What do you, Trump and Obama in common?
Rather than beat around the bush, let me cut to the chase. Like it or not, realise it or not, you are just the same as Trump or Obama in one respect, i.e., all of you are subject to abuse, criticism, blame; and all of you have been misunderstood, condemned and belittled. Obama is very much loved by so many people, and yet, a torrent of hatred and name calling never ceases to heap upon him; he is regarded as charismatic by most people, and yet, some people take him as nothing but a useless n***. Trump is just another human being and is kind to many people (Though he may sound nasty on many an occasion, no one is perfect and we all are one way or another.), and yet, he is hated and condemned constantly by a vast amount of people; he is just naturally born as a white person, and yet, whatever he does is accused of showing white t***. You are really a great unique individual, and yet, people pile a mountain of rubbish, condemnation, criticism, and defamation on you; you have made achievements, and yet, people call you all sorts of names out of jealousy; you do nothing, and yet, they say you are a waste and a lazy moron; you are unhappy, and yet, they expect you to be a saint rather than a human being who can be sometimes unhappy. Whatever you do or say and whatever you don’t do or don’t say, there is always some shadow lurking in the background undermining you.
It is curious as to why it is the case that no one is free from those horrible things, no matter what position one may occupy, what power one may have and what wealth one may have at his disposal. I was once wondering if a person with power and wealth can dash those bastards into pieces and destroy those horribles. Look at Trump and that is exactly what he’s been doing. Has he been successful? We all know the answer; indeed, the more he repay those abuses, the more abuses he receives; the more heads of evils he cuts, the more heads they grow and do so exponentially. So, can a person with less power and less money do better than Trump? Yes, here is how:
A story of Buddha tells it all. Once he was invited to a house as a guest, the host spewed out and heaped all kinds of abuse on him. Rather than retaliated, he calmly asked the host this,
“what would you do if you invited a guest to your house?”
“I would prepare a feast to entertain him,” he replied.
“What would you then do if he did not partake of it?” Buddha asked.
“Well, in that case, I would not waste the feast; rather, I would partake of the feast myself!” he answered.
Buddha then calmly said,
“You invited me to your house, you have entertained me with a torrent of abuse. I do not accept it, please take it back to feast on it yourself.”
On hearing this, the person was totally transformed, so the story says.
Buddha could’ve taken an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and argued with that person and even heaped tons of abuse back upon him. Buddha could’ve been left, feeling insulted and humiliated for days and years. Buddha could’ve gone to a mental health specialist for diagnosis for depression and anxiety. Buddha could’ve done loads of other things, but he chose to do one thing, one thing only. That is, to be calm, to show calmness of mind, to show equanimity. What he got in return is not anger or humiliation or pain; rather, he got calmness and peace and indeed bliss.
Everyone in the human world and in the human memory is subject to criticism, blame, abuse, and many other evils. The saints like Jesus and Buddha have got them all the time; Jesus was even abused to such an extent as to be killed. Great scientists have them as well; many a greatest scientist was condemned, criticised and abused and even burned to death for just showing the world the truth. Modern examples like Trump or Obama are too numerous to repeat here; indeed, you and I have them, too. Some people choose to retaliate, but they never win the war and can never win it, simply because they have used the wrong weapon. Others choose not to retaliate; rather, they accept the fact and use the right weapon of calmness and equanimity to achieve peace for themselves with the knowledge that evil people are being taken care of by a higher power. Even if we are not religious, it is better to leave evils alone; fighting with a disgusting pig can only leave you smeared with mud all over, even if you win the fight or even kill the pig.
When coronavirus lockdown is over, it is not that people will change and there is a nicer world awaiting you, unless you have become better and higher and decided to arm yourself with calmness of mind, whatsoever comes your way. With love, gratitude and equanimity, the evils fly and in their stead are beautiful lives to live and enjoy.
