Everyone commits mistakes. No one is perfect. One day or other everyone commits mistakes. It may be big or small. It may be done deliberately or unknowingly. But whatever the reason for the mistake, whatever the circumstances, a mistake is a mistake. So, we say `to err is human’.

Sometimes we do not know that it is a mistake. We think that what we have done is right. Very late we release that it is in fact a mistake. Once it is realized, what should we do? We have to admit our mistake. We have to apologize for it. We must express our sincere regrets for committing the mistake. We have to feel sorry for it. But it is unfortunate that most of the people who commit mistakes do not admit them. They try to justify their actions or they try to put the blame on others. Such people do not have an opportunity to overcome their mistakes, or correct themselves. Unless they learn to confess or admit their mistakes or faults, they cannot correct themselves.

Therefore, we must be prepared to own up our faults or mistakes. We have to take the responsibility for our mistakes. Such open admission shows that we will try not to repeat the mistake. That way, we can improve ourselves and become free from faults.

In this context, we have to remember the life story of Mahatma Gandhi. His life story shows how he could become a Mahatma from an average boy. In this boyhood days, he too had committed mistakes. But his greatness lies in admitting his faults. Not only that. He had taken every care to see that he never repeated them in his life. It was this moral courage that made him a Mahatma. Such was his unique character.

One day Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi stole a little money from his father’s pocket. He trembled to pick his father’s pocket. But he realized it was a great crime. This realization did not allow him to rest in peace. He became restless. His conscience pricked him. It was too much to bear. So, he decided that he should never steal anything from anybody under any circumstances. He did not stop at that. He wrote a letter of confession admitting his mistake and swore that he would never resort to stealing. But he was not bold enough to give the letter to his father. So, he put it in his pocket secretly. The father was so much moved by the confession that he instantly forgave self-correction, Gandhi became Mahatma Gandhi.

So, let us learn to admit the mistakes done by us knowingly or unknowingly, and also to try not to commit the same mistake in our life time.