Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Search for Truth
A young player, who had participated in a big football match for the first time, wrote to his father after his team had been defeated: “Our opponents had discovered a great gap in our defense line, and that was me.”
Such acceptance of one’s shortcomings requires courage, and it is something without which we cannot make social progress. There are very few defeats which are not attributable to a gap in the line of defense. The best remedy is to accept that this is so, and in that way, the problem is half-solved at the outset. Once a defaulter has recognized his deficiencies, it is but a short step from there, either to allowing himself to be replaced by someone with superior talents, or to putting his best efforts into improving his own performance.
The most important cognitive and moral act in life is recognition of the truth. Faith is recognition of the greatness of God in comparison to man. Paying your dues to others is recognition of their rights. Repentance is recognition of the fact that the right thing is what to God is right, and that the wrong thing is what to God is wrong. The key to all kinds of reform in life is frank recognition of shortcomings. If a wrong-doer does not admit his mistakes when he errs–and he does so frequently–there is no way that he can reform himself.
The humble admission of one’s mistakes, followed by a rational appraisal of them is the first step on the road to success, as well as the search for truth. But it is rarely that the average individual manages to bring himself to the point of doing so. Whenever he is at fault, he finds it a psychological necessity to cover up his mistakes. His honour is put at stake. It is then that he stoops to lies, deceit and false arguments as face-saving devices. This can only lead to moral ruination. The harm done is often irreparable and in the long run he frequently finds himself forced to pay for his initial mistakes with his honour, reputation, career–sometimes, indeed, with his very life. If only people could swallow their pride sufficiently at the outset to make a candid admission of their faults, they could in all humility reset their course towards success in the search for truth and in life in general, with clearer vision and the will to make far greater efforts than ever before.