We all have faults. No one is perfect, and this can make living with other human beings challenging and difficult. Because of human imperfections, we all have a tendency to see each others\u2019 faults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the spiritual wisdom of the world\u2019s prophets, from ancient times until now, cautions us against this way of seeing others, and advises us to first look inside ourselves, to focus on our own faults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his mystical book The Hidden Words<\/em>, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha\u2019i Faith<\/a>, wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n O Companion of My Throne! Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Jesus Christ, according to Mathew 7:3-5, said something very similar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother\u2019s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, \u2018Let me take the speck out of your eye,\u2019 when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to author Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis, <\/em>most people have a tendency to overlook their own faults while focusing on the faults of others. In fact, this has been proven in numerous psychological studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do we magnify the faults of others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: How to Stop Focusing on Other People\u2019s Faults<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Haidt, the reason this happens is that while other people\u2019s faults are clear to us, we tend to look at ourselves in a:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 rose-colored mirror \u2026 We judge others by their behaviour, but we think we have special information about ourselves \u2014 we know what we are \u201creally like\u201d inside, so we can easily find ways to explain away our selfish acts and cling to the illusion that we are better than others.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Haidt also relates our inability to see our own faults with what Dorian Gray and Emily Pronin call \u201cnaive realism\u201d \u2013 we all believe that we see the world the way it objectively is, including our perception of others and ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps another reason we see others\u2019 faults is that we may place our own standards on them. If I decide to walk the spiritual path, I will inevitably need to improve myself, overcome my own imperfections and develop spiritual qualities like kindness and patience. But this is no easy task. In my sincere effort to improve myself, I will likely hold myself to a certain standard, and it is this same standard that I may also impose on others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can we stop looking at others\u2019 faults?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Baha\u2019i teachings encourage us to take ourselves into account each day. This age-old practice, which Baha\u2019u\u2019llah\u2019s<\/a> writings also encourage, involves reflection on our actions each day. This means weighing the things we believe we\u2019ve done well \u2013 and the things we could have done better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That essentially spiritual practice involves taking an earnest look at ourselves on a daily basis, and seeking out our own imperfections, as this quote from a 1912 speech<\/a> Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/a> gave in Boston so clearly points out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 search out your own imperfections and not think of the imperfections of anybody else. Strive with all your power to be free from imperfections. Heedless souls are always seeking faults in others. What can the hypocrite know of others\u2019 faults when he is blind to his own? … As long as a man does not find his own faults, he can never become perfect. Nothing is more fruitful for man than the knowledge of his own shortcomings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n
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