Who to Convert?

The Rabbi of Zans related:
"In my youth, as I was influenced with the love of God, I thought I would convert the whole world to God, but soon realized it would be enough if I converted the people of my town, and I tried for a long time without success. Then I noticed that I had still taken on too much and I turned my attention to the people living in my house. I did not succeed in converting them either. At last the revelation came: I must put myself in order and serve God in truth. But I did not achieve even this conversion."

In the first flush of enthusiasm, one thinks that people would listen to what one says, since it appears so very reasonable to oneself. But one discovers by and by that people are guided more by their likes and dislikes; what they do not like, they reject. What is not convenient to them, would not be acceptable to them.

One then attributes his failure to bring the other man to see his point of view, to his own lack of effort or incapacity to convince the other person and hopes that he will succeed with redoubled effort and by honing his skills in persuasion; perhaps he would succeed with another if not with this one. But slowly it dawns upon him that no one is enthusiastic or willing to be convinced on the strength of well reasoned arguments, and if at all someone is willing to yield, it is only when he is offered an inducement, or a 'free gift' in the modern advertiser's parlance. An honest man would fain resort to such tricks for 'selling' what he thinks should be accepted on its merits. He therefore abandons all hope of converting others to God.

The high ideal is now quickly scaled down to making a restricted attempt in respect of the people in his home town. Even this is found difficult and the target group is further reduced to those who are living with him and probably beholden to him. But he fails again.

Frustrated, he now directs his attention to himself because that appears to be one area where perhaps, he has maximum control. But to his amazement he discovers that even here, where he thought that he had the maximum number of options, he is unable to make any head way. The disobedient body and the unruly mind, are not willing to listen to his sage advice, and he finds himself helpless. Even his own conversion appears an impossibility. This very honest confession about failure by the Rabbi is a rare one to come by.

To establish order in oneself is no easy task, and this is much more important than serving God in truth, because one does not know either 'God' or 'Truth' except as words, for they have not been seen or experienced. So is the dilemma with 'order' because it is the present disorderly mind that has conjured up order, and such order is bound to be 'disorder'.

What one knows for oneself truly is the disorder in which one lives. Ambition, greed, anger and a host of other qualities are things which one knows in oneself, at least partially. One has never known them fully and totally and whenever they were glimpsed in oneself, one condemned them and escaped from them through various devices, or simply suppressed them. One was never on intimate terms with them, watching them 'in action', to see fully what they were doing to one, and how they were holding one in thraldom. If one gave them a close look, and understood their nature and structure, a natural and sweet order would arise of its own accord.

Now that the old order, which was really speaking 'disorder' has changed yielding place to the 'new', which has a spontaneous character unfettered by human thought, it can become a fit abode for the celestial visitor to grace it on occasion.

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