A young man was riding his
bicycle along a road in an Indian village, early in the morning. A speeding car
hit the cycle and there was a shower of pieces of fresh flesh all around. The
cycle fell into a bushy ditch by the side of the road. People rushed to the
scene of the accident. Everyone was moved by the gravity of the accident. The
driver stopped his car and was speechless as the helpless victim appeared to
have been reduced to a heap of bleeding flesh. Women cried aloud. Someone
called the police and their vehicle reached the scene.
Suddenly a policeman observed that the bicycle
in the ditch was moving upwards slowly. He reached the spot and was surprised
to see a person trying to push the bicycle up from the ditch. A young man came
out of the ditch and was identified as the person who worked in the hotel
nearby. On questioning, he told that he was the cyclist who was hit by the car
and flung into the ditch along with his bicycle. He had only minor injuries. The
people were confused about the origin of the scattered pieces of flesh.
The cyclist replied, “That was from the basket
that was strapped to the carrier of my bicycle. It contained pieces of meat
which I was carrying to the hotel from the slaughterhouse.” The basket was obviously shattered by the
crash and the pieces of meat spread as a shower and were scattered all around,
frightening everyone.
A moment of
misunderstanding or misinterpretation may be very disastrous and may lead to
erroneous or dangerous conclusions. Appearances can be deceptive.
It is wrong to draw conclusions until we know all the facts. His Grace the Most
Rev. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan and former Head of
the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, once remarked humorously, “Three unmarried girls
are responsible for most of the troubles in the world. These miscreants are: Misunderstanding,
Misinterpretation and Misrepresentation.” Because these three words start
with ‘Mis’, they were described humorously by the Metropolitan as ‘Miss’
troublemakers.
Prejudice, discrimination, racism and
judgement by external appearances have plagued humanity for centuries. Such
biased judgements do not reflect truth or reality. God does not show partiality
or favouritism. God judges everyone by the same standard. God expects us to
behave like Him. We must use intelligent interpretations and just
judgement to arrive at sensible conclusions and wise decisions.
.....................................................................................................
©
By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Darsana Academy,
Kottayam-686001, Kerala, India ( Former Professor, Cochin University of Science
& Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India), Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's
Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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