We are always making mistake in judging others; we are always inclined to think that our little mental universe is all that is; our ethics, or morality, our sense of duty, our sense of utility are the only things that are worth having.
The other day when I was going to Europe, I was passing through Marseilles, where a
bull-fight was being held. All the Englishmen in the steamer were mad with excitement, abusing and criticizing the whole thing as cruel.
When I reached England, I heard of a party of prize-fighters who had been to Paris, and were kicked out unceremoniously by the French, who thought prize-fighting very brutal.
When I hear these things in various countries, I began to understand the marvelous saying of Christ: “Judge not that ye be not judged.”
The more we learn, the more we find out how ignorant we are, how multi-form and multi-sided is this mind of man. When I was a boy, I used to criticize the ascetic practices of my countrymen. …… I feel that I have no right to judge.
Sometimes I wish that, in spite of all their incongruities, I had one fragment of their power to do and suffer. Often I think that my judgment and my criticism do not proceed from any dislike of torture, but from sheer cowardice – because I cannot do it – I dare not do it.”
Source: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda – Vol.2
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