Sundry Sayings on Interpersonal Relations

·      You need to be charitable not only towards others but towards yourself, too.

·      To acknowledge sincerely the presence of someone is itself a great act of charity.

·      All creatures crave company (though not all the time, of course!).

·      Don’t do for others what they should do for themselves.

·      You can’t really rise by trying to put others down.

·      If you can’t get along with your neighbours, it is unlikely that you will be able to get along with other people.

·      Try to depend on other people as little as possible.

·      If you are a burden on others, they might despise you.

·      How blind we can be to our own faults, and how aware we can be of the faults, real and/or imaginary, of others!

·      Try never to miss an opportunity to meet, listen to or even just be in the presence of wise people.

·      Being silent in the presence of a fool is sometimes better than trying to talk sense with them.

·      Praying for someone can be the best way you can help them.

·      Learn the fine art of saying ‘No’ as well as the fine art of saying ‘Yes’.

·      Doing the work that others should be doing is harming, not helping, them, and harming yourself, too.

·      For all creatures on Earth: Neither one-sided dependence, nor full independence, but, rather, interdependence.

·      You just cannot stop the same air that is breathed from out of a neighbour whom you do not like from possibly entering you by your breathing it in, thereby causing him to become, in a sense, an integral part of you.

·      Rush to ask for forgiveness.

·      When you are mean to someone or when you are kind to them, you are also being mean or kind, as the case may be, to yourself.

·      Don’t tolerate consistent disrespect from someone, but handle your response sensibly.

·      If someone behaves badly with you, don’t let yourself mirror their behaviour. Otherwise, you will behave like them, and how truly awful that would be!

·      At least some of the wealth you leave behind, if not all of it, should be bequeathed to the poor or to one or more other such worthy cause.

·      If you try to change others you may likely hurt yourself in the process.

·      That some person can fill the deep vacuum in your heart for all time to come is one of the greatest and most deceptive myths humans have been a victim of for centuries.

·      If you want friends, be friendly with others. If you want to be happy, make others happy. If you want wealth, share of your existing wealth with others.

·      Giving vent to anger, no matter how justified you might feel at that moment, is bound to rebound on you.

·      Thank a person for a favour received from them as soon as possible. Don’t delay. What if you die before you thank them?

·      If you can’t be of benefit to other beings, at least do not harm them or become a burden on them.

·      How many people do you think might be genuinely sad when you die?

·    When you are on your deathbed, ask forgiveness of the living for the wrongs you may have done to them. Likewise, when a person you know is likely to die soon, ask them for forgiveness for the wrongs you may have done to them.

·      Someone who tries to put you down is only putting themselves down.

·      Think also of the good that a person may have done to you if you sometimes dwell on the hurt yo think they have caused you.

·      Set boundaries for yourself vis-à-vis others and respect them. If you don’t respect these boundaries, you cannot expect others to.

·      You can’t give joy to others if you deny it to yourself, even in the name of serving others.

·      Try to avail of every opportunity you get to see, hear or meet people who have made a significant contribution to the stock of goodness in the world.

·      If you are not able to contribute much to a good cause, you can support those who are doing so by praying for them or through a smile, a greeting, a few good words.

·      Trumpeting others’ faults, real or imaginary, is often a ruse to conceal one’s own faults, even from oneself.

·      It is in how a person treats those whom they consider lower than them or subordinate to them more than in how they treat someone whom they consider higher than or superior to them that their character is revealed.

·      You will likely find that people begin to behave with you in the same way as you behave with them.

·      If a guest comes to your home, treat the occasion as a precious blessing.

·      If you want someone to treat you with respect you must treat them with respect.

·      You are under no obligation to listen to someone who consistently engages in negative talk. If you can’t ask them to stop, move away. Don’t feel bad if you leave their presence; yet, do so as politely as possible.

·      Make yourself available to be of positive use to others.

·      Try to befriend people from backgrounds very different from yours. That is a great way to grow in Oneness.

·      When you enter a space (a hall, a vehicle or whatever) where there are other people present, in your mind send blessings to all of them.

·      If someone asks you for money and you don’t feel the prompting to accede to their request, you can pray to God for them and their need and then tell them that you have done so.

·      You can emulate someone whom you find inspiring, but that does not mean you must imitate them.

·      To feed a hungry creature—one can hardly think of anything more virtuous than that.