A Hindu saint who was visiting river
Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in
anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled and asked.
“Why do people shout in anger
shout at each other?”
Disciples thought for a while, one
of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout.'
“But, why should you shout when
the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to
say in a soft manner.” asked the saint
Disciples gave some other answers
but none satisfied the other disciples.
Finally the saint explained.
“When two people are angry at each
other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to
be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have
to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.
What happens when two people fall
in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, because their hearts
are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very
small...”
The saint continued, “When they
love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and
they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not
whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two
people are when they love each other.”
He looked at his disciples and
said.
“So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.”