EXAMPLE IS BETTER THAN PRECEPT
There are two ways in which we can teach or influence others: one is to tell them what they should do and the other is to show them by our own examples what they should do. Each method has its own use, and quite often one method helps the other. However, there are people who preach a lot but do not follow themselves, what they preach. They will tell others to work hard but will themselves remain perfect examples of laziness. They will preach the glory of a virtuous life whereas they themselves lead sinful lives. In other words, they do not practice what they preach.This is hypocrisy and such peoplee hyprocrites. Hyprocrisy cannot do any good to an individual or a society.
If a general asks his soldiers to be patriotic, brave and selfless but himself indulges in treachery, cowardice and asking others to keep their hands away from other people's property, or a liar telling others about the need for truthfulness can, at best, be a laughing stock only. On the contrary, Gandhiji became an object of world-wide admiration, because he preached the ideals of truth and non-violence and himself followed these ideals with devotion. Similarly, Lachit Barphukan
could inspire his fleeing soldiers to stand back and fight courageously at the battle of Saraighat, because he himself advanced to meet the Moghuls even though he had been burning red with fever.
So it is most essential that leaders and teachers of all kinds should practise what they preach if they want to win the confidence and trust of others. Similarly, parents must be models of virtue and dutifulness if they want their children to be virtuous and dutiful. Unfortunately, we have too much preaching and too few examples in our society. This is perhaps, one of the important reasons for our backwardness as a nation.
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