In defence of morality
"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" — Kahlil Gibran.
Pick up a newspaper or turn on a news channel, nine out of ten times we are confronted with some terrible news — loss of life through murder, violence, war, crime, disaster. Anything and everything seems hopeless and out of control. News like this makes one feel like screaming at the top of one’s lungs. It seems as if taking the life of another human being has become a game, nothing more. At one point in my life, I had actually given up on reading newspapers or watching any news channel. It left me with less bitterness in my life.
But despair is not the answer to these problems. Serving humanity through kindness, charity, good manners, good behaviour, honesty, integrity, tolerance, justice, etc., is the answer.
The Dalai Lama hit the nail right on the head when he said:
1) Universal humanitarianism is essential to solve global problems;
2) Compassion is the pillar of world peace;
3) All world religions are already for world peace in this way, as are all humanitarians of whatever ideology;
4) Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs.
One’s love for humanity does not manifest itself through words or feelings; rather good behaviour is the key. It is demonstrated through generosity, understanding, compassion, kindness, and a guiding hand that exhibits the willingness to love others. The primary motive should be to serve humanity and seek pleasure in other’s happiness. This in turn would enrich the world. Good behaviour is not just our obligation, it is actually essential for harmony in society and its proper functioning. If people become selfish in general, they will also inspire distrust and bigotry in others. It would only make everyone’s life harder if the signs of generosity or goodwill evaporate. People need to realise that it is not just an artificial moral theme that looks good in books but has practical use and everyone has to play a role in it to make it work.
Every human being, be they female or male, rich or poor, Muslim or non-Muslim, has exactly the same intrinsic worth. The essential value of human life is in no way connected to culture, geography, or privilege. The true measure of a human being’s worth is a person’s character, and not the oil under his soil. The great Sufi poet, Baba Bulleh Shah said:
Masjid dhaa dey, mandir dhaa dey, dhaa dey jo kucch dhainda
Par kissi da dil naa dhaain, Rab dilaan vich rehnda...
(Break down a mosque, break down a temple, break down anything that can be broken,
But do not break anyone’s heart, for God lives in hearts).
A sense to serve humanity will come only when we step out of our ‘self’ and when we think that all human beings are equal. It does not matter how one gives, whether teaching, healing, writing, or working in other areas, all that matters is that one steps outside of the ‘me’. We should not try accomplishing everything outwardly; our greatest achievement would be to accomplish something within ourselves. We can build empires, but if in the process all we have done is conquer territories and build monuments, it will all soon crumble into dust.
The importance of kind actions is stressed in the Quran, which refers to Prophet Luqman’s advice to his son: “O My dear son! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity, and persevere whatever may befall thee. Lo! that is of the steadfast heart of things” (31:17).
People need to love humanity because it will pay them back if they make gestures of goodwill and trust. Then society will have more harmony. We need to help the poor because they didn’t get the chance to be as privileged as we are, so we should try to put ourselves in their shoes and feel how we would have liked to be treated. Good human behaviour and charity for others is essential, because if there is goodwill in society, nobody will suffer more than they can bear.
Mother Teresa said, “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by: ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.’
Hungry not only for bread, but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing, but naked for human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room made of bricks, but homeless because of rejection.”
In today’s world, people are getting more and more materialistic, which is gradually making us lose our morality. We have stopped looking at the bigger picture and work for short-term gains that, in the end, come back to haunt us by worsening the environment for almost everyone who lives around us, including our own selves. The majority of people are only interested in seeking all sorts of means, bypassing legal and moral norms, to pile up their wealth. We humans have become so selfish that we no longer care for others or anything other than our own interests. Such selfishness has made it harder for everyone to survive by peaceful means and if we do not pause and reflect on the causes of such a downfall in moral standards and values, we will continue to go down the abyss to the point where anarchy will reign and humans will turn into wild animals fighting each moment for survival and killing and betraying each other at every opportunity, only to be killed and replaced by someone more brutal and selfish. The only way to absolve ourselves of this selfishness is through selflessness, which will only come to us through service to humanity. The privileged should be the advocates of human beings all over the world who, through no fault of their own, live in situations of perpetual poverty, pollution and oppression. They should do their utmost to give voice to the voiceless, power to the powerless, and confront the ‘powers that be’ who disregard human dignity. We need to let kindness flow from our hearts and lift the veils that obscure the compassion in our hearts. Spread love to wash away the ugliness of this world.
Pick up a newspaper or turn on a news channel, nine out of ten times we are confronted with some terrible news — loss of life through murder, violence, war, crime, disaster. Anything and everything seems hopeless and out of control. News like this makes one feel like screaming at the top of one’s lungs. It seems as if taking the life of another human being has become a game, nothing more. At one point in my life, I had actually given up on reading newspapers or watching any news channel. It left me with less bitterness in my life.
But despair is not the answer to these problems. Serving humanity through kindness, charity, good manners, good behaviour, honesty, integrity, tolerance, justice, etc., is the answer.
The Dalai Lama hit the nail right on the head when he said:
1) Universal humanitarianism is essential to solve global problems;
2) Compassion is the pillar of world peace;
3) All world religions are already for world peace in this way, as are all humanitarians of whatever ideology;
4) Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs.
One’s love for humanity does not manifest itself through words or feelings; rather good behaviour is the key. It is demonstrated through generosity, understanding, compassion, kindness, and a guiding hand that exhibits the willingness to love others. The primary motive should be to serve humanity and seek pleasure in other’s happiness. This in turn would enrich the world. Good behaviour is not just our obligation, it is actually essential for harmony in society and its proper functioning. If people become selfish in general, they will also inspire distrust and bigotry in others. It would only make everyone’s life harder if the signs of generosity or goodwill evaporate. People need to realise that it is not just an artificial moral theme that looks good in books but has practical use and everyone has to play a role in it to make it work.
Every human being, be they female or male, rich or poor, Muslim or non-Muslim, has exactly the same intrinsic worth. The essential value of human life is in no way connected to culture, geography, or privilege. The true measure of a human being’s worth is a person’s character, and not the oil under his soil. The great Sufi poet, Baba Bulleh Shah said:
Masjid dhaa dey, mandir dhaa dey, dhaa dey jo kucch dhainda
Par kissi da dil naa dhaain, Rab dilaan vich rehnda...
(Break down a mosque, break down a temple, break down anything that can be broken,
But do not break anyone’s heart, for God lives in hearts).
A sense to serve humanity will come only when we step out of our ‘self’ and when we think that all human beings are equal. It does not matter how one gives, whether teaching, healing, writing, or working in other areas, all that matters is that one steps outside of the ‘me’. We should not try accomplishing everything outwardly; our greatest achievement would be to accomplish something within ourselves. We can build empires, but if in the process all we have done is conquer territories and build monuments, it will all soon crumble into dust.
The importance of kind actions is stressed in the Quran, which refers to Prophet Luqman’s advice to his son: “O My dear son! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity, and persevere whatever may befall thee. Lo! that is of the steadfast heart of things” (31:17).
People need to love humanity because it will pay them back if they make gestures of goodwill and trust. Then society will have more harmony. We need to help the poor because they didn’t get the chance to be as privileged as we are, so we should try to put ourselves in their shoes and feel how we would have liked to be treated. Good human behaviour and charity for others is essential, because if there is goodwill in society, nobody will suffer more than they can bear.
Mother Teresa said, “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by: ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.’
Hungry not only for bread, but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing, but naked for human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room made of bricks, but homeless because of rejection.”
In today’s world, people are getting more and more materialistic, which is gradually making us lose our morality. We have stopped looking at the bigger picture and work for short-term gains that, in the end, come back to haunt us by worsening the environment for almost everyone who lives around us, including our own selves. The majority of people are only interested in seeking all sorts of means, bypassing legal and moral norms, to pile up their wealth. We humans have become so selfish that we no longer care for others or anything other than our own interests. Such selfishness has made it harder for everyone to survive by peaceful means and if we do not pause and reflect on the causes of such a downfall in moral standards and values, we will continue to go down the abyss to the point where anarchy will reign and humans will turn into wild animals fighting each moment for survival and killing and betraying each other at every opportunity, only to be killed and replaced by someone more brutal and selfish. The only way to absolve ourselves of this selfishness is through selflessness, which will only come to us through service to humanity. The privileged should be the advocates of human beings all over the world who, through no fault of their own, live in situations of perpetual poverty, pollution and oppression. They should do their utmost to give voice to the voiceless, power to the powerless, and confront the ‘powers that be’ who disregard human dignity. We need to let kindness flow from our hearts and lift the veils that obscure the compassion in our hearts. Spread love to wash away the ugliness of this world.
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