TWO LIVES
Desire-based, Principle-based
MAN has been created by his Creator in such a way that contradictory attributes are found in him. That is why it is said that man is a mixture of opposites. For example, on the one hand, there are powerful desires within man, and on the other hand, there is a deep awareness of principles as well. Man’s desires lead him to a superficial kind of selfishness, and the awareness of principles creates in him the thought that he should live for higher realities.
In the same way, the life of every human being
lies between two contradictory requirements:
desire and principles. By adopting the desirebased approach to life, man lowers himself
to the level of an animal. On the contrary,
a person who adopts a principled life puts
himself in the ranks of angels. What is a
desire-based life? It is the desire to live under
the influence of superficial emotions; namely
anger, revenge, malice, envy, violence,
intolerance, selfishness, greed, hatred,
arrogance, selfishness, and dishonesty, etc.
These are all different forms of desire. In
social life, these desires arise time and again
in man. Those who fall prey to these desires, their lives are engulfed by
the flood of desire. Though they appear as human beings, they begin
to live on the level of animals.
By adopting the desire-based approach to life, man lowers himself to the level of an animal. On the contrary, a person who adopts a principled life puts himself in the ranks of angels.
The second case is that of a principled person. A principled person knows how to love others, who keeps his promises, who is always honest in matters, who speaks the truth in all circumstances, who is free from double standards, who is humble, who knows how to acknowledge others, who has the quality of forgiving, who is selfless, who has the temperament to fulfil his responsibilities. Such a person is a principled person, and only such a principled person deserves to be called a human being.