Question: When I see other people's defects and imperfections I keep mulling them over in my critical mind.

Sri Chinmoy: If you are really generous, you can say, "Whatever little capacity I have right now, let me use to help those people." If you sincerely sympathise with them because they have these defects, immediately the power that you have to do the right thing, to do the divine thing, will go to them as an additional help to their own capacity. If you sympathise, you are doing absolutely the right thing. Sympathy is nothing but expansion of your consciousness-light.

But if you enjoy thinking of others' imperfections, you will have an extra load to carry on your own shoulders. If you cherish the thought of their imperfections, then you are inviting and welcoming these things into your own nature. Already you have at least a little imperfection, but your load becomes even heavier if you think of the imperfections of others. If you remain neutral, if you say, "I have enough problems of my own. These are their responsibility," then automatically they will have to carry their own loads.