AAL AYL

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The Base for Values

 

Brahman or the Infinite Reality is indicated by the term

Satchitananda. Sat, Chit and Ananda are three aspects of the Universal

Consciousness. They are one and the same and form the basis of values.

Sat is existence or 'isness " All beings want to live and live forever.

Therefore, respect for life is a value. Value leis in saving a life,

not merely in refraining from killing. We have the story of Gautama

Buddha and his cousin. The cousin shot the bird but Buddha saved its

life. Both the boys claimed the bird as theirs. If the bird were

asked, whom she belongs to, would she not opt for her saviour?

 

Chit is knowledge. WE do not want to be exploited but have no qualms

about exploiting other people's ignorance. One man was selling watches

at a very low price. Someone asked him, how he would make profit, if

he sold the watches at such low prices. He replied that he would make

money by repairing them. He know that the watches were defective, so

he sold them at prices, which were impossible to match anywhere else.

This is how we deceive people.

 

Ananda is the happiness that each one of us desires. I want to live

happily and so does every one else. So what right do we have to

destroy or take away the happiness of another? All these three are

really one only. Therefore, we should work for the unity of all and

not create divisions.

 

The one who works for unity truly works for the propagation of values.

Divide and rule has been the way of the world. It is not only now that

this has begun to happen. We are very good at dividing ourselves and

letting others rule. Material objects and gains are the reason for the

division of political parties and families. It is not that we do not

know about virtues or values,but we give more importance to other things.

 

A very famous sloka from Mahabharata says that man is slave to money,

but money is slave to no one. Knowing all this, we still say that

there should be no corruption and that honesty is the best policy.

There is great deal of distrust in society. At government levels

vigilance agencies monitor the work of other departments. Despite

this, corruption does not stop, because even the vigilance people can

be open to corruption! In the absence of honesty and trust, we can do

what we like but it will be difficult to eradicate corruption. Again

and again we come down to the same thing that while we give greater

importance to power, pleasure or money, values will take a back seat.

We must learn to stand up for some values in life or else we will fall

for everything that comes.

 

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