Life codes

If you have a particular talent, you should be able to use it to help humanity. If you have wealth, you should be able to use it to do good ...

If you have a particular talent, you should be able to use it to help humanity. If you have wealth, you should be able to use it to do good deeds for others. Generosity with whatever you possess leads to true success. The moment you think, 8220;let me secure my own happiness and let everyone else go to the dogs8221;, you actually shut the door to happiness. Miserliness leads to misery. Generosity leads to great joy and prosperity. The more you give, the more you get.

In the life of every individual, possessing good manners 8212; known in Sanskrit as sadachara or sish-tachara 8212; is the foundation for good education and true progress. At the simplest level of understanding, good manners refer to the rules of courtesy that you learn from childhood. If you do not have good manners, then what you create is disharmony. Even a seemingly minor and unimportant act of bad manners can provoke disharmony.

If you do not have good manners, then all your education becomes hollow. If you do have good manners, then you radiate harmony and peace. You can even deal with people who are rude and smooth out their rudeness. No matter what type of company you are in, good manners act to promote harmony and peace.

In developing your standards for righteous conduct, always remember the great yamas and niyamas of Raja Yoga. The yamas, or ethical restraints, include ahimsa non-violence, satya thinking, speaking, acting on the basis of truthfulness, brahmacharya control and sublimation of sex energy, asteya nonstealing in both its gross and subtle forms and aparigraha non-covetousness or non-hoarding of possessions you do not need. The niyamas, or ethical observances, include saucha maintaining physical and mental purity, santosha contentment, tapas austerity, svadhyaya the study of scriptures and repetition of mantra and Isvarpranidana surrender to God.

Another great virtue worth developing in your relationship with others is the art of listening. If you listen well to what others are saying, they will also listen to what you have to say. People talk to each other a lot, but generally they are not listening.

If you learn how to relax and not let your ego overpower your mind, your communication with others improves and you become a good listener. But if you mind is filled with the noise of bitterness, anger and hate, you cannot hear what others are trying to tell you. It is in an atmosphere of love and harmony that people are able to really listen to each other.

Extracted from 8216;Advice to Students8217;, Yoga Research Foundation, condensed in Tattvaloka magazine