Self-Righteousness versus Self- respect
Whether Parbramha or Lord or Allah, God is one and Righteousness
is a word attributed mainly to him and his chosen ones. His incarnation Ram was
called Maryada Purushottam an
embodiment of all good virtues, Son of God Jesus the righteous servant of god
and Mohammed the messenger of Allah. Righteousness is doing what is right in
sight of god and the qualities of being morally right and correct. The demands
for a moral and ethical conduct are so great that no man can ever achieve in
this world.
Righteousness
In religion right and wrong has moral overtones, in Societies and cultures
it is defined by the practices followed, theologists consider it as a quality
or state of being morally correct and justifiable, spiritualist say that god is
everywhere thus all are righteous so they search within, The literal meaning is
to be right in a moral way. These different perspectives, views and beliefs create
confusion in our minds and instead of following a path of virtues we get into
the business of right or wrong. Mr. Righteous in a way ends up Mr. Confucius.
Self-Righteousness
In trying to be righteous, this confusion more than
often leads us to behave morally superior to others and develop holier than thou
attitude. It does also lead to a thinking that my belief and conduct is more
virtuous than others. A belief that I know all and I am always right is
dangerous for your relationships, inhibits your communication skills, team
spirit and is a socially disapproved behavior. Best example is the character of
Ravana in the epic Ramayana who had all the virtues but had to pay the price
for his self-righteous ego.
Sadly, in modern world too, this attitude of I know
all and I am right has bred many corporate honchos, religious bigots, political
anarchists and social activists who perpetuated downfall of those corporates,
religious wars, vote banks, stalled developments and chaos in the society. Similarly,
the racist supremacy of these self-righteous characters had resulted in caste
wars in India and now the current arson and looting across United states of America.
Self-Respect
Basically, right and wrong as well good and bad is all
in our mind, both God and Devil also reside within each of us. To put in
scientific terms both positive and negative energies exist in all of us. Thus, it
is better to focus on immense good potential within us and consciously try to
become a selfless and self-respecting person, the virtues then are a byproduct of
your goodness and this continuous process helps you to evolve as a good human
being.
A self-respecting person will always respect others
views and their lives, empathic awareness in him seeks to understand than be understood.
Developing a selfless approach from within helps him to reach out to all irrespective
of caste, creed, race, religion and overcome the rich poor divide. This compassionate
and tolerant attitude helps in sharing ideas with others either for cooperation
or for mutual agreements and or agree to disagree.
In this materialistic
world, where morals and ethics have gone for a toss, it is a big challenge to
guard against self-righteousness as it breeds arrogance, ego, sins and falsehood
which is very dangerous to the society. Thus, educating more individuals to
become respectful, caring and understanding citizens of the country may not stem
the rot but at least minimize the damage and succeed eventually for a better
world to live in harmony with nature.
Most of us have
forgotten that Love is the essence of life, it is all pervasive and helps us to
win many and loose none. Cultivate it so that the Peace be upon all of us.
Satish Shitut
Jai Bharat
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