Everyone of us must have heard/read about the three wise monkeys, cliched in India as "Gandhiji ke teen bandar". To break the popular notion, they aren't Gandhiji ke bandar. If the monkeys had to chose a patron, they'd probably pick Confucius over Gandhi. Unlike the lions in our emblem, these three wise monkeys have their own names (credited to some etymological misinterpretation of course), Mizaru (who sees no evil), Kikazaru (who hears no evil) and Iwazaru (who speaks no evil).They embody a philosophy of living. A philosophy that most strive to live by.
Mizaru is a personal favourite, not simply because the name is much simpler to say, but i find him more intriguing. "See no evil". Three simple words, yet so profound. What do they mean? Does it mean, we blind ourselves to all evil? Or does it mean Bear no evil? The monkey misguides us, we are tempted to ape him.
Will evil reduce if we blind ourselves to it? Well our perception of it may change, but that doesn't change the truth. It's like sitting in an air-conditioned room in summers and saying the weather's pretty cool. There is a popular saying in Marathi that translates as, "One who bears injustice, is as guilty, as the one who does injustice". Extrapolating this, i would say one who bears evil, is as guilty as one who acts evil.
Talking of good and evil, may make it sound more preachy. Let's tone that down a little. Replace evil, by anything bad, any wrongful act, big or small. I'd rather reprimand a friend for a small wrongful act today, than hear about him in a criminal nexus tomorrow.
Small actions matter. Cause they send a message. They send a message about what we are, and what we are willing to let happen, whether we are willing to stop and change, or in the least to register a disapproval, or we stand by and close our eyes, and pretend to see nothing. Do we generate a society that breeds tolerance for wrong, cause when we tolerate small wrongful acts, they germinate into larger ones, till one day we are left with no choice but to blind ourselves.
Small actions matter, like not cheating in that trivial test, or not letting someone cheat. Cause it sends a message, whether we are willing to reward the honest or condone the dishonest! A benevolent blind eye might well help someone today, but we are breeding a parasite. A parasite potent to destroy what it feeds on.
P.S: In my personal opinion, see no evil , probably implies to not seeing evil in another person, or any action. To always see the brighter, better side of things.
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