Stories by The
Mother on Modesty
Who is this coming to the door of this
Japanese house?
It is the flower-artist, the man who is
skilled in arranging flowers.
The master of the house brings a tray with
some flowers, a pair of scissors, a knife, a little saw, and a beautiful vase.
“Sir,” he says, “I cannot make a bouquet
beautiful enough for such a beautiful vase.”
“I am sure you can,” replies the master
politely as he leaves the room. Left alone, the artist sets to work, cutting,
snipping, twisting and tying until a beautiful bunch of flowers fills the
vase—a delight to the eyes.
The master and his friends enter the room;
the artist stands to one side and murmurs, “My bouquet is too poor, let it be
taken away.”
“No,” replies the master, “it is good.”
To one side of the table, near the vase, the
artist has left a pair of scissors. By this he means that if there is any flaw
in the bouquet, anyone can take the scissors and cut away what offends the eye.
The artist has done a fine piece of work,
but he would not dream of exalting its merits. He admits that he may have made
mistakes. He is modest.
Perhaps the Japanese artist really thinks
that his work deserves compliments. I cannot tell his thoughts. But at any rate
he does not boast and his behavior is pleasing. On the other hand, we smile at
people who are vain.
Suleiman, Caliph of Damascus, was like that.
One Friday, coming out of his hot bath, he dressed himself in green clothes,
put on a green turban, sat on a green couch, and even the carpet all around was
green. And then looking into a mirror and feeling pleased with himself, he
said, “The Prophet Mohammed was an apostle, Ali Bakr was a faithful servant of
the truth, Omar could distinguish the true from the false, Otman was modest,
Ali was brave, Muawiyah was merciful, Yazid was patient, Abd-ul-Malik a good
governor, Walid a powerful master, but I am young and handsome.”
The flowers in the vase are beautifully
arranged and our eyes are delighted. But it is for us and not for the artist to
praise them.
Suleiman is handsome. It is true that there
is no harm in his knowing it, but we laugh at his vanity when he gazes at
himself in a mirror and tells himself that his good looks make him a finer man
than Omar the truthful or Yazid the patient.
***
You have heard of great Solomon who was the
King of Israel many years ago. There are many stories in the Bible and in other
books which tell of his glory and his majesty. I shall tell you one story about
him.
He was very rich. He had a magnificent
throne, his plates were of gold, and in his palace silver was as common as
stones in the city of Jerusalem. Merchants were constantly bringing him gold,
silver, ivory, peacocks, monkeys, beautiful clothes, armour, spices, horses,
mules and many other riches. King Solomon built a splendid temple in honour of
the God of his fathers and his nation. But before the temple was built, while
the timber for it was still growing in the form of cedar-trees on the
mountains, Solomon had a dream in which his God appeared to him and said: “Ask
of me what you wish me to give you.”
Solomon answered:
“My father David was a just and truthful man
and now I have succeeded to his throne. The work that lies before me is great.
I feel like a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. I do not
even know how to rule this people of which I am king. Therefore my desire is to
have knowledge, so that I may know good from evil.”
And God replied:
“Because you have not asked for long life or
riches but have desired knowledge and a heart which can distinguish justice
from injustice, I will give you this wise mind so that none shall surpass you
in understanding; and long life and riches will be yours also.”
You will notice the modest words spoken by
the king, “I am but a little child.”
Do we think less of Solomon because he spoke
humbly of himself? On the contrary, it is a real joy to see greatness that is
modest.
***
Many years ago a great singer, who had won a
world-wide reputation for her wonderful voice and outstanding talent, happened
to be at a party. There, a little girl with a beautiful voice was asked to
sing. The piece she was ready to sing was a duet, a piece of music for two
voices. The child was to sing the main part, but no one wanted to sing the
accompaniment. All the grown-ups thought that it was beneath them to sing the
second voice to a child. There was a pause; no one offered to accompany the
child.
Then the famous singer said: “I will sing
the second voice if you wish.”
And she did so. The duet was sung to the
audience; the little girl’s voice rose high and clear, with the voice of the
most famous singer of her time following sweetly, making a lovely harmony.
Noble was the heart of the modest lady who
was willing to give her service to a child.
***
Sometimes we feel contempt for vain people
who not only admire themselves too much, but boast. No one likes a braggart;
even braggarts despise braggarts.
We are not surprised to learn that Ravana
the terrible foe of Rama, whose wife Sita he had stolen away, was a braggart;
it was quite natural for such a monster. In the last great battle between Rama
and the demons of Lanka, the glorious lord stood in his chariot face to face
with the demon king, also in his chariot. It was a single combat. The army of
demons and the army of monkeys and bears watched the fight.
Then with a dreadful voice, Ravana the king
of Lanka cried:
“Today, O Rama, this war will come to an end
unless you save yourself by running away from the battlefield. Today, wretch, I
shall give you over to death. It is with Ravana that you must fight.”
Rama smiled calmly. He knew that Ravana’s
doom was near and he said:
“Yes, I have heard of all your might, O
Ravana, but now I want to see as well as hear. I beg you to remember that there
are three kinds of men in this world, who are like three kinds of trees: the
dhak, the mango and the bread-fruit. The dhak tree bears flowers. It is like
the man who only speaks. The mango tree has both flowers and fruits. It is like
a man who both speaks and acts. The bread-fruit tree bears only fruit. It is
like the man who speaks not but acts.”
The demon laughed at these wise words. But
before long his boasting tongue was silent forever.
***
In 1844 the Sanskrit College of Calcutta
needed a teacher of grammar, and the post was offered to Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar. At that time he was earning fifty rupees a month, and in this new
position he could earn ninety, but he thought that his friend Tarkavachaspati
was a better grammar teacher than himself and he said so. So it was decided
that his friend should take the post. Vidyasagar was very happy. He walked some
distance from Calcutta to find his friend and tell him the news.
Tarkavachaspati was struck by the noble
modesty of the scholar and exclaimed, “You are not a man, Vidyasagar, but a god
in human form!”
(CWM, Volume 2,
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)
The
walk for the month of November was a beach walk and was located in one of the
extreme ends of Singapore. We reached the Changi Beach where there was an
excellent sunshine with a clear blue sky and a cool breeze to welcome us. We
were a small group of seven for the walk.
