Guiding Light: How do we know what is to be done?

Guiding Light: How do we know what is to be done?

Swami Brahmavidananda SaraswatiUpdated: Thursday, November 03, 2022, 06:28 PM IST
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There are three factors we can consider in a given situation - The first consideration would be - Are my actions going to be in conformity with universal Dharma, at least in harmony with universal values of justice, kindness, mercy, honesty, integrity.

The second consideration is - What are my duties with respect to my specific roles? The Dharma shastras are full of elaborate descriptions. All of us have an idea which is in harmony with the roles that we are playing about what our duties should be.

The third consideration and a very important one - What does the situation demand? I am not talking about situational morality or situational ethics here. In any situation you find yourself, there is something that the situation demands.

To give a very simple example, If I'm walking on the road and I find some stranger falling down, I don't have to wait to be introduced to give the person a helping hand to get up and get back on his feet. Similarly, if I find a lady being harassed on the road or an accident victim, do I just take a video of it to put it up on Facebook, Instagram, etc or do whatever I can to make the situation better. Of course, if I am recording evidence, that's a different matter. Hence, we find that situations demand certain things. To recognise the expected response in a given situation I need to be very objective and clear in my thinking and also given to my spontaneity. What you do spontaneously is often the right thing as the situation demands. Of course there can be certain instinctive responses as well. An instinctive response is the role of the ego whereas in a spontaneous response we are temporarily keeping our ego away. This is a very simple way of what is to be done in a given situation. Of course, we can refine this understanding with more study from the Dharma Shastra and the Bhagavad Gita, which deals with both Dharma and Moksha.

The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com

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