True love is we stick together in "thick and thin". Especially when it's thin, when it's
troublesome. Then we should really bridge over the "troubled water". That's what they say in
English. But most of us fail the test, to ourselves, not to our partners. He might leave you,
he might stay with you, because you're nice or not nice. But you fail yourself. You leave
yourself. You leave the most noble being that you really are. So we should check up on this
to our family members or whomever that is beloved and dear to us. Most of the time in critical
situations, we just turn our backs and that is no good.
Of course we have our anger, our frustrations, because our partners are not as loving as usual,
or whomever that is; but he or she is in a different situation. At that time, she or he is in
mental suffering. It's just as bad or even worse than physical suffering. Physical suffering
you can take a pill or you can have an injection and it stops or at least temporarily stops,
and you feel the effect right away; or at least if people are in physical suffering, everyone
sympathizes with them.
But when they are in mental anguish, and we pound them more on that, and we turn our backs and
become cold and indifferent, that is even more cruel, even worse. That person will be swimming
alone in suffering. And especially they trust us as the next of kin, the next person, the one
that they think they can rely on in times of need; and then at that time, we just turn around
and are snobbish, because they didn't treat us nice so we just want to revenge. That's not the
time. You can revenge later, when he's in better shape. Just slap him.
Actually, at that time, the person is not his usual self anymore. He was probably under very
great pressure that he lost his own control. It's not really lost his own control, but for
example, when you are in a hurry, your talk is different. Right? "Hand me that coat! Quick!
Quick! Quick!" Things like that. But normally, you would say "Honey, please, can you give me
that coat." Is that not so? (Audience: Yes.) Or when you're in pain -- for example stomach
pain, heartache or whatever -- you scream loudly; and anyone who comes to talk to you, you
don't talk in the usual way anymore, because you're in pain.
Similarly, when you are in a mental or psychological pain, you talk also in a very grouchy
way, very cross. But that is understandable. So if we -- any so-called loving partner or family
member -- do not understand even this very least, very basic concept, then we're finished. Then
we are really in a bad situation. It's not that the partner will do anything to us. Whether he
does anything to us later or not, that is no problem. The problem is us. The problem is we
degrade ourselves, that we make less of a being of ourselves than we should be, than we are
supposed to be, or that we really are. So do not make less of a being of yourselves.