Remain true to yourself
The basic virtue for any human being, whether it is a man or a woman, is to be true to oneself. When somebody is really true to themselves, functioning in the world becomes just a question of adjustment. One has to adjust to the situations that one has chosen to live with. What is a virtue? Only when you are truly empty are you virtuous.
Your idea of virtue is that if you do a particular thing then that is virtue and if you do not then it is something else. This is not life virtue, this is social virtue. Society’s virtues are different as they are meant to serve the society, whereas virtues of life serve life. I am somebody who serves life, not society, so my virtues are of life.
Virtue is a thing that takes you beyond in a certain way. You can go beyond only if you are no more a limited being. If you have are a vast emptiness within you, every thought that you get, every emotion that you get, every feeling that you have, if you are not really associated with it, that is virtue. If you are identified with your sensations, thoughts, opinions or emotions, then you cannot be virtuous because you will be biased with life. If you are truly virtuous, you must be beyond all bias.
When you are identified with something, either body or mind or emotions, there cannot be any virtue. In Tamil Nadu, one of the greatest titles that used to be conferred upon great heroes was “One who has slayed thousand elephants”, like the Param Vir Chakra, which is the highest gallantary award. Late forest brigand Veerappan had slayed almost 500 to 600 elephants, so was he close to becoming the greatest Tamilian ever? No. Our values and virtues have changed. Today, if you kill thousand elephants you are a criminal who has to be punished. But a thousand years ago, if you killed thousand elephants, you were the hero of the highest order. So society’s virtues are biased against life.
When you are not identified with anything, you will be absolutely virtuous, and be truly capable of compassion. When you are compassionate, you are always virtuous. People being sympathetic to certain causes, to certain people, is not compassion. When you are passionate about everything, when your passion has become all encompassing, then you are compassionate. It is not about having a little pity or sympathy for something. Compassion is the highest virtue, and it is not possible if you are identified with this or that. Only when you are able to look at life as life, only then can you be compassionate and to be compassionate is the highest virtue.
— Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a prominent spiritual leader, is a visionary, humanitarian,
an author, poet and internationally-renowned speaker. He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org
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