Feel happy, become one with people doing a good job

Patanjali Yoga Sutras - Knowledge Sheet 30

People who are doing a good job or meritorious job, those who have a lot of merits, who are blessed, feel happy with them. Become one with them. Feel that you are doing the job with them. Then the sense of competition with people who are doing a good job disappears. Jealousy subsides. Finding fault with people who are doing good things will go away. People have this tendency. When someone is good, someone is blessed, meritorious or doing some good work, people try to find fault with them. Do you see what I am saying? Trying to find fault in people who are doing a good job! They say, “Oh they should have done that better.” At least they have done that. You haven’t even done that and you say, “They should have organized better.” Mostly, criticism comes from people who do not work. Have you noticed this? People who do not do anything criticize others: “Oh that person did not do better.” Most of the time this happens.

Do not find fault, feel happy

Do not find fault with people who are doing a good job. Someone is doing great service, feel happy about it. Do not say, “Oh that person should do more service, should have done better. There is this flaw in the organization, that flaw.” Well, the organization can have so many flaws. So what? Yet this organization is doing such a good job to uplift people. Why not put your attention there instead? You say, “Oh the organization is strict and that person said this and this person said that.” One can get caught up in these tricks, finding fault. Do not find faults but feel happy for those people who are doing a good job.

Become one with them

When will you do this? When you will become one with them! It is like this: if the right hand is doing a good job, the left hand will appreciate it. “Oh, the right hand could write this beautiful poem.” The left hand does not do it. It does not write, but it does not stop the right hand from writing. So it feels that it is a part of the other hand. Well, this hand can do something else. It can hold the table and paper and the other hand can hold the pen and it can write well. Similarly, when you feel that they are a part of you and they are doing a good job, you feel happy inside.

Mudita means happiness about people who are doing a wonderful job. Share the happiness of others and feel happy.

Next week: How to deal with people who do sinful acts?

<<Be Compassionate with Unhappy People

Educate and ignore people who do sinful acts >>

(This is part of a series of knowledge sheets based on Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's commentaries on Patanjali Yoga Sutras.)