The Asset that Wins Affection

they too would have been protected by their own quality. Just as virtue in a thing wins support for its cause, so virtue in humans has the same effect. It wins appreciation from strangers. It even wins friends from the enemy camp. The Taj Mahal's virtue lies in its beauty, while a human being's beauty lies in a virtuous nature. But a person's beauty should not be like that of a snake—a beautiful appearance marred by a venomous sting. How do people "sting"? By presenting a challenge to others’ political and economic interests; by repeatedly resorting to violence in their dealings with others; by constantly alienating people with senseless, impulsive actions. Any virtue that one might have is cancelled out by such a "sting", and prevents one from winning people's affection. It is the Taj Mahal's silent beauty that has won people's hearts. Who would have time for it if, in all its beauty, it tormented those who looked upon it? Initial Preparation A term well-known to people in the textile industry is pre-treatment. Pretreatment is the process which coarse cloth is put through so that it can be worked into a fine, finished product. Without pre-treatment, cloth is not suitable for further processing and cannot ever therefore have any fineness of texture. For instance, cloth has to be dyed. But before the dye can be added, the cloth has to be cleaned. This cleaning is the "pre-treatment" for dying. If the cloth is not properly cleaned in preparation for dying, the colour will bleed. Besides, colour does not stand out on cloth which has not been thoroughly cleaned in advance. It is estimated that about 70% of the rejected cloth