Seven Golden rules of duty

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We are all composed of three natural forces in us - Equilibrium, Activity and Inertness. If inertness prevails, we are inactive, bound down by certain ideas or by mere dullness. Sometimes activity prevails making us active and still other times equilibrium prevails and we experience a calm state. 

Dominance of any one of the above qualities determine our inherent nature. By learning what they are and how to employ them, we will be able to do our work better. The important thing is to know that duty of one state of life, in one set of circumstances, will not and cannot be that of another

  1. Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God
  2. Avoid inactivity by all means. Plunge into the world and work. After a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all in it, calmness will come. There will come a time when you will know that they are all very little things
  3. Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. All the men and women in any society are not of the same mind, capacity or of the same power to do things and hence they will have different ideals
  4. Encourage everyone in their struggle to live up to their own highest ideal and strive at the same time to make your ideal as near as possible to reality
  5. The scavenger in the street is quite as great and glorious as the king on his throne. Take him off his throne, make him do the work of the scavenger and you'll see how he performs. Take up the scavenger and see how he will rule!
  6. It is the most difficult thing in this world to work and not care for the result. For a man to constantly do good without caring for the approval of his fellow men is indeed the highest sacrifice he can perform.
  7. Condemn all weaknesses. Fear nothing. Fear is a sign of weakness. A man must go about his duties without taking notice of the sneers and the ridicule of the world
[Extracted from Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - Volume 1 / Karma Yoga / CHAPTER II : EACH IS GREAT IN HIS OWN PLACE]


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