ON RESPECTING OTHERS AND GETTING RESPECT IN RETURN!!!
See the expression on the face of a person we’re ridiculing. That person’s emotions get heightened to such an extent that he may not act rationally while in that spell. Can this sort of showing disrespect prevented? We’ve to invariably introspect as to why we should treat others with respect. This could be a part of ‘art of living’.
We may have our own opinion on this questions but instinctively we all know that if I love others, I shall get it otherwise not. Sometimes, I may say, what I did to antagonize an individual was right at the time and space. Others may think just differently. This misplaced reasoning may have made us worldly-wise in our own thoughts but actually has put brakes to our forward march as far as care and cooperation is concerned.
Reasons may be exhaustive but some of the prominent causes are summarized as under:-
We disrespect others simply because of our EGO!!. The origin of disrespecting others is partly due to giving more importance to ‘I, ‘me’ in place of ‘we, us’ and ‘you, your’. This is for appeasement of self. Selfishness, status, pride of his possessions etc have made us myopic in measuring everything according to our yardstick. In fact a man drunk with excessive dose of ego remains obsessed and lives in the world of his making. Can this sort of person, who does not respect others’ sentiments remain in peace, certainly not? A person who gives respect to others remains in peace: In Bhagwad Gita it has been said: One who gives up false desires and gives up false ego attains the state of peace and calm.
Respect is based on Give & Take. If you want respect, you’ve to give it to receive it in equal measure. A respect which you demand or force somebody for the same, in my view, wouldn’t be a respect but a compulsion bordering entirely on coercion because one is in a position to demand it! Respect which springs from our heart voluntarily is value added and beneficial both to the recipient and the giver. In Bible it has emphatically been mentioned: Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Respecting each others’ religious beliefs. Now-a-day, it is a sad commentary that some just forget or may not know the scriptural enunciation of a religious text of others. All religions have the central premise; how best we can establish our connectivity with our Creator. Then there is no dearth of the people who will take extreme steps in countering others’ belief and go to any extremes in castigating it. Here the victim is respect for each others’ beliefs and by extension respect for each other.
Good bye to Moral & Spiritual Values. We’ve become slave to material possessions. Excessive reliance of these has kept us away from spiritual and moral values. To have peace and tranquility through materialistic thing is really asking for moon on the earth. Selfishness remains the guiding factor. This rat race just continues. Profit motive at any cost – not even remotely connected with moral or spiritual values. Parents give no quality time to the children because of their preoccupation, leaving the children bereft of moral values. A child has an impressionable mind, if brought up in such environs also becomes warped after sometimes, falls prey to various social evils like drug addiction, violence, juvenile delinquency etc. A child brought up in this sort of environment will hardly know the etiquette of respecting others leave aside anything good. We’ve to create a moral character in our children. In Holy Quran it has very clearly been enunciates : “Create the moral characteristics of Allah within yourself.”
Children respecting their teachers/Gurus. It is the responsibility of the parents to provide moral and ethical values to the children before schooling. When these are not transferred properly the result is these children hardly respect their teachers or gurus as well. The Guru-Sishya parampara (Teacher-pupil tradition) which used to be there in olden days has just evaporated with the time. Now sense appeasement is apparent and given more relevance, overlooking physical, emotional, intellectual, moral, spiritual and ethical aspects for ensuring a balanced life. In Sikhism, tradition (Parampara) of Guru has a pride of a place. They respect 10 Gurus and 11th One is in the form of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: “All Sikhs are commanded to take the Granth as Guru” declared Guru Sri Gobind Singh Ji. It is a treasure house which consists of sermons messages from other communities too. It has in it Vanis of 6 Guru Sahibans, 15 Bhagats of different castes, numerous verses of Bhagat Kabir, 112 Sholoks & Shabads, Baba Farid’s important inputs, 11 by Bhatt amongst others. All these pay special tributes to the Gurus for living a life full of respect and sublimity.
Respect between the peer group. Both parents and teachers have to chip in for teaching their children the need and importance of cooperation and fellow feeling so that these could be utilized whenever there is a need of the same.
Respect for our older members of the society. After traversing through various stages of life, when a person reaches old-age, he becomes dependent on others in almost everything. In other words, he acts like a small kid who has to be looked after for attending to his essential needs. In this sort of a scenario, the children who have grown up needs to look after their old parents. The responsibility to look after in oldage rests with grown ups in the family.
Keeping the respectful distance of others’ Privacy. If we want that others respect our privacy, it is important that we respect theirs. It is two way traffic and should be taken as such. The saying: Your freedom ends where my nose starts should never be forgotten while interfering in others’ affairs.
Respecting the Laws set by the Society and Natural Laws. Finally, One of the important needs is not to do or act in a manner which is against the spirit of laws set by the society. It is our country which is giving us sustenance and we have to obey and respect the laws which govern us. Apportioning profits through corrupt practices without thinking about its consequences are against the norms of society but also against the very spirit of Natural Laws. Respecting and obeying the Laws is our responsibility.
It is a human tragedy that we have surrendered ourselves to various kinds of temptations and shunned the gems of knowledge given in religious scriptures like Holy Bible, Holy Granth Sahib, Holy Quran, Bhagwad Gita. This is the reason that we neither respect others sentiments nor we get the same in return. That is why we have this dissension pervading. The humans should spread the fragrance of respect for others so that it generates an environment of goodwill, cooperation and smile on others’ faces and ultimately RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER based entirely on equal term.
Finally, it is very rightly said that a respect which springs from our heart makes a huge impact on us all.
INNER THOUGHTS 