DUTY BEFORE RIGHT
In The Right Order
THE guiding principle for nation-building was given by Mahatma Gandhi in these words: Duty before Right. It is not merely a Gandhian formula. Rather it is a historically tested formula applicable to every country.
The best society is a duty-conscious society. The worst society is a right-conscious society. This is a universal principle, and there is no exception in this regard.
Enjoying one’s rights does not happen simply by demanding them. Rather, obtaining ones rights is an outcome of hard work. If you demand or protest for your rights, your efforts will be in vain because there is no one to hear your protest and fulfil them. In such a situation, demanding your rights is bound to be useless. Complaining or protesting for your rights is like crying in a desert where there is no one to hear your voice.
Perform your duties, and you will automatically receive all the things that you want.
On the other hand, when you perform your duties, you become deserving of obtaining your rights. Performing one’s duty is like sowing a seed in fertile soil. Such a seed is destined to produce fruit according to the eternal law of nature. Abiding by one’s duty always results in becoming able to accessing one’s rights, but merely demanding your rights cannot bring you any positive results.
Our world is based on natural laws. One such law can be referred to as the Give and Take Principle. Saint Francis of Assisi has rightly said in his famous prayer:
For, it is in giving that we receive.
If you are a duty-conscious person, you give something to the society. And, according to the law of nature, you certainly deserve its return. But if you are a right's conscious person, you give nothing to the society. And so, you do not deserve to receive any favour from society.
All ‘super-achievers’ in history were the ‘super-givers’ of their times. Their ‘super-giving’ made them eligible for ‘super-receiving’. If you want to receive something from others without giving anything to them, you are living in a fanciful world of your own imagination. Your wishful thinking will not work in this world!
The best principle for a successful life can be expressed in these simple words: Give your best, and find the best. Your ‘best’ is like your money, and the world of opportunities is like a shopping centre. If you are ready to spend your money, you can obtain the things you desire from the shopping centre. But if you are not ready to spend your money, the doors of all shopping centres will remain closed to you. You cannot find entry into any shopping centre anywhere.
When you perform your duty, you become deserving of obtaining your rights.
Performing your duty means exerting the abilities given to you by nature. You have to use your abilities with full vigour, and only then will the world be ready to give you, your rights.
There is a saying: Work works. This is a simple rule for success in this world. If you are ready to do your job, this formula will certainly work and, sooner or later, you will obtain its results.
If others complain about you, take it seriously. Adopt the maxim:
Blame thyself. Try to find out your own shortcomings. By removing your shortcomings you will become acceptable to others. Simply demanding your rights will not yield you any positive results.
Examples abound of people who engage in constant complaining and demanding for their rights from others, but who actually gain nothing at all. On the other hand, there are numerous examples of people who perform their duties without asking for any rights, and their work was immensely appreciated and they were given their due.
Perform your duties and you will automatically receive all the things that you want. Obtaining one’s rights is subject to performing one’s duties, but not vice versa. This is a universal principle. No one can achieve anything by going against this universal law.