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The Golden Rule
By karen | March 25, 2007
Many years ago, a co-worker used to always bring the same kind of cookies to all of the functions that requested food, you know, Birthday celebrations, Christmas time, just because we were bored and wanted to eat at work, those kind of occasions. These cookies were supposedly some kind of healthy concoction. I don’t remember them well. I just remember perhaps oatmeal, sunflower seeds, maybe raisins, I don’t know. They were okay. For me they were not the kind that I couldn’t live without.
But this person thought they were special, very, very special, so special that she could not share the recipe with anyone. The cookies were her “Secret Recipe” and no one else could have it.
I always thought that to be strange, to not share a recipe. I mean everybody has to eat and everybody deserves to enjoy and find pleasure in eating. It always made me feel good to share wonderful ways to prepare food and wonderful recipes. But to each their own.
What makes this story even more odd though, is that this woman was a “Born Again Christian”. She even had a bumper sticker on the back of her car “What would Jesus do?” I used to see that bumper sticker and laughingly think that Jesus would have shared the cookie recipe!
At that time I lived in a very small town and even though I do not want to go into detail or write extensively about this I will just mention casually that this town had a predominant and very controlling religion that the majority of the townspeople adhered too. Needless to say it was not “Born-again Christian”.
So it was very interesting to be an observer and watch the interaction of this “Born-Again Christian” woman and the townspeople. She would endlessly complain and try to discount their beliefs, saying that they were wrong and mislead and even worse. But the amusing and interesting thing to me was that she was every bit as pious, judgmental and unforgiving as they were but of course she thought she was right and they were wrong and therefore she was justified in her complaints of them. She actually said to me once when there was a perceived threat to the town that “God will protect my family but everyone else needs to take heed and be careful”.
So back to the bumper sticker, is that what Jesus would do? Only protect her family because they were the morally superior ones?
It seems to me that people tend to lose sight of the spiritual messages when they claim to be the only ones who are right or the only ones given the gifts of God.
I think that all religions can bring us closer to God. But when the religions push against each other and claim to be the only ones with the answers then they take us further away from God. The human Ego takes us farther from our spiritual quests than any other thing. All of the great spiritual traditions have said to “practice non-judgment” but people often do and they justify it through religion.
I believe that God has given us truth through many of the spiritual practices of the world. But I don’t believe that any of them have the exclusive and absolute truth. I don’t believe that there are people who are chosen above all others. We all have different paths and different lives and what works for me may not work as well for you.
I think that perhaps we should look more at our similarities rather than our differences. Twice this past week, the Universe presented this idea to me in a very distinct way. We have all heard of the Golden Rule or “Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you”. In two completely different situations my attention was brought to the fact that every major world religion has espoused this concept. Twice this past week this same list was presented to me. I feel compelled to share it.
Christianity: “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” Jesus—Matthew 7:12
Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty: do not to others what would cause pain if done to you.” Mahabaratha 5:1517
Taoism: “Regard your neighbor’s gain as you own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien, 213-18
Native Spirituality-“We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive” Chief Dan George
Buddhism: “Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Udana-Varga 5.18
Judaism: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary.” Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a
Islam: “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.” The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith
Sikhism: “I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.” Guru Granth Sahib
Baha’i Faith: “Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.” Baha’u’liah, Gleanings
Jainism: “One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated.” Mahavira, Sutravitanga
Unitarianism: “ We affirm and promote respect for the interdependence of all existence of which we are a part.”
Zoroastrianism: “Do not unto others what is injurious to yourself.” Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29
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God has given all of us answers in the best way we can comprehend. We are all special in the eyes of God. Perhaps we should respect each other, allow each other and rather than fight our differences, acknowledge and honor our oneness.
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This article is included in the Blog Carnival on Observations on Life. You can find many wonderful, interesting and inspiring blog posts this week at the carnival located at Anja Merrit.com
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Topics: Living the Power, Personal Development, Real Life |
March 26th, 2007 at 9:37 am
This is wonderful Karen. Indeed this is the Golden rule, if we all followed it how wonderful a world this would be. Thanks you for this inspiring post.
Alan
March 26th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Thanks Alan.
I think it is important to allow everyone to live and believe as they wish. Diversity is a wonderful thing and ridiculing others for their beliefs is crazy!
Allow the world to be the amazing and diverse place that it is!
Thanks for stopping by!
March 30th, 2007 at 2:41 am
It’s exactly what I always thought. Thank you for sharing the extracts from the different holy books.
March 30th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it! I knew I needed to share it!
April 1st, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Your article is excellent! You gave a good interesting as well as inspirational guidance on how we can live in harmony with our fellow human being. Keep it up!
God Bless you!
April 1st, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Thank you, Moises!
I’ll keep it up. I’m passionate about writing and I’m passionate about this blog so I love writing here!
thanks for stopping by!
July 29th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
The Golden Rule is one of those inargueable truths that will stand through time.
August 10th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
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