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Subject: what human values should i follow?
Replies: 0 Views: 983
killerme 10.01.11 - 01:11pm
Yama:
As a Hindu , I have to believe
in and accept certain basic
human values. If I can adopt
and practice them , so much
the better . These values are
sometimes referred to as
Yama : some scholars say
there are five Yama, otheres
say there are ten , yet others
say there are eight . On a
comparison of various views ,
the following emerge in
consensus :
1. Satyam : As a Hindu , I believe
that I should speak the truth .
Here , truth must be tempered
with kindness and compassion
when needed . If the truth
causes harm , when it may
sometimes do , it is better not
to say it . For example , it is
sometimes better not to reveal
to a terminally ill patient the
terminal nature of his illness .
This depends upon a variety of
cir tances including the
personality of the patient .
Individual cir tances , and
no general rule , must decide
which truth must be tempered
in which manner . Our great
Texts are full of many
discussions, ill*strations ,
stories, etc . , on this very
point. It is said , Satyam
Brooyat , Priam Brooyat , i . e.
the truth and the pleasant
truth should be spoken .
2. Ahimsa : A Hindu believes in
non -violence . This does not
mean vegetarianism , for there
does not appear to be any
reason for destroying plant life
if animal life is not to be
sacrificed, too . One reason a
vegetarian gives for not eating
meat is that meat comes from
violence -- Himsa; then , if
taking life is cruel , why does
he eat at all ? After all , even
plants have life and also feel
pain as well as pleasure . In
India , cows are milked by first
using their calves to begin the
flow of milk from the udder.
As soon as the first few drops
of milk begin to emerge, the
milkman forcibly drags the
calf away and collects the milk
to sell it to the pure
vegetarian (for some reason ,
the vegetarian likes to refer to
himself as pure !): Is such
sna*ching away of from the
mouth of an innocent and
helpless creature , all for the
pure vegetarian person' s
selfish consumption , not
Himsa?
No , the meaning of Ahimsa is
not vegetarianism. Rather ,
Ahimsa means not doing
violence beyond that bare
minimum without which we
ourselves cannot survive . As a
Hindu, at least I do not cause
untold suffering to an animal
by slowly bleeding it to death
in the name of religion .
Muslims have been known to
make very small incisions in
the windpipes of large animals
like camels and leave them to
die a slow , hours -long and
agonizing death .
Non-violence towards human
beings is too well-known a
concept to merit discussion in
a small article such as this
one .
3. Asteyam : This means not
taking that which does not
belong to one . Stena means
stealing (notice the phonetic
similarity between the two
words -- an example among
many hundreds of similar
sounding words across
Sanskrit and many languages,
indicating the widespread
dissemination of Sanskrit
culture all over rather than
Sanskrit borrowing from other
cultures . (And , for the benefit
of the vocational critics who
journey through life with the
sole self-assigned goal of
picking perceived holes in
others' arguments -- and being
vocal and vituperative about it
rather than counter /educate
with cogent debate -- yes, I
know about the common root
of Sanskrit and Latin , the
ancient Indo -European
Language et al. I submit my
statement does not contradict
this theory of a common
linguistic root). As a Hindu, I
will not steal or appropriate
for myself that which is not
rightly mine . Greed and
selfishness have no place in
the scheme of things of a
practicing Hindu .
4. Daya: A Hindu has compassion
and sympathy for all living
creatures . Hinduism is a
religion of love , kindness ,
mercy, selflessness and
rendering as*istance to the
needy even at great cost to
oneself .
5. Kshanti : This is an amalgam
of related virtues -- the
combined virtues of patience ,
forgiveness and tolerance and
withstanding suffering . As a
Hindu, I am catholic of
outlook , believing in a live and
let live policy . I am not a
fundamentalist or a bigot .
Religious persecution is rarely
found in the history of
Hinduism . When Charvak
propounded his anti-Vedic and
materialist theories, no order
(or the equivalent of the
Muslim Fatwa) was passed by
any religious head baying for
his life . On the contrary, the
merit of his scholarly
approach to his theory was
recognized (though the theory
itself was not accepted) by the
very people against whose
ideology he wrote and they
called him Maharshi Charvak .
Such is the catholicity and
tolerance of Hinduism .
Similarly in the case of
Gautama the Buddha -
although Buddhism is anti-
Hindu, anti-Sanskrit and anti-
Brahmin, Buddha has been
recognized as accorded the
place of the ninth Incarnation
of the Supreme Godhead
(Vishnu).
6. Arjavam : This refers to
simplicity , straightforwardness
and absence of deceit. A
Hindu is one who believes in
such openness and who is free
from hypocrisy . Kayena
Manasa Vacha (by body, mind
and speech -- this last includes
deed), he is one and only one
person. The Shantipaatha of
the RgVeda begins thus : May
my speech (this includes deed)
be established in (meaning be
in conformity with ) my mind
and may my mind be
established in my speech . . . : --
Aum Vaang Me Manasi
Pratishthitaa Mano Me Vaachi
Pratishthitam . . .
This was a prayer written
about eight millennia ago ,
showing the refinement of the
Hindu mind even at an age so
ancient . Which other culture
had such heights of thought as
early in human history as
then ?
7. Madhuryam: A Hindu believes
in possessing sweetness of
disposition and a pleasing and
pleasant personality. He is not
rude or impolite and comes
across as a balanced and
likeable person.
8. Dama : This is self-control , i . e. ,
the control of passions . A
Hindu does not allow his baser
impulses to the get the better
of him . He does not surrender
to the demands of his sense
organs to perverse limits .
9. Dana : This means to give , to
teach , to distribute , to share,
to purify and to protect . A
Hindu is ever ready with these
attributes. He gives till it hurts .
10. Akalkata : This means being
free of sin . In Hinduism , the
word sin is not used in the
same way as it is used in a
religion like Christianity . In
Hinduism , sin is not an action .
It is the reaction to an action .
The abovementioned nine
values prevent a person from
committing a bad deed (a
sin in the Christian sense of
the word ). This value of
Akalkata prevents one from
reacting negatively to
perceived evil . It does not
mean being proactive in
remedying the wrong . It
merely means not being
judgmental and condemning
somebody without a full
appreciation of the facts and
cir tances . It means not
adopting a superior , virtuous
holier -than -thou mental
attitude .
In one of our Texts, a story is
told of a righteous vegetarian
Brahmin who would leave
home every morning on his
daily work . His rounds would
take him along a certain
narrow lane in which there
was a butcher ' s shop. As the
Brahmin would pass the shop,
he would say to himself , My
God , my God , what a sinner
this butcher is . He kills many
innocent animals every day .
When both died , the butcher
went to heaven and the
Brahmin went to hell . The
butcher had not sinned
(because he did not think
about his actions ) but the
Brahmin had, by his reaction
to the butcher ' s actions. *
