Monkey Reflection

Sitting in the park I was noticing a monkey playing on a nearby tree.  It climbed down and sat on a bike parked by the tree. Looking at his own reflection in the mirror the monkey was puzzled. It tried to look everywhere for the other monkey. It also went behind the mirror. Angry he started pulling the mirror and vigorously moving it until the owner of the bike hushed it away.

I was not the only spectator at the scene and we all were laughing at the silly act of the monkey. However, the anger and irritation along with the amazement of the monkey on seeing its own reflection reminded me of a thought I had read few days ago. “Everything that irritates you about others is your key to understanding yourself. What angers you in another person is an unhealed aspect of your own self. If you had already resolved that particular issue, you would not be irritated by its reflection back to you.”

It’s common wonder that we are irritated to see behaviour that is not according to our expectations. And like the monkey we fail to identify the behaviour to be the reflection of similar behaviour or attitude within ourselves. For instance, when someone goes around announcing their first rank, it may be simply because they are just too excited about it and wish to share their happiness with everyone they meet. Just like a little child goes around showing their new toy to everyone. But, if we feel that they are boasting, then the tendency to boast is actually hidden within us. And these hidden impurities within us manifest themselves in the face of our feelings towards others. It can serve as a good check on our heart, before we declare our judgement about others.

These imperfections within us make us very human. It is not easy to be all kind all loving and all good all the time. However, there is no loss trying to change our feelings for others. It will only help us love them better, and keep our heart free from unwanted impurities. As kids we found it so easy to forgive and forget, and get back to loving one another, just because our heart was free of impurities and filled with innocent love. I believe by identifying and trying to remove these impurities from our heart, we can try to love with child-like innocence.

P.S: I am wondering how much a little monkey can teach with his silly act. True, Krishna can use anything at any time to teach us. Keep Looking and Keep Listening with your heart open.