Learning on One’s Own
When you want a tailor to stitch a coat for you, he takes your measurements. The purpose of this is to understand the structure of your body, so that the coat will fit without being either loose or tight. But knowing only a few measured parts is not enough for him to stitch a well-tailored or standard coat. A tailor master has to know a lot more besides the measurements of certain parts of the body. This is because each body is shaped differently, and as such, cannot be measured with total accuracy. The tailor can only succeed in stitching a good coat if he is prepared to use his judgment about the unmeasured parts.
This also applies to understanding the other affairs of life whether it relates to managing a house or managing a religious mission. Whether it concerns the reform of a community or the communication of the message of religion, one can achieve success only when one has such devoted workers at one’s disposal who have the ability to understand things without being told every detail about them, those who have the ability to find a satisfying answer in every situation.
Those who only know the facts which are recorded in a list and think that where the list ends, their work also ends, can never achieve success, for circumstances can arise about which they have no prior information. Such situations call for people to understand things without having them explained to them. If they are not insightful enough, they should trust those who are responsible and are in charge of affairs, and listen to their advice.
Regardless of the mission if one does not acknowledge this reality, one will become disaffected for no good reason. Without knowing the truth of the matter, one will form a one-sided opinion, however unrealistic that might be, and then will resentfully distance oneself from the mission.
To make a mission successful, it requires a deep level of understanding and a big heart. Those who do not possess such qualities will eventually find themselves relegated to the dustbin of history, no matter how highly they may esteem themselves.
