lesser Sikh, and we take those engaged in falsehood as good Sikh, and so on! The same applies to other religions as well. Man is bonded unless he has Realized his Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...). The Gurbani repeatedly reminds us that while in bondage we remain unqualified for judging others. Those of us with spiritually-blind mind do not have the integrity, courage, and wisdom to judge ourselves. Instead, with our stubborn mindedness and our inverted heart-lotus, we look outside. As a result, we put ourselves in a position to commit more mistakes. Only the Pure Being is the True Judge. Judging others in ignorance is contradiction, which is the foundation of expansion of our false ego-sense. As long as we take refuse in contradictions, we remain separated from the Supreme Truth that our True Nature is Unconditioned Consciousness ("Joti-Svaroopa"). Therefore, contradiction is the material bondage, and the absence of contradiction is liberation. By contradicting the world around, we in our foolishness contradicts our very Essence namely the Blissful-Consciousness-Existence. Such foolishness promotes nothing but psychological distress.

Therefore, we are urged to renounce the urge to judge others. The Gurbani Teaches us to leave behind all mental perversions, break the chains of doubts and to remain affectionately unattached. The Gurbani tirelessly reminds us that this rare human life is meant to seek the Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...), not uselessly contradicting the world around.

What is the cure? Before finding the cure, we need to find out the cause of the disease. As mentioned before, the reason the instinct of judging others exists is the expanded psychological ego (Haume). It is not the Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...), rather, it is our deluded ego that craves for judging others. That's why the genuine religious texts and the Spiritual Beings repeatedly remind us that the destruction of false ego is the purpose of human life as well as all religions, not other way around. Trying to justify the egoistic urge to judge others would be like falling into the coal-pit; again and again, and then try to shake the body off!

Many of us excuse our own shortcomings, but judge others harshly. One who is quick to see and judge evil in other persons has the seed of that evil within himself; because anything of which one is cognizant has a relative vibration within himself. Therefore, the scriptures and the wise ones ask us to reverse this attitude by excusing others' faults and by harshly examining our own.

For this very purpose, we are given the power of impartial intuitive self-analysis or discerning introspection. To attain the pure awareness of the Shabad-Surti (Naam or God-consciousness), The Gurbani has recommended daily introspection of our blind sense-mind. To be successful, this introspection has to be impartial, accurate, and without any prejudice. If we let this introspection become marred with the wicked and impulsive mental and sense tendencies such as judging others to satisfy our false ego-sense, then it will be totally meaningless.

Every moment, there is a spiritual and psychological battle going on between the Soul and the sense-infatuated mind under the delusive influence of the false ego-sense. We can invoke the God given power of introspection to review the battle of the day in our mind in order to determine who won the battle — the good or the evil. As scriptures tell us, "good" being that which expresses truth and virtue and attracts the consciousness to the Lord; and "evil" being ignorance and delusion, repels the consciousness from Truth. Thus, we, the material or unenlightened beings, can realize the eternal Bliss (Anand) only if we side with "goodness" and win the battle between the good and evil inclinations that guide our activities on the external bodily field of action.

Once the false ego is thinned out, many evil urges will lose their grip on us. We can shake the unripe ego off by becoming humble beings, and knowing that "I am not good; no one is bad". To a spiritually wise (Gurmukh), what is bad is a good, and what is good is a good; for he is beyond duality (false ego)! The scriptures disapprove of judging others because in Pure Consciousness there is no good, and there is no bad! We Manmukhs (material beings), suffering in ignorance of the Mool within (Source, Origin, Jot...), however, do not understand this mystery.

The state of fearlessness is equated with the state of Spiritual Perfection. In other words, fearlessness is directly proportional to the degree of humbleness or Spiritual Realization. Therefore, the spiritual quality such as humbleness is not to be mistaken for weakness or pessimism; for the humble person is the most fearless and active person one can find! He is both Sant (the Gurmukh, humble) and Sipaahee (fearless). To an ordinary person, a humble being may look inactive on the outside, but on the inside he is the most active person one can find! Just look at our ten Gururs! They were the most humble, the most fearless, and the most active beings! Therefore, the Gurbani's emphasis is in becoming a truly humble being. Also called Gurmukh (a Mool-realized person), such person is pure both inside and outside. Since the Gurmukh acts through his Natural State of Being (Sahaj Avasthaa: ਗਿਆਨ ਅਵਸਥਾ...), his actions become non-binding or "no-actions". Nothing can stop such person from thinking, speaking and doing what's right (Sach). He is living liberated - Jeevanmukta.

— T. Singh
www.gurbani.org

Updated on Saturday, May 25, 2013 1:10 PM (PST)

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