Morality: A Discipline, A Contract for Collective Welfare

It is on the basis of cooperation that humans have become educated, powerful, and wealthy. Cooperation is considered the source of human progress. It is worth contemplating what exactly this cooperation is. A little analysis reveals that the integration of self-interest and altruism is cooperation. Adopting this process creates an environment of prosperity and progress. If cooperation is called the backbone of social stability, advancement and culture, it would not be an exaggeration. The first condition to adopt this virtuous tendency is that a person should remain within the bounds of propriety, learn to be content with an average level of comfort, and adopt a foundation that does not disturb others' interests. One should pursue his own welfare only to the extent that it does not lead to harming others. Moral discipline compels one to do this. The vast framework of religious beliefs and norms has been created to keep humans within this boundary and to willingly agree to it.

Religion, in the true sense of dharma (adopting righteous duties), is not a set of customs, practice, ritual, or method of worship, but rather a highway on which one must walk/move ahead without colliding. Only the ethical are considered virtuous. Ritualists, if scrupulous, can at the most be called priests. The structure of society is built on the unity of religion and cooperation. Adhering to ethical boundaries and respectfully contributing to collective progress is religiosity. Wherever these are neglected, and vested interests, narrow-mindedness, or whimsical/mindless customs are imposed or allowed, anarchy will spread, and the structure of social organization will collapse. Spiritual discipline demands that individuals remain bound by ethical rules from this perspective.

"The birth as a human being is easy but it requires a great effort to be humane." — Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya