Posted on by Art Powell

Do we need religion to tell us to be kind to others or do we need religion to give us permission to be selfish and inconsiderate of others?

This question follows from an article which outlines some of the scriptures used by some North Americans to justify policies which some of us might think are mean.

Shortly after leaving high school this guy came across a book called The Panchatantra which is part of the wisdom literature of ancient India. One of the verses which has stayed with me through the years is:

Forget you prosings manifold,

the moral law is easily told,

to help your neighbour, that is good,

to hurt him, that is devilhood..

This simple verse is straight forward and one would think it, or something similar, is all people need for moral guidance. How ever , at least in our culture, some people follow it some of the time, some people ignore it all the time and some people follow it all (or most) of the time.

It would be interesting to know if this applies to all cultures or are there some in which all people follow the principle all the time. To answer this one would probably have to spend several reincarnations doing field work in anthropology.

Reading the above article I note that almost all the scriptural references provide justification for being mean to others. Could it be that if one wants to be selfish or nasty one needs divine assistance? A lot of our economic culture is based on exploiting and taking advantage of other people. If you are a part or nearly a part of the one percent your fortune and your status depend upon others working hard.

I think we should make a distinction between economic well-being and theological salvation. It may be that we alone are responsible for our salvation, but people should not have to go hungry.

This blogger believes the technology which allows us to produce so much with so little effort should be a part of our collective inheritance. The benefits should be shared equally rather than going to few people.

Regardless of what Christian or other scriptures say, I think we should expect people to follow ancient Hindu moral law.

Share this: Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

Email

Print

Reddit

Tumblr

Pinterest

Pocket

Telegram

WhatsApp

Skype

Like this: Like Loading... Related

Filed under: Economics | Tagged: culture, Economics, mean, meaness, morality, religion, salvation, scriptures, The Panchatantraa, theology |