Build the right attitudes

The purpose of education is to build the right attitudes towards life. Religious education is no exception. What are the right attitudes? What is right and what is wrong? Who is to decide?

Right and wrong can only be seen in the light of yourself and the society in which you function. What promotes your unfettered growth and creativity and happiness AND what promotes the same for your environment is right, what does promote limitation, confinement and misery for you OR the environment is wrong. You alone decide what is right and what is wrong, because you only know your true intent or purpose in doing something. True, society and law sit in judgement; even Jesus Christ lamented, "Judge not lest thou shouldst be judged." In short, right promotes happiness and wellbeing for all; wrong does the opposite.

If you were living all alone in a jungle, you could, in principle, make your own laws, and live life exactly the way you want it. But, unfortunately, that is not the case. Most of the time, you have to consider the impact your actions have on the society around you. This is where the rub is. You are prevented from doing what you really want to do by the society around you, because it feels that your actions create some unhappiness for it. You can't smoke, you can't drink, you can't even watch TV. Even the simple pleasures seem to be denied to you by a heartless and cruel society, is it not? Not if you care to think for a while, "Why can't I do what I want?" Instead of thinking out, you start condemning the society, or condemn yourself, which is even worse. THAT IS PRECISELY HOW YOU START BUILDING THE WRONG ATTITUDES. Why can’t I smoke? Because it burns my heart; not because my Mom wants to deny me even the simple pleasure of smoking. I should not drink, because it causes a depression, and a lousy hangover later on. Why can't I watch TV? Because it affects my analytical ability, vital for my creativity, not because my Dad is an idiot. Only I can check my thinking patterns and encourage those that foster my personal growth as well as the growth of the society. WRONG ATTITUDES ARE CREATED AND SUSTAINED BY YOUR THINKING PATTERNS! That is an ageold fundamental discovery. The importance is being recognized afresh now. It is equally important to realize that RIGHT ATTITUDES ARE ALSO CREATED AND SUSTAINED BY YOUR THINKING PATTERNS!
So you see, if only you can discover what exactly your wrong attitudes are, it is easy to reprogram your attitudes for YOUR JOY.

Amritananada, 1993