expert critics - परवाच्येषु निपुणः

everyone is always an expert at criticizing others. people don't know their own shortcoming, and if they do know, they act ignorant.

paravAchyeShu nipuNaH sarvo bhavati sarvadA ।
AtmavAchyaM na jAnAti jAnannapi vimuhyati ।।

paravāchyeṣhu nipuṇaḥ sarvo bhavati sarvadā ।
ātmavāchyaṃ na jānāti jānannapi vimuhyati ॥

परवाच्येषु निपुणः सर्वो भवति सर्वदा ।
आत्मवाच्यं न जानाति जानन्नपि विमुह्यति ॥

this is a very simple shloka, with simple words as well. we all have faced people who have criticized us, shown our shortcomings. most of these people are those who don't see a mirror before getting out of the house.

it is much easier said than done. why is it so? i mean, we know. we know it so well, we can give a full lecture to others on it for three hours.

there are a few reasons possible -
- we know it, we know it can be done, and the charm of actually doing it is not there anymore. but we have done it many times before.
- we know it, we just don't have the discipline or will power to see through doing it all.
- we don't know it, we want to cover it up.

interestingly, most people fall in the bottom of the pyramid :) the third category.
some one may ask, but why only these categories? some don't even say anything to others, and mind their own business. to that, the answer is, those who don't criticize others and mind their own business are so rare, even tigers are trying to save them! such great people are not seen in our midst, they are already somewhere near the pinnacles of success or peace.

for the rest of us, it is extremely difficult to restrain the tongue.

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and now the language aspects of the shloka -
(this shloka is from mahAbhArata, karNa parva.)

paravAchyeShu = para-vAchyeShu = in talking bad about others
para = other
vAk = root word for speech
vAchya = criticism, censure, reprimand (opposite of praise)
vAchyeShu = in criticizing (-eShu suffix denotes in in masc. and neuter gender)

nipuNaH = expert
sarvo = saravaH = all
bhavati = becomes, is, happens
sarvadA = always

AtmavAchyaM = Atma-vAchyam = self criticism, censure; one's own shortcomings
na = not
jAnAti = knows
jAnannapi = even if knowing
vimuhyati = act ignorant

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