Living By The Golden Rule
Commanding Right & Forbidding Wrong does not equal Fault-finding.
The Golden Rule or the Ethic of Reciprocity is found in virtually every tradition of the world ...
- "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you"
(Analects 15:23) - Confucius - "Respect for all life is the foundation of coexistence"
(The great Law of Peace) - Native American - "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. That is the entire law. The rest is commentary."
(Talmud) - Hillel - "You shall love your God with all your heart and all your soul. This is the first great commandment, and you shall
love your neighbor as yourself."
(Matthew 22:36) - Prophet Isa/Jesus - "The highest expression of faith is to love for others what you love for yourself and to dislike for
others what you dislike for yourself."
(Prophet Muhammad)
Common Behavioral Ethic
All religious traditions share at their root, this common behavioral ethic; all share in essence this Golden Rule directive. This rule can best be seen as a consistency principle, which tests our spirit of fairness, which in turn lies at the heart of social morality. This value makes human humane and is the foundation of compassion.
The Iron Rule
Is it not ironic that despite the universality of this compassionate rule many people who consider themselves "religious" are not necessarily the most caring. Perchance it is because those who preach the Golden Rule least practice it. Many (especially those in positions of power or authority) rather live by the Iron Rule = Might Makes Right. This Iron Rule mentality is well reflected in the words of Roman Emperor Julius Ceaser: "veni, vidi, vici = I came, I saw , I conquered."
The essence of the Golden Rule is ... being kind and compassionate
"Allah is kind and loves kindness in everything."
In a materialistic era; a world seemingly indifferent to caring about others, where ego and selfishness dominates; where war and oppression are daily headlines; there is a greater need for kindness than ever before. By kindness, however, I do not imply those actions of enlightened self-interests where one acts in response to the kindness displayed by others (an act of exchange for the benefit one has received), but rather as a moral duty that emanates from a caring heart. The poet Khalil Gibran said: "You give but little when you give of your possessions; it is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
Do unto others
Though most traditions and ideologies evoke this Golden Rule, many misuse it.
- Some to the extent, "do unto others before they do unto you", thereby implying harm.
- Some misconstrue it as primarily a rule of enlightened self-interest, "do unto others so that they too will do unto you", implying a rule of exchange.
The essence of the Golden Rule is not to merely treat other people well because it is to our advantage but rather due to the universal moral obligation to treat others ethically because it is the proper thing to do; not because of expediency but because of who we are and what we represent.
Hadrat 'Ali said:
" Make yourself the standard in social conduct (between yourself and others), love for others what you love for
yourself and dislike for others what you dislike for yourself. Do not wrong others just as you do not wish others
to wrong you, rather do good as you would wish that good be done to yourself."
The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith, popularized by Mother Theresa
- People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway. - If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
- If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway. - The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway. - Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway. - The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with
the smallest minds.
Think big anyway. - People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway. - What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway. - People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway. - Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God ... It was never between you and them anyway.
Relevance of moral principle
The ultimate goal of the Golden Rule is to infuse into human consciousness the vital relevance of moral principles in a manner that motivates us to pursue the best expression of our humanness. We manifest the Golden Rule only if we do all the good we can, by all means we can, in all ways we can, to all creation we can, wherever we can, whenever we can as long as we can.
Was it not Prophet Muhammad who reminded us that
"all creation are part of Allah's dependents, and the best of creation are those who are good to Allah's universal
family of dependents."
We have committed the Golden Rule to memory,
now let's commit it to our lives