Today, one of my teachers from Vivekananda Vidyapith, the Sunday School I used to attend, sent me the following story, told by Swami Vivekananda. It appeared in the publication “The Vedanta Kesari,” in February this year.
Who serves the Lord the Best
A rich man had a garden and two gardners. One of these gardners was very lazy and did not work; but when the owner came to the garden, the lazy man would get up and fold his arms and say, ‘How beautiful ist he face of my master’, and dance before him.
The other gardner would not talk much, but would work hard, and produce all sorts of fruits ans vegetables which he would carry on his head to his master who lived a long way off. Of these two gardners, which would be more beloved of his master?
Shiva is that master, and this world is His garden, and there are two sorts of gardners here; the one who is lazy, hypocritical, and does nothing, only talking about Shiva’s beautiful eyes and nose and the features; and the other, who is taking care of Shiva’s children, all those that are poor and weak, all animals and all His creation.
Which of these would be the more beloved of Shiva? Certainly he that serves His children, He who wants to serve the father must serve the children first. He who wants to serve Shiva must serve His children-must serve all creatures in this world first. It is said in the Shastra that those who serve the servants of God are His greatest servants. So you will bear this in mind.
While I really like this story — the message of service really appeals to the Karma Yogi in me — I sometimes wish the story translated to real life too. Often, I feel as though the people who simply sweet-talk their way through life are valued more, simply because they know the right thing to say. It seems like many times, people act one way in some situations, and completely differently in other situations — and by doing so, they are often valued because the farce they put on is so convincing. This makes sense in many ways — we often only know people in one situation; if we have no other way to judge their character, we can only decide what we think of them based on how we see them act when they are in front of us! So, it is really easy to make others believe that we are genuine if we act genuine in front of them; and those that act the same everywhere, instead of acting better than they really are in certain situations, are seen as insincere. This always bothered me, since my goal has always been to avoid hypocrisy. I’ve always tried to be the ’same person,’ so to speak, regardless of the situation I am put in. And I unfortunately, I am not yet at the stage where it doesn’t bother me that others who simply act genuine get the recognition for it.
I know that according to Vedanta, it doesn’t matter whether others recognize our sincerity or not — sincerity improves our character, and ultimately the strong character that we develop is the only important thing. Those who simply pretend, will not improve. I guess this is the important distinction to make: sincerity is something we should practice as a matter of improving our own selves; it shouldn’t matter whether or not others recognize it.
Still, it sometimes bothers me that on the road of improvement, those who are only pretending to walk on the road are sometimes valued more than those who are sincerely carving out their own path.
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One Comment
Sonali, this is a very nice anecdote, and you raise a question I’ve often asked myself.
Knowing the right things to say & do is a skill itself. I don’t think it’s inherently insincere. It is simply a rational response to a society that judges by what it sees. Considering whether the end justifies the means is perhaps a better way to judge that behavior. Sometimes it is insincere, and sometimes it is merely a means to a righteous end.
Ultimately, I think you’re right that sincerity means being true to yourself. Insincerity sometimes bothers me too, and I think that’s only natural. At these times, we can remember that the motivation for sincerity has to come from within; I don’t think the broader society has an inherent interest in being sincere, or rewarding those who are sincere.
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