Words from the Master

And one more thing: Have the courage to make mistakes. Serious people are always afraid to make mistakes. They take themselves too seriously. They think too much about themselves. It is too much to make mistakes and have someone point it out to them. Actually I tell you, these people who are afraid of making small mistakes, end up making big blunders!

What is wrong in making mistakes? You will say, “Swamiji, I can’t afford to make mistakes in my work, that’s why I am so serious.” What you say might be true; your work may not permit you to make mistakes, but that is not the point I am trying to make here. When you make a mistake, people will point it out and you will not be able to bear it. Your ego is bound to get hurt and you are very sensitive to this; you know this. So to avoid getting your ego hurt, you try your best not to make mistakes.

You plan so unconsciously and continuously to keep guarding your ego. But the reasons you give are all different. It is not that you are lying. No! It is just that you are not aware of the subtle way in which your system works, your ego works. But if you deeply analyze and see, you will understand what I am saying.

There is nothing wrong in making mistakes. In fact, by making a few mistakes, you come to know clearly how to avoid making mistakes, because you have experientially understood it. The more you learn from mistakes, the more you know about how not to make mistakes.

Knowing how not to make mistakes is a very important thing. Only then you have seen both sides of it; only then you have explored the two sides experientially. Else, there is always the danger of falling into the unknown side at a critical time when you really can’t afford to.

Only one thing: Don’t make the same mistake again! Your mind always repeats patterns. Don’t do it with mistakes also. Make new mistakes! And move on to better and better understanding!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.