In plain words
As dear as our country is to us, so dear is their country to them. We must cultivate that sense of equal regard. Not a country only, not a person only: we must criticise no one at all. When we like something we follow it; if we do not like it we do not follow it, and we keep quiet. In your thinking it may look different. In their thinking it may be good. Who knows what its inner meaning may be? When we do not know about it, we are in no position to criticise. In the Bhagavad Gītā it is said, ‘Adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ’. Divinity dwells in everyone. In what way could we criticise that divinity? If you do criticise, it amounts to criticising yourself. We criticise others for the kind of people they are; but should you not first find out what kind of person you are? When we take a small fault in others for a big one, it is good to take a small fault in ourselves for a big one. But we take our own big fault for a small one. Another's small fault we take for a big one. That is not good. Look at the good in the people before you. In this way we must see only the good things in the world.
Cut evil off while it is still small
Those who nurse hatreds bring danger on no one else but themselves. So we must stay on our guard. If someone does wrong, we must tell them. That is not wrong. But we must not criticise. Here is an example of this. There were the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas. The Kauravas kept reviling the Pāṇḍavas, who were embodiments of Dharma. They insulted Draupadī too. All this they were watching: Bhīṣma, Kṛpācārya, Droṇācārya. They knew it was wrong, but they could not speak up. By failing to speak, they became the ones who encouraged it. That sin clung to them as well. When I tell you all this, does that mean I am criticising you?