My 3 Principles

I was reading Swamiji’s book “A Fistful of Wisdom” today. This simple and beautiful book is one of my all time favourites. Although I have read it many times, each time I read it, it’s like a  new nugget of wisdom is dropped into my mind with every read. 

In this chapter “A Moral Dilemma”, Swamiji says “Can you lead your life in absolute black and white? Probably not. But you can have your principles.” 

Quoting Swamiji..

I don’t believe morality is absolute, but when you violate your own principles, you place on yourself the same burden as an immoral act. You can’t escape from yourself. You can only forgive yourself if you don’t repeat it. I always encourage everyone to write down their principles – their top three principles. It always helps to know what we stand for. Decision making becomes somewhat easier then.

Till now, I haven’t actually given a  thought to my principles. But reflecting on Swamiji’s words, I realised that unless we have some principles we strongly stand for, making tricky decisions in life will always be based on some justifications our mind comes up with, which may not actually be in accordance with what we “really” want. And that might cause us to take a wrong decision and later feel guilty about it. So why not put our principles in writing, so that we might actually be able to use them as a guidepost when faced with indecisiveness?

So here are the top 3 Principles in my Life. 

1. Truth 

I will always stick to the truth in words and actions. I will not perform any act which I will have to cover up with lies. Sometimes speaking truth can be painful to both the speaker and the listener, in such cases I will try to make it as gentle as possible to the listener. 

2. Kindness and empathy 

I will always try to analyse every situation not only from my point of view, but also from the other person’s view point, and try not to judge them, but treat them with love. Sometimes, this can be tricky, especially when the other person might actually try to take advantage of the situation. In such cases, I will be firm, so as not to be stepped upon, but I won’t forsake kindness. If I forget how to be kind, how can I be like Swamiji, who is the very ocean of kindness and compassion?

3. Dedication of action to Bhagwaan 

In the end, for every act I perform, I will constantly try to remind myself, that this “I” is but a mere instrument. It is Bhagwan alone who is performing the action. And it is He alone who is entitled to the results too. This reminder will help me to keep my own self interest behind, and perform every act with the best interests of everyone around me. 

So these are my principles… Please do share your principles too ☺️☺️