From Religious Books:
"If we want to grow from intellect to spirit, we have to adopt ways of tolerance, appreciation and respect for other people's faiths." says Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. In this spirit, the following codes of ethics prescribed by some religions of the world are presented. - D. C. J.
Five Virtues of Jainism
1. Nonviolence (AHIMSA)
2. Truth (SATYA)
3. Non-stealing (ACHAURYA)
4. Purity of mind and body or partial/total celibacy (BRAHMACHARYA)
5. Non-possessiveness (APARIGRAHA).
Noble Eightfold Path (Buddhism) (2)
1. Right outlook is to know suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.
2. Right resolves consist of the resolve to renounce the world and to do no hurt or harm.
3. Right speech is to abstain from lies and slander, from reviling, and from tattle.
4. Right acts include abstaining from taking life, from stealing, and from lechery.
5. Right livelihood entails supporting oneself, to the exclusion of wrong modes of livelihood.
6. Right endeavor is when an individual brings will to bear, puts forth endeavor and energy, struggles and strives with all his heart, to stop bad and wrong qualities which have not yet arisen from ever arising, to renounce those which have already arisen, to foster good qualities which have not yet arisen, and, finally, to establish, clarify, multiply, enlarge, develop, and perfect those good qualities which are there already.
7. Right mindfulness is when realizing what the body is - what feelings are - what the heart is - and what the mental states are - an individual dwells ardent, alert, and mindful, in freedom from the wants and discontents on any of these things.
8. Right rapture of concentration is when, divested of lusts and divested of wrong dispositions, an individual develops, and dwells in the state bred of aloofness but not divorced from observation and reflection. Later, by laying to rest observation and reflection, the individual develops and dwells in inward serenity.
Ten Commandments (3)
1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
2. Worship no god but me. Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven, or on earth, or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals.
I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendents, down to the third and fourth generation. But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my Commandments.
3. Do not use my name for evil purposes, because I the Lord your God will punish anyone who misuses my name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me.
5. Honor your father and your mother so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.
6. Do not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. Do not desire another man's house. Do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.
Teachings of Guru Nanak (Sikhism) (4)
Guru Nanak says: "To worship an image, to make a pilgrimage to a shrine, to remain in a desert, and yet have the mind impure is all in vain; to be saved, worship only the Truth." Nanak tells us: "Keep no feeling of enmity for anyone. God is contained in every bosom." In Sikhism, forgiveness is love at its highest power. Nanak says: "Where there is forgiveness there is God."
About nonviolence (AHIMSA), Guru Nanak says:
1. Do not wish evil for anyone. This is nonviolence of thought.
2. Do not speak harshly of anyone. This is nonviolence of speech.
3. Do not obstruct anyone's work. This is nonviolence of action.
4. If a man speaks ill of you, forgive him.
5. Practice physical, mental and spiritual endurance.
6. Help the suffering even at the cost of your life.
Teachings of Islam (5)
Islam, the religion founded by Prophet Mohammed, means submission to the will of God. It is a religion of self-surrender, acceptance of the revelations and following the commands of God. Islam establishes a universal brotherhood of man. Islam teaches that "No man is true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. God will not be affectionate to that man who is not affectionate to God's creatures. He is the most favored of God from whom the greatest good comes to His creatures."
In Islam, abuse, anger, avarice, back-biting, blood-shedding, bribery, dishonesty, drinking, envy, flattery, greed, hypocrisy, lying, miserliness, pride, suicide, violence, wickedness, warfare, etc., are deprecated and virtues such as brotherhood, charity, cleanliness, chastity, forgiveness, friendship, gratitude, humility, justice, kindness, love, mercy, moderation, modesty, purity of heart, righteousness, truth and trust are enjoined.
Teachings of Hinduism (6)
Many philosophers do not like to describe Hinduism as a mere religion as they feel that this narrows it down and does not bring out adequately its great qualities of universality of outlook and free thinking, as even an atheist is not precluded from being a Hindu and neither hell nor doomsday are envisioned for the agnostic. It is called the Eternal (SANAATAN) Religion. Some people call it a fellowship of religions because of its liberal absorption of the faiths of others.
It is important to realize that Hinduism is a rare faith with few "do's" and "don'ts". The basic ethics include nonviolence, compassion, truth, etc. A unique feature of Hinduism is that it permits the greatest of freedom of worship and insists that each person must be guided by his or her own individual spiritual experience.
Hinduism has a tremendous tolerance of other religions because it considers that different religions merely represent a number of paths that lead to the same goal. Thus essentially, the God worshipped by the Hindus implies, "Come to me as a Hindu, Christian, Sikh and Moslem. I shall make you a better Hindu, Christian, Sikh and Moslem."
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has written: "The Hindu attitude to religion is interesting. While fixed intellectual beliefs mark off one religion from another, Hinduism sets itself no such limits. Intellect is subordinated to intuition, dogma to experience, outer expression to inward realization. Religion is not the acceptance of academic abstractions or the celebration of ceremonies, but a kind of life or experience."
It is clear that religions in their original form are there to promote peace and harmony in the world. The problems arise when individuals, instead of practicing the code of ethics of their own religion, become concerned about protecting and propagating their religion. In such endeavors, they try to establish the superiority of their own religion. We rational and intelligent individuals should bear in mind, as Dr. Radhakrishnan has written, "The greatest of temptation we must overcome is to think that our religion is the only true one, our own vision of reality is the only authentic vision, that we alone are the chosen people, the children of light and the rest of the human race lives in darkness."
Footnotes:
1) Reprinted from Jain Study Circular of July 1987. Back up
2) Adapted from "A Source Book In Indian Philosophy", edited by S. Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore, published by Princeton University Press, 1957, pages 277-278. Back up
3) Adapted from "Really Free" (portions of Holy Scriptures in Today's English Version) published by National Student Ministries and The Young Adult Section, Sunday School Department, Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; and, from Glimpses of World Religions, published by Jaico Publishing House, Bombay. Back up
4) Adapted from "Religion And Culture" by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, published by Orient Paperbacks, Delhi, India, page 147. Back up
5) Adapted from "Glimpses of World Religions" published by Jaico Publishing House, Bombay, 1983, pages 187-188. Back up
6) Adapted from "The Hindu View of Life" by Dr, S. Radhakrishnan, published by Blackie & Son, Bombay, page 13; and, from "Hindu Thought and World Harmony", published by Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Toronto & Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh of Ontario, Canada, 1985, pages 9-10. Back up