Talk:Titikshā: Indifference to Censure or Praise
By Vishal Agarwal
The Bhakti Yogī understands that all criticism and praise are connected with the material world including the body he has transcended. He gives his entire self to Bhagavān who is perfect and pure. Moreover, the Bhakti Yogī only wishes to please the Īshvara, not anyone else. Therefore he is not conscious about impressing others or worried about earning their critical comments. He remains steadfast on the path of devotion toward the Īshvara and is oblivious to what others say or think about him.
Story-Sant Lalleshwari’s Two Pieces of Cloth
Lalleshvari was a great devotee of Shiva who lived in Kashmir. When she turned 26, her mother-in-law and her husband alleged she was a bad woman. She was dragged by her cruel husband to the marketplace and insulted in front of everyone. Now Lalleshwari could take it no more. She left her home and spent all her time worshipping Bhagavān Shiva.
Lalleshwari began roaming from place to place, singing poems in praise of Shiva. But, most people abused her as she went down the streets begging for food. One day, someone threw a clod of mud on her, but she just did not respond, as usual. She just continued to sing the praises of Shiva.
A friend of hers, who was a cloth merchant, pulled her into his shop before she got more abuse from the people collected on the street. He reasoned with her, “Why don’t you live like other women? Or if you do not want to live like other wives, why don’t you live far away from everyone in a cave? What do you get from all these abuses and attacks when you come to the towns, singing about Shiva?”
Lalleshwari just smiled and asked him to get two pieces of cloth that were equal in weight. The shopkeeper cut and weighed two pieces of cloth, and gave them to her. She threw one over her left shoulder, and the other over her right shoulder. She said, “Today, I will walk through the town again. Every time someone abuses me, I will tie a knot on the left piece of cloth. And when someone praises me or blesses me, I will tie a knot on the right piece of cloth.”
When she returned that evening, it was clear that there were more knots on the left cloth, because many more people abused her compared to those who saw her goodness. The shopkeeper said, “See, I told you so.” Lalleshwari asked him to bring the weighing balance and weigh the two pieces again.
As expected, the two pieces again weigh exactly equal to each other. Lalleshwari smiled at the shopkeeper and said, “Look, although one cloth had more knots than the other, the two pieces still weigh the same. This shows that their difference is only external. In reality, both the pieces still have the same amount of yarn and the same amount of color. In the same way, things like praise and criticism, sorrow and happiness, pleasure and pain are all just on the surface, like the knots on the cloth. Therefore, whether I get more praise or more criticism, it does not bother me.”