Right Conduct

[Guest guest]

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has taught us through several discourses

what right conduct/dharma is all about. The purpose of this email is

to provide the essence of His teachings about what is right

conduct/dharma?

 

Right conduct is body of principles that are fundamental to social

stability and individual progress. If we review the sequence of

development of this world, God created nature and life came from this

nature. Initially the nature created plant and animals came from the

plants with the development of mind. When the mind developed into

intellect, human beings were created. At this stage human beings

should not get stagnated in their development and should seek

realization to achieve their God head so that cycle of development of

this world is complete. The priorities of mankind are to worship God,

serving the society with love and make individual spiritual progress.

Skill to follow right conduct even in a congenial situation is essence

of dharma. Dharma should never be renounced at any time by human beings.

 

Let us go into details of how to practice dharma. The first and

foremost is to synchronize our thoughts, words and deeds. We have to

learn to listen to our inner voice or voice of our conscience. Many of

us think that the right conduct is doing the right thing. It is wrong.

Even eliminating bad thoughts after monitoring and analyzing them is

also right conduct. As we all know, how we conduct ourselves in the

absence of others determine what is our character. We should learn to

do what is right as opposed to what is popular or what is being liked

by others. We have to practice daily code of conduct as much as we

breathe fresh air every few seconds. We have to practice thinking from

the point of view of other human beings and conduct ourselves

selflessly at all times.

 

How do we develop such habits to practice right conduct? We have to

practice introspection as a daily routine. We have to make all efforts

to connect with God head residing in us at all times. When we

communicate, we should conduct ourselves as per our conscience and

convey to the God head of other human beings. We have to learn to make

all our decisions with love in our heart and when love is applied to

all decisions, it won't eventually go wrong. Execute all our actions

with God in mind and leave the fruits of our action to God. Mind is

actually the door to control our senses reaching good or bad existing

in this world. Being in a good company definitely elevates us to a

higher level of being.

 

Why is it so important to practice right conduct? Human being is a

bundle of desires and Godly nature and in order to achieve our Godly

nature, right conduct and truth are the only way. Individual spiritual

progress is connected closely to the well being of the society. Human

beings will have to understand and appreciate that realization of

eternal truth is heavenly experience. Right conduct actually fosters

good character and if character is lost, everything is lost. Good

character elevates one to a higher plane of living and endows one with

Bliss.

 

What is ultimate righteousness? Being noble and compassionate to all

fellow beings with thought that we are all children of God is the

supreme dharma. Vedas preach the Universal values that enable us to

realize the eternal truth.

 

Bhagavan wants us to break the life of slavery. Leading life yielding

to the desires created by senses without using mind to control it is

slavery.

 

Jai Sai Ram