‘Baba, why is it so important to do self-inquiry about one’s own self and one’s character?’

Baba looked at the sea for a while and then said a prayer and looked at Rudra.

‘All that which is noble and good comes from this simple art of self-inquiry. Not only does one know their strengths but even knowing one’s weaknesses and limitations creates a greater impact to their health of character. For example, a person starts to self-inquire. The individual realizes that he or she has certain inherent flaws. The person starts to work on correcting those flaws. What follows for every individual is a simple act of understanding that just as he or she is flawed, so are most people. If you know that there are many flaws within you and you are working towards correcting those flaws, you will come to the realization that everybody around you too has flaws. Now if you are working towards rectifying your flaws, you will understand how difficult it is to overcome these shortcomings. When you understand how difficult it is to overcome these shortcomings, even though you are trying so hard to go beyond these character flaws, you will slowly start understanding that others too are in the grip or claws of their inherent tendencies and their shortcomings. You will automatically become more understanding of not only their character traits but also towards your own journey to better yourself.’

‘So what starts off as improving oneself leads to understanding how everybody is on the same journey, some knowingly and many still oblivious?’

‘Yes, my monkey. The more you work on yourself the more you realize how hard the journey is and thus, you inevitably become more compassionate towards the flaws and self-centredness of others, as you realize that either they too are trying their level best or they are so oblivious of their own inherent tendencies that you slowly shall begin to wake them up too, to begin their individual journey. Thus, first and foremost you have begun your journey. You now are slightly more aware of your strengths, weaknesses, limitations and now you are also aware how steep the incline is of the climb and that it is many a time, one step forward, two backwards, and this process is not only for yourself but for everybody, so you begin to get more understanding too of others and yourself. This is the most important aspect of self-inquiry. It is not concerned with just your growth but it also involves the journey of others and your attitude towards their journey.’

Baba kept silent for a while and looked at the sea beyond. Rudra waited for Baba to continue.