It is said that life is a struggle. This is so true. We all face problems in our personal and professional lives that require us to make decisions but often we end up without resolving problems with good values. If we do not know what we stand for and where we are headed to, then we are wasting our time doing something we do not need to be doing. By taking this shaky path, we may languish in trouble because we did not let our lives be guided by values.
The holy books instruct us to follow values for good decision making and to realise a better life beyond limited horizons. We learn that self-obsession is tantamount to demanding respect, rather than earning it. Nothing of value comes without it being earned. Self-glorification is deceptive imagination of mind. Non-violence by thought, word or deed to any being must be avoided. We are children of the universe, each individual is unique in character and everyone is special in his own way. Never expect anything from others, and learn to accommodate others. Live and let live. There should be unity of thought, speech and action to reflect the inner accord. Observe external and internal cleanliness. Externality has its benefits to society by way of cleanliness of surroundings and personal hygiene. It creates purity of mind and enriches the soul. Internal cleanliness paves the way to freedom from jealousy, anger, hatred, fear, selfishness, guilt and pride.
We need to master the whimsical and impulsive mind by knowledge. Knowledge gained must help us overcome worldly allurements. We must shun the ego. Ego is ignorance because it hides self from reality and creates spurious knowledge. Knowledge is not created; it was and will always be there. Ego is a virtual defense but since it is based on illusion and self-deception, it increases our vulnerability to false self-projection. Threats to ego produce anxiety and hostility, its collapse results in self-contempt. In our relationship to the world, there is no room either for ego or self-condemnation. There are wonderful opportunities which we must make use of through body and mind vehicles as a source of learning. Enjoy the world as a field of discovery of knowledge without ego. Albert Einstein had averred: “More the knowledge lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge more the ego….”
In the ultimate analysis, nothing is really ours, all our possessions are ephemeral. Anything material has a beginning and end. The body has to wither away. Pain is a given and grief cannot be avoided. The purpose of life, therefore, is to live with it, taste experience, be useful, honorable; be compassionate and live well. He who dares to waste one moment of time has not discovered life. Benjamin Franklin rightly said: “Doest thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
Value-based life is efficient, healthy and it becomes full of cheer once you overcome the tendency to be idle or lazy. A person who has sublimated the desire for sense-gratification, who has overcome all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego, can alone attain real peace. Let values drive our decisions, let values be full of virtue and free of vices and let these good values define our lives.
