Do you, at times, feel beaten up by unfair criticism or unjust actions by others?

One of my favorite stories is given below, recited by a disciple of Yogananda who said:

“There was this moment where we were sitting at a dinner, and beside us there were some people who were, in a very unfair way, hurling criticism at Master [Yogananda]. I was feeling so hurt and enraged about this. And he was sitting there very calm and nonplussed. He also heard what was being said very unfairly and wrongly about him. And so at one point I looked at him and said, ‘Sir, how can you take that criticism which is so unfair?’

He looked at me.

And then he smiled, and picked up a rose lying on the table. He took the petals of that rose in his hand and he crushed them. And he asked me, ‘There. Can you smell these petals? Can you smell them? Be like the rose — even when you are crushed, give out your fragrance.’”

Next time someone upsets you, will you rise above your circumstances, stay true, and be your best? Will you be like the rose?

Warmly,
Hitendra

Like This Newsletter?
Share it with someone who might find it valuable.