One of my friends lived with very less income like a middle-class person. Many people made donations to him for the social work that he was doing. One day he got inherited a property from his father. Now he has a very good asset on his own.
He called me one day and asked for suggestions on how the building could be used for social work. I said this building cannot be used for social work purposes. Most importantly I said when people visit they will have a different conversation about the place. Knowing that this is your property now they think you are super rich. In the history of a person, the historical background also plays an important role, because human beings interpret the same story in different ways based on the background of the person. The integrity of a person comes under scrutiny. Some people might even accuse him that this building was bought through the donations that he received all these years.
Say a politician born with a silver spoon once went to a tribal hamlet and spent a day with them - tried to understand their problems and overnight slept on the rudimentary cot in one of the houses - appears like a tourist having fun in the jungle. Whereas another politician during the childhood days had seen many hardships and was in poverty did the same thing as above, appears to have understood the hardships of the people and considered a more committed person. What to do this is the world. Everyone cannot have a great story to be part of history. Time and space could make a person from hero to zero.
Similarly, once I know a person his father was in the Excise department of the government - he monitors the liquor businesses - it is considered as one of the most corrupt departments. Through his hard work, earned considerable income. But, everyone believed that his wealth is inherited from his fathers’ illegal income. It is a cursed life. Throughout the life, he was repenting for this situation and there is no way to escape.
Once, while going to Herat from Kabul over the Hindukush mountainous region, in the night the plane suddenly dropped several meters. Everyone in the plane was afraid, and the rough journey continued. I was watching the wings moving violently all the way. A young man my colleague was next to me, it was his second journey on the plane. He was pleading, I don’t want to die and I have not done anything much in life. Why he is undergoing through this situation? I explained, in this package of travelling together with other people on this plane - there could be good, bad and worst people. If the God wants to punish the sinner, and by chance, you are along with the same sinners, so for the sake of one or two good people, the God may not ignore the punishment - the plane might crash. It is an accident for the good and punishment for the sinner. So one has to bear the consequences as a package. Similarly, during other disasters a massive tsunami or flood, God might flush-out the good and the bad. The event may not be related to an individual, but the suffering will be there for all.
A leader surrounded by idiots and sycophants might appear to be a great leader, but they could be the reason for the same leader falling down to abyss or going to a jail one day. A great leader is the one who is surrounded by leaders. This is the sangath in the political parlance and the sangath matters.
