Humility essential virtue for achieving bliss

“Ma’am, aren’t we doing our duty properly?” I was obviously not expecting such a question from the staff at a mall that tallies the cart items with the bill. I was getting my grocery items checked when a woman on duty asked me this question. The young woman was almost in tears. Without waiting for my answer, she continued with what she had to say. She expressed her opinion quite quickly: “After attaining higher education, people (customers) don’t treat those low in status with respect.”

It didn’t take me long to understand that she was talking about a couple who was before me in the queue. Actually, she was doing her duty conscientiously and checking each item against the bill. Irritated, the couple called it “rubbish”. I am a regular customer at the store and have seen the staff at the gate doing its duty devotedly. I tried to comfort her. I told her that she was performing her duty diligently, and her job was highly responsible and has to be done with great care and caution. It is because of her efforts that cases of shoplifting could be checked. My words of comfort calmed her down and I could see her expressions change. Before leaving, I wished her happy Lohri (it was the festival of bonfire the next day). This gesture brought a smile on her chubby face and mine too.

Though I started back, I knew the incident would not leave my thoughts until I find an explanation for the impolite behaviour of the couple. Does education really make you forget being considerate and polite? No, absolutely not. Then what is it that leads you to be discourteous and arrogant. There are two plausible explanations that came to my mind. First, it’s our value system that determines how we behave in a normal situation like the one mentioned above. Our day-today actions are also, to a great extent, a reflection of our values that we basically learn from our home/family. Second, it could also be because of lack of sensitivity towards others. Insensitive people do not realise that their words can hurt someone. I was satisfied with the two reasons for the time being and was reminded of the quote by Irwin Himmel: “No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is”.

OUR DAY-TO-DAY ACTIONS ARE A REFLECTION OF OUR VALUES THAT WE LEARN FROM OUR HOME AND FAMILY