Do Unto Others What You Would Have Others Do Unto You

They are such simple words, yet so difficult to follow!

One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality as described by the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Each and everyone who dwells upon this earth has an equal right to be here.

Today, living in a world, where we are habitual to feeling insecure, it is very important that we try to connect with this basic moral which the nobles have been preaching since ancient times. And for this, we definitely need to change our thinking orientation towards fellow human beings and bring about a significant change in our attitude towards the world at large.

True, religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. However, all of these groups promote 'Ethic of Reciprocity'. The most commonly known version in North America is the 'Golden Rule' of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you." The greatest failure of organized religion is its historical inability to convince their followers that the Ethic of Reciprocity applies to all humans. Religions should stress that their members use the ethic of reciprocity when dealing with persons of other religions, other gender, other races, etc. Only when this is accomplished, religion-related oppression and mass murders will cease.

We need to overview the present situation and the consequent results with a moral and social bent of mind for the betterment of mankind as a whole. And for the whole outcome to be positive; for the whole ocean to be pure, it is very important that every drop of water should be pure. So grassroot efforts have to be taken to improve each and every section of the society. The mental frame of each and every one has to be transformed and everyone should be made to realize that unless and until every single person doesn't change his attitude towards others, it is impossible to end the chain of hatred and reciprocation of the same. Vindictiveness is something which should be urgently discarded from our thoughts. Do two wrongs make a right? For example, let us say that the cashier at the store is rude to you, so you are rude back. Then she is rude to the next person in line, and that person is rude back to her. Now, let's say that, instead of being rude in return, you smile and with love in your heart, you are kind to her. There is a good possibility that you have just stopped the cycle that would have gone on endlessly. It's highly likely that cashier became rude because someone was rude to her first. So, learn to recognize the darkness; and rather than meet darkness with darkness, meet the darkness with light. Efforts should be taken to forget whatever evil has taken place, keeping in mind that it is God who will belt out the appropriate punishment. Our job is to forgive all such elements in our society and try to show them a new line of thinking.

The human religion enunciated by the philosophy of 'Anuvrat 'Anushasta Tulsi, is a good solution to many of the problems. He said, "The religion which does not bring about a change in man's life, which does not impart peace to him, deserves to be thrown in the river Ganges rather than carried on as a burden on one's shoulders. Rituals or idol worship alone are not enough unless one's conduct also gets transformed. Unless one is righteous and honest, both to him and others, and leads a value oriented life, he is not religious despite his proclamation". So, Anuvrat only lays emphasis on the fact that an individual should endeavour to preserve the purity of his life and character.

Then, two commandments can really make a difference in our thoughts, if we stick by them.

1. To love God with all your heart

2. To love your neighbours as you would love yourselves

We fuss and fight about the 10 commandments. We theorise and philosophise over them, trying to decide if there is a difference between a little fib and a lie, and whether "thou shall not kill" means in war, self-defence or in capital punishment! And all the while, we simply choose to ignore the two commandments about love. Does this make any sense?

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This also means that if we were homeless and hungry, we would wish for someone to reach out to us on more than just one day a year. So instead of just practicing charity on select days, some time should be included in our priorities daily for those who truly need our help. Considering the environment aspect also, our unscrupulous and unwise fiddling with nature is creating boomerang effects for us.

So, certain modulations are very necessary in our behaviour. Be kind, patient, polite, caring, trustworthy and honest. Before you speak, mind how your words will affect the one you're speaking to. Before you tell that lie, ask yourself if you would appreciate that person lying to you. Before you are rude and inconsiderate, think how you would feel in that situation. Always imagine yourselves to be walking in the other person's shoes before doing anything and then you would realize what ought not be done. If you have offended someone, be humble and make a heart-felt apology. And then strive to not offend again. But never apologise when you have no intention of correcting your errors. Make your words actually meaningful. Do what you say.

Right now, the world is in desperate need of love, peace and true relationships. Our love for other humans should be equivalent to God's love for us. Truly, the heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form. So let us follow the words of wisdom by our scholars of yore -'Prem' (love), 'Sach'(truth), 'Chit'(conscience), 'Anand'(happiness) and spread smiles and light.