Living in society, you have to understand the interaction between the individual and society. It is a continuous process of give and take. The individual contributes to society and derives benefits from the society. This interaction may be understood from an episode from the life of Einstein, the great scientist.
(Albert Einstein)
In the ward in which Einstein was living, there was a girl who was weak in mathematics and was repeatedly failing in that subject. A friend suggested to her that if she went to Einstein, the greatest living mathematician, he would help her to learn the subject well. The girl approached Einstein and he readily agreed to give her tuition everyday. The girl was immensely grateful and gained confidence from Einstein’s offer. The girl’s mother, who had observed her daughter going to the great mathematician for tuition everyday, felt that the little girl was wasting Einstein’s time by asking him to teach her elementary mathematics. She went one day to Einstein and apologised to him for her daughter’s intrusion on his valuable time. Einstein told her: ‘Do not think I am just teaching mathematics to her. I am learning as many from her as I am teaching her’. Einstein was conscious that people who might excel in some subject might be lacking in general knowledge or common sense and knowledge of worldly matters. Even though he was a great scientist, he did not disdain to learn quite a few things from a young schoolgirl. This readiness to learn from any person or source is the real mark of greatness.
Einstein attached great importance to the kind of associates with whom one moved. He used to say: ‘Tell me what company you keep and I shall tell you what you are.’ If you associate with good people you become good; if you move with wicked persons, you become bad. The human life is a great gift from God. It should be valued as such and used for sacred purposes. (SSS Vol.20, pp. 150-151)