Sivananda daily reading

right and wrong

'right' and 'wrong' are relative terms.
they vary according to time, special circumstances, varna - caste, and asrama - stage of life.
morality is a changing and relative term.
the passionate man who molests his wife frequently, to gratify his own passion, is more immoral than man who visits the house of a woman of ill-fame once in six months.
the man who dwells constantly on immoral thoughts, is the most immoral man of all.

do you clearly note the subtle difference?
to kill an enemy is right for a king, but a brahmana - priest, or a sanyasin - monk, should not kill anybody, even to protect himself in times of danger.
he should practice strict
forbearance and
forgiveness.
to speak an untruth,
to save the life of a mahatma - holy one, or one's guru, who has been unjustly charged by an unjust officer of state,
is right.
in this particular case, untruth has become truth.
to speak a truth which brings harm to many is untruth only.
to kill a robber who murders wayfarers, is ahimsa only.
himsa - violence - becomes ahimsa - non-violence - under certain circumstances.

even great sages are bewildered sometimes in finding out what is right and what is wrong.
that is why lord krishna says in the bhagavad gita:
'what is action, and what is inaction?
even the wise are herein perplexed.
therefore i will declare to thee the action, by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from evil.
it is needful to discriminate action, to discriminate unlawful action, and to discriminate inaction.
mysterious is the path of action.
he who seeth inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise among men.
he is harmonious, even while performing all actions.' - iv 16-18.

rishi kanada, author of vaisesika philosophy, says in the opening verse:
'that which brings supreme bliss and exaltation, is right.
that which elevates, and brings you nearer to god, is right.
that which brings you down, and takes you away from god, is wrong.
that which is done in strict accordance with the injunctions of the scriptures, is right.
that which is done against the injunctions of the scriptures, is wrong.
to work in accordance with divine will, is right.
to work in opposition to the divine will is wrong.'
this is one way of defining right and wrong.

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