During the time I lived in India, there were multiple instances when people showed me things like a furniture product, artwork, website or a presentation that they had created and asked me for my opinion. Since I felt that it was my responsibility to give them my feedback that could help them improve their creation, I would give them my honest opinion mentioning the errors or flaws that I had observed in their work. I found to my utter dismay that they got upset when I offered them my constructive criticism! On the other hand, when someone from Germany asked me for my opinion regarding something created by them, they would be extremely happy if I found faults and pointed them out to them! Due to their aim for perfection, they usually don’t look for someone who would pamper and inflate their ego through appreciation and lavish praises, but they look for those who would tell them what they could do in order to achieve a hundred per cent perfection.

Some time ago, I called a popular person in Madras whose YouTube videos on South Indian politics I watch regularly. I had noticed in a few of his videos that he claimed to quote from the Srimad Bhagavad Gita but in reality, they were merely things like, “Whatever happens, happens for good”, “What is yours today will be somebody else’s tomorrow” and other such stuff that one receives on Whatsapp but does not exist in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. My suggestion to him was that since he is a senior person considered to be well-read and experienced, he should spend about three hours to actually read through all the 18 chapters of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita at least once so that it would enable him to quote relevant shlokas concerning Karmayoga, self and mind control, social justice, self-confidence, fearlessness, devotion etc. and also rubbish allegations of anti-Dharma forces that the great scripture teaches casteism.

Instead of being thankful and happy to receive an important piece of advice from a well-wisher like me from across the ocean who has taught the Srimad Bhagavad Gita to thousands of people, he took to defending his position! He said that his aim was to spread good values and by saying that they came from the Gita, people would pay more attention to what he was saying and that is why he said such things like “Whatever happens, happens for good, etc.! He also said that as he was ‘old’, even if he read the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, he would not be able to remember much of it!

I thanked him for taking my call, wished him all the very best and made a final unsuccessful attempt to get him to read the great scripture at least once.

In my experience of counselling couples, I observed that most of them had relationship problems simply because they did not listen to what their partner said. People usually give boring clichéd advice to couples such as “Be patient and understanding”. However, what I suggest to people is to never say “No” to free knowledge and information! When a person suggests something to you, you are actually receiving thoughts and ideas from another human being with their own education and different kinds of experience. The information or advice is all the more important when the other person is of the opposite gender! A man can never think like a woman nor can a woman think like a man. Never! Therefore, when a man’s female partner tells him something, he should seriously consider the fact that he is receiving knowledge and information from a person of the opposite gender whose way of thinking is something he will never be able to experience. This means that he is receiving priceless knowledge that is otherwise impossible for him, for free. It applies to women paying attention to what their men say too.

Being more pragmatic and treating constructive criticism as a great boon that could lead one towards perfection, can greatly contribute in building healthier, enriching and more useful relationships, and make life more interesting and worth living. People who do not know this secret, invariably try their best to prove themselves right even if they knew that they were wrong!

Since the time I published the Srimad Bhagavad Gita in the form of an audiobook, I make it a point to mention it at the end of every post of mine. Studying the Srimad Bhagavad Gita cannot get simpler and easier than listening to it as an audiobook instead of reading it which might be difficult and uninteresting for people with problems of concentration.

Those who haven’t read the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, please do get a copy of my audiobook and listen to it multiple times. It is sure to positively affect the way you think and add value, peace, happiness, fearlessness, confidence and get you abundant Divine Blessings.

Remember: Never say “No” to free knowledge and information in the form of advice or suggestions from others. A clever and sensible person would normally receive the free information, process it in their mind and then decide whether to implement it or not. It is certainly better than trying to emulate their feline pet that shuts its eyes as it drinks milk!

May you all stay blessed.

Jai Shri Krishna

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Click below to go to our Srimad Bhagavad Gita site, where each Shloka is given in Sanskrit along with the corresponding transliteration using the Roman script and translation of all the verses in simple English.