What is important in Life? – Morals or Success? I was recently asked if Moral values were important or Success? It seems that all around us we see that those who are unscrupulous, those resorting to cheating, bribery, theft, scandals, exploitation of others are the ones who are successful. Does this mean that only those who are immoral are successful? I would like to quote Swami Vivekananda “ Neither money pays, nor name, nor fame, nor learning; it is CHARACTER that can cleave through the adamantine walls of difficulties.” This is true when it is said that if wealth is lost, nothing is lost; if health is lost, something is lost; but if character is lost, everything is lost. Money has become the living motto for most people. They will go to any extreme to attain this end. The means do not matter. These people are living a dead existence where relationships have no significance. Unfortunately the modern educational system is making people more selfish and greedy. Swami Vivekananda said ”Bring light to the ignorant, and more light to the educated, for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous.” History is replete with characters, to whom CHARACTER was more important than wealth. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Mother Thereza etc. to name just a few. There is place in this world for moral issues and ideas. Do not be carried away by what you see around you. Our ancestors taught us long cherished values that are significant in the world even today. You may be a successful Doctor, engineer, lawyer, administrator; but are you a successful human being? Finally it is human values like love, compassion, peace, truthfulness, honesty that determine your true worth. Would you rather be ruled by deceit, greed, violence, dishonesty? Moral values are important as these help guide your life, rather than your life being controlled by bad habits, accidental occurrences, impulses and selfish motives. Morals can inspire, motivate and guide, giving energy to your life. It also gives us self-esteem. A survey on Ethics was conducted sometime ago. The results are below Statement "Yes" in 1975 "Yes" in 2010 Financial Success is important 25% 75% Morality in life is important 75% 25% I cheat in exams 20% 42% I will lie about exposure to AIDS (with one night stands) ---- 55% Consider this story: God said to me: “Your task is to build a better world. I answered: How can I do that? The world is such a large, vast place, so complicated, and I am so small and useless. There is nothing I can do. But God in his great wisdom said: Just build a better you” - Anonymous
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 06:34:13 +0000
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