~by Sri Swami Sivananda
The
ethics of the Hindus is subtle, sublime and profound. All religions have taught
ethical precepts
such as: “Do not kill, do not injure others, love your neighbor as yourself,”
but they have not given the reason. The basis of Hindu ethics is this: “There
is one all-pervading Atman. It is the innermost soul of all beings. This is the
common, pure consciousness. If you injure your neighbor, you really injure
yourself. If you injure any other creature, you really injure yourself, because
the whole world is nothing but your own Self.” This is Hindu ethics. This is
the basic metaphysical truth that underlies all Hindu ethical codes.
The
Atman or Self is one. One life vibrates in all beings. Life is common in
animals, birds and
human beings. Existence is common. This is the emphatic declaration of the
Upanishads or Srutis.
This primary truth of religion is the foundation of ethics or morality or
science of right conduct.
Morality has Vedanta as its basis.
The
first thing you learn from religion is the unity of all selves. The Upanishads
says: “The neighbor
is, in truth, the very Self and what separates you from him is mere illusion.”
One Atman or Self abides in all beings. Universal love is the expression of the
unity. Universal brotherhood has its basis in the unity of Self. All human
relations exist because of this unity.
Yajnavalkya said to his wife Maitreyi:
“Behold, my dear, not indeed for the love of the husband is the husband dear,
for the love of the Self is the husband dear.” And so with wife, sons,
property, friends, worlds and even the Devas themselves, All Are Dear, because
the one Self is in all. If you injure another man, you injure yourself. If you
help another person, you help yourself. There is one life, one common
consciousness in all beings. This is the foundation of right conduct. This is
the foundation of ethics.
~by Sri Swami Sivananda - Publication: All About Hinduism
