“You cannot force someone to respect you; you need to work in a direction where others will respect you. It is not something you’ll get just because of position or money. It is a reward for your attitude, Nature, and knowledge.” My dad said.
“Does that mean you shouldn’t respect everyone?” I asked
“No, being courteous and respectful towards others is very important. One must respect every human being, but there’s respect that we need to earn as a specially distinguished skill. Don’t get confused.” He said further.
Every human soul deserves respect, and that respect is the basis of humanity. One must respect elders, and that’s genuine respect.
But, a person acquires another level of respect through his skills. It is respect that a person earns.
Have you noticed that when you find someone who is very dedicated, skillful, and efficient in his work, you suddenly find yourself respecting that person?
Also, when you see certain people who might have a good position but are not ethical or dedicated towards their work, you don’t find those persons respectful?
Here comes this saying true,
“Respect is earned, not demanded.”
You could have spent years in something, but you cannot force someone to respect you. You need to earn that particular respect through your actions, behavior, and knowledge.
Mere being a teacher or scholar is not sufficient; the depth of your knowledge in that field and how you use that for the benefit of society gives way to respect.
One story recently fetched my attention, Tulsi Gowda, a devoted environmentalist from Honnalli village in the Ankola taluk of Uttara Kannada district, received the Padma Shri award last year.
A lady aged 72 years may not be a research scholar or have earned a degree through college. But she is an encyclopedia of knowledge about forests. She quickly picks up the right quality seed and takes excellent care of plants.
She has planted and nurtured 40000 trees so far. Now, isn’t that wonderful?
Shridhar Vembu, a well-known name in the tech industry. He is a business magnate and CEO of Zoho Corporation. I read his name in the recent Padma awards and am amused by his deed.
Born into an ordinary Tamil family and graduated from IIT Madras to the owner of a large software company, he is now seen cycling through the small streets of Mathalamparai wearing a plain shirt and traditional white Veshti. He is spending his time schooling children in the remote area of Tamil Nadu and aspires to create a technology-oriented rural India.
Another story of Pappammal, a 105-year-old lady, also a Padma Shri award winner, has devoted her whole life to organic farming.
All such stories made me realize that what we do for ourselves or for society to benefit both is the way to earn respect. It is a way to learn, acquire and give something back to the community.
So, demanding respect because you’re someone with some position or a scholar isn’t the right attitude. We must earn that respect for ourselves after doing something that will, in turn, provide benefits to society.
Let’s understand this and build a wonderful society together starting from us.
आप इसे हिंदी भी पढ़ सकते हैं – सम्मान अर्जित किया जाता है, मांगा नहीं जाता!!
