Swami Vishwananda tells you today:

Once there was a boy. He was studying sculpture. So his father was his teacher, his father was a well-known sculptor. So he will study and after some time the father said “My son now it’s time for you to go and study further in this school”. So he went to school to study, he went to college to study and he became very, very, very good in the art of sculpturing and everybody was flatted him- Everybody. Whenever he will make beautiful statue, everybody was flatted him, you know? Say, oh your statue is so perfect, so good. But when he show this statue to the father, the father will always find something negative into the sculpture. Even if this people would say it’s perfect, it’s very beautiful, but the father would “No, it’s wrong”.

So, after years and years, the son start to think why my father always say that I have some defect in the statue?
So, one day, an idea cross his mind. He said to one of his close friend “Here, I have sculpture this beautiful sculpture, I would like you to bring this statue to my father and say that you have sculpture this statue and I will hide and I will listen.”

So, the friend brought the statue to the father of the boy and when the father saw the statue, such beauty, such finesse in the statue and he start praising the sculpture and also the sculptor. He said for sure who ever have sculpture this statue, should be a very great artist. And as he was praising, the son came out from the hiding and said: “Father, I sculpture the statue. I am the sculptor of this statue. I sculptured it. This is my statue. You always find defect in the statue, right now you are praising the statue. Tell me now what do you see as defect in the statue?

Then the father said “Ok my son now its time for you to know the truth.” He said: “This statue always you have carved was perfect, but I have never told you. From the beginning it was perfect, it was very good, but I have never told you that it is very good, for your ego and pride not to stop you. Today who you are is because every time that I have said there is a defect you have tried to improve yourself. But if from the beginning I would tell you yes you are right what will have happen? You would have stop your progressing. The ego will have taken place, you will have stop everything. Hearing that the son fall at his father’s feet and said “Really you are a great teacher” and from that moment he didn’t stop of progressing.