follow by example

Let us be realistic...

We will subject ourselves to ethics and morals, as long as we are within our comfort levels..

Family ties and ties of friendship and loyalty to Divinity, Nation, Family and community all may persuade us to stretch our comfort into discomforts to a great extent..

But the stetching.. causes strain too..

The elasticity may endure for a time,, but then everything would snap..

Of course, the Indian pshyche tempered with a lot of religion, a religion which is by far toelrant to a fault and is very fair would prepare us for a lot of sacrifice..

There is a basic difference between the theoretical philosophers of the west and our seers and sages who caused our thoughts to evolve. The western giants prepared the theories for a populace or society in general.. but they were not very particular about applying such philosophies to their own lives.. and all said and done, morality and ethics was a matter to be considered and put to effect under compulsion.. or as a matter of publicity and popularity and also convenience..

But Indian philosophy evolved through sages who lived by those principles all along, and exhorted others to follow them only after they ensured the efficacy of their precepts to a reasonably good and fair extent..

Even Krishna, the God himself who gave Bhagavat Gita .. says in Gita itself..

Arjuna.. I have no necessity to follow anything, nor have I any necessity to achieve anything, but still I am living a life compatible with the laws of the world ( which I have myself prescribed).. because I expect others to follow me by example.. and if I make deviations others would err all the more..

Refer to slokas like न मे पार्थ अस्ति कर्तव्यं ..... वर्त एव हि कर्मणि.. यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठः तत्तदेव इतरे जनाः etc. Na me partha asti kartayam...varta eva hi karmani...yadyadaacharati shreshta tattadeva itare janaa.

I just quoted a couple of instances.. but then our ancient laws abound in the precept that we should preach only what we practice..

In fact the duty to follow ethical rules was more binding for the learned brahmins and nobles..

The punishment for transgression of a rule for a Brahmin was often hundred times that would visit the same offence if it is committed by an ignorant man of lesser caste.

Therefore Kantean and Aristotellian precepts seem to have very little persuasive value for a tempered Indian psyche.

But the tragedy is that we are living in a generation where we have almost forgotten all the Golden Rules of our past and we have just imbibed thoroughly half baked western values.. I do not mean western values are half baked,,, but our understanding is half baked