Inherent Goodness of Humans
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
04 April 2026
“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
" Debdoot swarge thaake na, debdoot prithibi te-i aachhe."
-Kazi Nazrul Islam
(Angels are not in heaven, they're here on this earth)
I always wonder and look at those people a tad condescendingly who don't carry a pen while going out. To me, a man is incomplete if he doesn't carry a pen and a wristwatch. I read somewhere that the worst people are those who keep asking for a pen but will never carry it. They're indeed irritating people who come to banks and reservation centres without a pen and will shamelessly ask for it. After using the pen, they'll pocket it and go away!
A few years ago, I went to a bank in Poona. One elderly lady approached me and asked for a pen. I was carrying a very expensive gold-plated pen that was gifted to me by someone very close. Grudgingly, I gave her and forgot to take it back. Neither did she return or she may have forgotten to return. After coming out of the bank, I realised that I forgot to ask for my pen back from that elderly lady. I rushed back to the bank but that lady was nowhere to be seen. I felt crestfallen as my deep sentiments were attached to that pen. I cursed that lady and came back home dejected. I took a solemn vow never to lend my pen to penless pests anywhere on earth. Three years went by. One day, while I was entering a bookshop in Poona's M G Road, an old lady accosted me. She just held my hand and said, ' I was looking for you for a long time! ' Baffled, I didn't understand anything. Then that lady told me that she asked for a pen and I gave her my pen in the bank three years ago. She apologised profusely for not returning immediately but assured me that my pen was safe in her custody and she tried to search for me, but to no avail. This was a pleasant surprise to me!
She invited me over to her place on a Sunday afternoon, fed me and returned my pen with a letter of apology in chaste English. I never expected that I'd get back my pen and I forgot the face of that old lady. But she didn't. I still have that pen but I don't carry it in my shirt pocket any longer. Now I carry a rather ordinary pen lest I should misplace it, I'd not be so disconsolate. Some episodes get embossed on the palimpsest of your mind to keep warming the cockles of your heart. It's one such experience that'll forever stay with me and continue to gladden my heart and mind till I kick the bucket. I'll also remember this episode with a beatific smile because of the inherent goodness of humans. That old lady's heart-warming gesture shall remain etched in my consciousness. It made me realise that there was an angel in every human. We needn't look for angels in an imaginary heaven.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/inherent-goodness-of-humans-/d/139526
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