Is The Rule Really Golden?

You can check out the audio version, with musical accompaniment, by clicking on the following link: audio version.

While in a crowded parking lot Saturday, I waited on three cars to pass before backing out. When I finally got a chance to do so, another driver stopped me, rolled down her window and yelled, "Wait your turn." Before she drove off (even though I wanted to do otherwise) I decided to treat her the way I would like to have been treated, with tolerance and patience, in the hope that she would pass that same spirit on to the next person. It was unfortunate that her concept of the 'Golden Rule" was 'Do unto me as I would do unto me..'  The 'we' was entirely left out of her equation, as it has been with all of us (including myself) at one time or another. This type of behavior sadly allows separation, rather than cooperation, to be the dominating factor in our interactions.

Divisiveness is a disturbing yet effective means of wresting power from the many and relinquishing it to the few. Divide and conquer is not an insignificant adage but a viable and oft used reality. It has been employed throughout the ages to control, and no group of people is immune from its debilitating effects. Yes even religion, the largest single entity of human consciousness on the planet,  has fallen prey to this perpetrator of hiearchal self-righteousness. The fact that a reported 3.5 billion people on the planet profess a belief in a Supreme Being, yet focus more on differences than on similarities, is a boon to those whose major objective is to be right rather than righteous. Right or wrong can only lead to separation and conflict, whereas true righteousness leads to unity (oneness) and peace.

The Golden Rule is one similarity that exists between at least five of the major religions of the world. However, divisiveness between them, whether purposed or not, contributes to the problems of our world today. Let's take a look at the parallel between religions in terms of numbers. These numbers are admittedly research figures that may be opinionated at best. However; they do serve to make a point, so let's focus on their qualitative rather than quantitative value.

Christianity: There are over 2 billion Christians in the world and the Golden Rule as expressed by Jesus in Matthew 7:12 reads, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Islam: We have1.6 billion Muslims on the planet and the same rule is found thusly in the Prophet Muhammad's Forty Hadiths "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."
Hinduism: 900 million Hindus live in our world and their version of the same rule is found in chapter CXIII Verse 8 of the Anusasana Parva, and it reads," One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma {the universal law of being}. Other behavior is due to selfish desires." 
Buddhism: The Buddhists population is 376 million in number and in the Udana-Varga 5:18 we find,  "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." 
Judaism: Our world consists of 13.75 million Jews and we find the following words in the Talmud, Shabbat 31a, "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."

Now I don't know about you, but I see the very same message in all the above quotations. If  you treat me the way you want to be treated then we will undeniably be of one accord. Each  and every quote expresses a reciprocating principle that advocates, defends, and supports the concept of 'Oneness' to the nth degree.

It's obvious that the world is not reflecting this sense of unity, so what is causing our divisiveness. Could it be that we are saying what we believe and who we are, and  but are not fully being (living) what we say? Are we, from time to time, speaking ill of someone who doesn't act like we think they should, and then, in the course of doing so, opening the door for someone to speak ill of us?  Do we occasionally forget that it took us a minute to get where we are, and then expect someone else to be where we think they should be (right now)? We have been given countless opportunities to become better people, yet are we possibly not allowing another a chance to improve? How about us looking at someone else in terms of where they are and not where we think they should be? I believe that once we start seeing ourselves as a body of one, each sharing the same hopes and dreams of living in harmony and peace, we can be more true to ourselves and to each other. 

Life's purpose is more about action than conversation, and I don't believe that we can put anything out there and not get it back. If each of us makes a concerted effort to be who we say we are, and works harder on perfecting ourselves and less on being concerned with what we consider someone else's imperfections, then separation and chaos can be mitigated. Once that happens, we can graciously accept and manifest the universal One that we have always been.


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