Thought for the Day - 11th May 2014 (Sunday)

Say you are expecting a train, a public transport that is supposed to arrive at 5 o’ clock. It is delayed by a few hours and doesn’t turn up until 8 or 9 p.m. How would you feel then? You first start to complain that the schedules of the trains and buses have no discipline and they don’t turn up on time. Then you start abusing the driver, the department, the government, and talk about it for a couple of days. When you complain so much about a delayed train or a bus which has no life, do you expect the world not abuse you, a conscious individual, when you do not adhere to your discipline, code of conduct and duty? All of you must understand the value of discipline and adhere to it consistently, and pass the test of discipline.

Katakanlah engkau mengharapkan kereta api, angkutan umum yang seharusnya tiba pada pk.05:00. Kereta api tertunda beberapa jam dan tidak muncul sampai pk. 08:00 atau 09:00. Bagaimana perasaanmu saat itu? Pertama-tama engkau komplain bahwa jadwal kereta dan bus tidak disiplin dan tidak tepat waktu. Selanjutnya engkau mulai menyalahkan sopir, departemen, pemerintah, dan berbicara tentang hal itu selama beberapa hari. Ketika engkau mengeluh begitu banyak tentang kereta atau bus yang tertunda, apakah engkau mengharapkan dunia tidak menyalahkan engkau, ketika engkau tidak mematuhi disiplin, kode etik, dan kewajibanmu? Kalian semua harus memahami nilai disiplin dan mematuhi secara konsisten, dan lulus ujian disiplin. (My Dear Students, Vol 3, Ch 4, June 21, 1989)

-BABA