Three Monkeys: The Untold Truth of a Family
Gandhiji’s three monkeys—one who sees no evil, one who hears no evil, and one who speaks no evil—are not just a teaching, but a philosophy. But when this philosophy becomes entangled in family relationships, its meaning changes. This is the story of one such family, where these three monkeys wrote a unique tale of love and misunderstanding.
This is the story of Mr. Ramswaroop, a retired teacher, and his two sons, Vivek and Sumit.
Ramswaroop was an idealistic man who followed Gandhiji’s principles. A small statue of Gandhiji’s three monkeys was always kept in the main room of his house. He always taught his sons, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. This is the essence of life.”
The eldest son, Vivek, was a perfect shadow of his father. He was quiet, obedient, and a reckless observer. He was like the first monkey who “sees no evil.” He believed that to maintain peace in the home, it was sometimes wise to ignore problems even when they were visible.
The younger son, Sumit, was a rebellious and truth-loving boy. He believed that ignoring injustice was cowardice. He always spoke the truth, no matter how harsh it was.
Another important character in this story is Vivek’s wife, Anjali. Anjali was a sensitive and self-respecting woman who was deeply troubled by her husband’s “ignoring everything” nature.
The family conflict began when Ramswaroop ji transferred all his property and ancestral home to Vivek, thinking that the eldest son would take care of the family. He left Sumit with just a small amount of cash, leaving him with his responsibility.
Sumit was deeply hurt by this decision. “Father, this is injustice!” he said. “You always taught us equality, but today you yourself have discriminated against us.”
Ram Swaroop ji closed his eyes, as if he hadn’t heard anything. “Don’t listen to anything bad”—that was their way of avoiding difficult questions.
Vivek, who was standing nearby, remained silent. He saw the pain in his brother’s eyes, but he said nothing. “Don’t see anything bad,” he thought, “it was better to remain silent for the peace of the family.”
That day, a misunderstanding drove a deep wedge between the two brothers. Sumit felt betrayed by both his father and brother. He left home in anger.
Years passed. Sumit, with his hard work, started a small business in the city. He never returned home.
Meanwhile, Vivek and Anjali lived at home. Anjali watched Vivek turn a blind eye to every problem at home. Whenever relatives taunted, or a neighbor said something unkind, Vivek would always say, “Leave it, Anjali. What do we have to do with it? If you see anything bad, only evil will come to your mind.”
Anjali felt suffocated by all this. “Why do you always act like Gandhiji’s monkey?” One day, she broke down in tears. “Sometimes, not seeing evil is encouraging it. What happened to Sumit Bhai Sahib was wrong, and you remained silent!”
That day, a rift also developed in Vivek and Anjali’s relationship.
The turning point in the story came when Ramswaroop ji fell seriously ill. He had to be admitted to the hospital, and the doctor told him he urgently needed blood. His blood type was very rare.
Vivek called everywhere, but he couldn’t find blood anywhere. He felt helpless and broken.
In that difficult time, Anjali made a big decision. She found Sumit’s number from her mother-in-law’s old diary and called him.
“Sumit,” she said in a trembling voice, “Father is very ill. He needs blood.”
There was a long silence on the other side of the phone. Then Sumit simply said, “I’m coming.”
Sumit had the same blood type.
When Sumit arrived at the hospital, the two brothers met for the first time in years. Vivek’s eyes held remorse, and Sumit’s eyes held pain.
Sumit silently donated blood. When he emerged, Vivek held his hand. “Forgive me, Sumit. I couldn’t be a good brother.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, brother,” Sumit said with a bitter smile. “You were just following the path your father taught you—’Don’t see evil.'”
Just then, the doctor arrived and announced that Ramswaroop ji was out of danger.
A few days later, when Ramswaroop ji returned home, he called his two sons and daughter-in-law to him. He looked very frail, but there was a deep understanding in his eyes.
He picked up the statue of the three monkeys with trembling hands.
“I’ve always taught you all this,” he said with a heavy heart. “But today I realized that I misinterpreted it myself.”
He said, “‘See no evil’ doesn’t mean ignoring injustice, but giving up the habit of finding fault in others. ‘Listen no evil’ doesn’t mean closing your ears to the truth, but rather ignoring slander and rumors. And ‘Speak no evil’ doesn’t mean remaining silent, but speaking even the harsh truth with love and respect.”
He took his sons’ hands in his. “I did injustice to both of you. Vivek, you should have spoken up. And Sumit, you should have forgiven. Today, my own blood has saved my life and made me realize my biggest mistake.”
That day, a new chapter of relationships began in that home. Ram Swaroop ji divided his property equally between his two sons. But more importantly, he gave his family back the unity and communication that had been lost years ago.
This story teaches us that principles are meant to guide life, not to break relationships. Sometimes, a family’s
