Very much so, a
back to basics journey is what I had taken on in writing this column in January
2012. I repost it today, with no additional commentary on it, much as I did
then.
As humans we are held
together though our systems of belief. The manner in which we understand and
follow them, often shape our ways as individuals and our collective ethos as
social groups leading to the forming of civilisations, cultures and subcultures
therein. The other day, when in my own mind, I was thinking of the basic
premises on which we as collectives of humans, base our value systems, among
other things I stumbled on the thought, that I needed to take a re-look at the
commandments or the basic guiding principles and ways of conduct that religious,
social and/or ancient tribal community leaders had prescribed to ensure the
wellbeing and sustenance of people living together as communities.
I then realised what a
difficult and irrational task it would be for me to take on an analysis of even
a few of the most well-known of them. For one, I am ill-qualified to take on
such a task and secondly, they were designed and presented within different
social and cultural backgrounds, in and at different times, with different
intents and challenges that societies and civilisations faced. In other words, most
of them are time, culture and civilisation biased, and need to be understood
within the context of those biases.
Without comment
What I therefore
ventured to do within the constraints of space allowed for my column is to
present the most well-known among these commandments, guiding principles or
precepts without any comment or analysis of my own. I also beg your indulgence,
if there are any interpretational shortcomings in their presentation and stand
corrected.
The important
consideration here is that they are all presented within the realm of one
document which is not often the case, and I urge readers to examine them
rationally in coming to your own conclusions on how these commandments, guiding
principles and /or precepts have impacted or will impact on the future of our
existence within the context of what we know today as the ‘web of life’ within
the ‘global village’ and these ‘most challenging times’ in which we live.
Words of God
through Moses
Of the
Commandments, ‘The Ten
Commandments’, also known as the ‘Decalogue’ in Greek, a set of
biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which
play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Chris tianity are the most famous. In its preamble it is said …”And God spoke
all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” and The Ten Commandments are
presented as: 1. Thou shall have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shall not
make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to
the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to
thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 3. Thou
shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 4. Thou shall remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no
work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your
maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath
day and hallowed it. 5. Thou shall honor thou father and your mother, that your
days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 6. Thou shall
not murder. 7. Thou shall not commit adultery. 8. Thou shall not steal. 9. Thou
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor and 10. Thou shall not covet
your neighbor’s house or covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, his
maidservant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.”
Islamic commandments
According to Islamic scholars “There are in the Qur’an
certain aayaat (verses) which may be called the verses of the Ten Commandments,
because they include ten important commandments given by Allaah to mankind.
These ‘aayaat’ are to be found in two passages of the Qur’an”. 1. Your Lord has prohibited you from joining
anything that is not in worship with him. 2. Be good and dutiful to your
parents. 3. Kill not your children because of poverty – We provide sustenance
for you and for them. 4. Come not near to al-fawaahish (shameful sins, illegal
sexual intercourse, etc.), whether committed openly or secretly. 5. Kill not
anyone whom Allaah has forbidden, except for a just cause (according to Islamic
law). 6. Come not near to an orphan’s property, except to improve it, until he
(or she) attains the age of full strength. 7. Give full measure when you weigh and
full weight with justice. 8. Burden not any person, but that which he can bear.
9. Whenever you give your word (i.e., judge between men or give evidence,
etc.), say the truth even if a near relative is concerned, and fulfil the
Covenant of Allaah and 10. Give to the kindred his due and to the poor and to
the wayfarer. But spend not wastefully (your wealth) in the manner of a
spendthrift.
Hindu principles and disciplines
In Hinduism, there are Five Principles and Ten Disciplines
that guide the human way, as presented by several scholars. The five principles
are: 1. God Exists as one absolute OM and in one trinity: Brahma,
Vishnu, Maheshwara (Shiva) and in several divine forms. 2. All human beings are
divine. 3. Unity of existence through love. 4. Religious harmony and 5.
Knowledge of 3 Gs: Ganga (sacred river), Gita (sacred script) and Gayatri
(sacred mantra) and the ten disciplines to seek and practice are: 1. Truth. 2. Non-violence.
3. Celibacy, non-adultery. 4. No desire to possess or steal. 5. Non-corrupt
livelihood. 6. Cleanliness. 7. Contentment. 8. Reading of
scriptures. 9. Austerity, perseverance, penance and 10. Indulge in regular
prayer.
Buddhist thought and precepts
In the Buddhist thought, the ‘Four Noble Truths’ of: 1. Life means suffering 2. The origin of suffering is
attachment. 3. The cessation of suffering is attainable and 4. The path to the
cessation of suffering is to be practiced through self-awareness, is at the
core. That is to be achieved as elaborated in the ‘Eightfold Path’, as actions of the: 1. Right view. 2. Right
intention. 3. Right speech. 4. Right action. 5. Right livelihood. 6. Right
effort. 7. Right mindfulness, and 8. Right concentration. Such practice will eventually lead to the
achievement of a state, where greed that leads to suffering is completely
eliminated. The Ten Precepts or ‘Dasa-Sila’ act more as commandments prescribed
for novice monks. They have been thus adopted and presented as suitable
practice for the lay individual as well. They are to: 1. Refrain from taking
life. 2. Refrain from stealing. 3. Refrain from sexual misconduct. 4. Refrain
from lying. 5. Refrain from using intoxicants. 6. Refrain from gossiping. 7. Refrain
from praising oneself. 8. Refrain from being mean. 9. Refrain from aggression
and 10. Refrain from slandering the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha.
Native Indian way
In conclusion, I present the ‘Ten Commandments’ said
to have been promulgated by the ancient wise men of the Native American Indians.
They are: 1. The Earth is our Mother, care for her. 2. Honor all your
relations. 3. Open your heart and soul to the Great Spirit. 4. All life is
sacred, treat all beings with respect. 5. Take from the Earth what is needed
and nothing more. 6. Do what needs to be done for the good of all. 7. Give
constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day. 8. Speak the truth, but
only of the good in others. 9. Follow the rhythms of the nature, rise and
retire with the sun. 10. Enjoy life’s journey but leave no tracks.
Within this domain of influence, in 1854, Indian Chief
Seattle is said to have stated that "Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together. All things connect".
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