The Golden Rule: What You Do Affects You
I believe all religions have things wrong because people are sinful and look for excuses not to love one another as they would want to be loved. But I believe all religions have something right too because God-source is the epitome of love and compassion and would never hide the truth from certain religions or people.
That said, I believe the truth is hidden under a curtain of love and perfect love drives out fear. So, when people have fear, they don’t search for the truth which means truth can be “hidden” from them in that way. But that’s not God’s fault.
A simple example of fear getting in the way of people’s search for truth is all the censorship and “noble lies” that happened when so many people feared COVID. The reason we have censorship is that people fear that others may be swayed by differing opinions. My search for truth has always led me straight into things I fear.
Getting to the Truth From God-Source
To get to the truth I think it’s important to check out various religions and see where they agree. I think where they agree is likely the biggest message God-Source has for us all. But you know many religions fear learning about what other religions talk about. Interesting how that works?
I wrote about the Golden Rule in various religions in the past. So if you are interested in my original article on this, you can click here to read it. The old article is heavily Christian-based, but the ending, as you’ll read here, shows that the Golden Rule shows up in many religions.
The Golden Rule is Not Just For Christians
The idea of treating others as you would want to be treated (which is the fulfillment of the law) is found in most religions.
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Romans 13:9
“…be of one mind in many bodies; let each man be minded to do to his neighbor those good things he wishes for himself. And you may all find out what is good, by holding some such conversation as the following with yourselves: You would not like to be murdered; do not murder another man: you would not like your wife to be seduced by another; do not you commit adultery: you would not like any of your things to be stolen from you; steal nothing from another. And so understanding by yourselves what is reasonable, and doing it, you will become dear to God, and will obtain healing; otherwise in the life, which now is, your bodies will be tormented, and in that which is to come your souls will be punished.” Clementine Homilies Book 7, Chapter IV. The Golden Rule
“And what you hate, do not do to any one.” Tobit 4:15
Judaism: Jesus (Yehoshua) was a Jewish prophet, and didn’t get his doctrine from nowhere, it was originally from the Hebrew scriptures –
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am YHWH. Leviticus 19:18
What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. Talmud, Shabbat 31:a
Islam: Muslims believe in most of the OT and they believe Jesus (Yehoshua) was a prophet, so the above verses may apply here depending on who you talk to. In addition to that from Wikipedia –
“Fakir al-Din al-Razi and several other Qur’anic commentators have pointed out that Qur’an 83:1-6 is an implicit statement of the Golden Rule, which is explicitly stated in the tradition, “Pay, Oh Children of Adam, as you would love to be paid, and be just as you would love to have justice!”
“A Bedouin came to the prophet, grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said: O the messenger of God! Teach me something to go to heaven with it. Prophet said: “As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don’t do to them. Now let the stirrup go!” [This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance with it!]” — Kitab al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 146
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” — An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith 13 (p. 56)
“Seek for mankind that of which you are desirous for yourself, that you may be a believer.” — Sukhanan-i-Muhammad (Teheran, 1938)
“That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind.” Hadith
“The most righteous person is the one who consents for other people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself.”
See “Golden rule in Islam to love for humanity what you love for yourself” for more information
Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught to others which would cause you pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful.: Udana Varga 5:18
Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not to others that you would not have them do to you.: Analects 15, 23
Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you” Doctrine of the Mean
“Tse-kung asked, ‘Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?’ Confucius replied, ‘It is the word ‘shu’ — reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'” Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
“Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.” Mencius VII.A.4
“There are four things in the moral life of man, not one of which I have been able to carry out in my life. To serve my father as I would expect my son to serve me: that I have not been able to do. To serve my sovereign as I would expect a minister under me to serve me: that I have not been able to do. To act towards my elder brother, as I would expect my younger brother to act towards me: that I have not been able to do. To be the first to behave toward friends as I would expect them to behave towards me: that I have not been able to do.” (source)
Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.: T’ai Shag Kan Ying P’ien
“To those who are good to me, I am good; to those who are not good to me, I am also good. Thus all get to be good.” Lao Tzu
“The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful.” Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49.
“That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself.” Dadisten-I-dinik, 94:5
“Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.” Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29
Bahá’í Faith:
Choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.” Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
“Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.” Baha’u’llah
Ancient Egyptian: “Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do.” The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 – 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson
The religion of the Incas: “Do not to another what you would not yourself experience.” Manco Capoc, founder of the empire of Peru.
“In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.” Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
“A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.” Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
“Respect for all life is the foundation.” The Great Law of Peace.
“All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.” Black Elk
“Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself.” Pima proverb.
Roman Pagan Religion: Religio Romana is a modern-day Neo-pagan religion based on the religion of ancient Rome:
“The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves.”
Satanism: Unlike the names of other religions, the term “Satanism” has many meanings. Some refer to groups that are non-existent. The Satanic Temple has elements of the Golden Rule divided among three of its Seven Tenets:
#1. “Strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.”
#4. “The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own.”
#7. “Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.”
“The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form” Munetada Kurozumi
“Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God.” Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga
“Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world”. Japji Sahib
“Don’t create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone.” Guru Arjan Devji 259
“No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend.” Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299
Sufism: the inner mystical dimension of Islam:
“The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven’t the will to gladden someone’s heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone’s heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this.” Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.
Wicca: A modern Neo-pagan religion derived largely from Celtic sources. Their Wiccan Rede states:
“An it harm no one, do what thou wilt” (i.e. do whatever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). This is called the Wiccan Rede
“20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.” This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code explained in L. Ron Hubbard’s booklet “The Way to Happiness.”
“One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”
In my old article, I wrote, “If everyone took this advice and lived their life according to the Golden Rule, we would be able to live in harmony.” I still sort of agree, because most people want to be left alone (not forced to do things). But I also know that different people like to be treated in different ways.
If someone loves loud music and they treated everyone like themselves they may disturb neighbors who don’t. But then, wouldn’t they like to be able to relax at home without loud music at times? Couldn’t they understand that others may want that too?
I think it depends on your view of how you’re treating others as yourself that could make that a true or inaccurate statement.
What You Do Affects You
I believe when we are upset at others, it’s a reflection of something going on inside of us. It may be a reflection of something we judge harshly (doesn’t matter if it’s true) because we are not being compassionate. There are many ways in which our reality is mirroring back to us what is inside of us, and it doesn’t always mean we’re clearly projecting our own bad habits.
This is a 2-hour video explaining many ways in which we have the world reflect back to us what’s going on inside of us.
If we treat the world as we would want to be treated, we’d have a much more peaceful world because what we do, how we think and act, affects the people all around us. Emotions are contagious. If you’re happy and smiling, you can get others happier and smiling. If you’re grumpy you can get others more grumpy. The more we treat others how we would want to be treated, the more people see that behavior and can emulate it. It could spread like wildfire if people understood the importance and decided to do it.