Some to undo and some to be undone

The safest course is to do nothing against one’s conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.

~ Voltaire

To cause to be as if never done is something every human will encounter at some stage of his life. As man enters the twilight zone of his mundane existence, he tends to reflect on his life more than ever before.

There will be moments from his past that he wished should never have happened. There will be actions that he bid otherwise than how it happened. There will be deeds he wished he had not left undone. There will be matters he wished he could undo.

Feelings

Thus, ‘some to undo and some to be undone’ is a part of every man’s life.

Such feelings are the result of ones conscience; and conscience is more active as we grow older. Not that we have not regretted some things done or said soon thereafter, earlier in life; it is just that the effect of conscious soul searching is greater, and more meaningful in the latter stages of our life. Humanity has no generally accepted definition of conscience, or moral sense. Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgement of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Commonly used metaphors for conscience include the ‘voice within’ and the ‘inner light’. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms that we have learnt, and grew up with.

The extent to which conscience informs moral judgement before an action; and, whether such moral judgements are, or should be, based in reason has occasioned debate through much of the history.

Religious views of conscience usually see it as linked to a morality inherent in all humans, to a beneficent universe and/or to divinity.

However, common secular or scientific views regard the capacity for conscience as probably genetically determined, with its subject probably learned or imprinted, like language, as part of a culture.

Conscience; is also a concept in national and international law as applied in conscience of a nation; is increasingly conceived of as applying to the world as a whole; has motivated numerous notable acts for the public good and been the subject of many prominent examples of literature, music and film.

Conscience manifests in Buddhism as unselfish love for all living beings, which gradually intensifies and awakens the mind to a purer awareness. Buddha links the positive aspect of conscience to a pure heart and a calm, well-directed mind.

The Buddha also associated conscience with compassion for those who must endure cravings and suffering in the world until right conduct culminates in right mindfulness and right contemplation.

In Hinduism, it is morally right action characterised as performing the primary duty of good to others without expectation of material or spiritual reward. The Islamic concept of Taqwa closely relate to conscience. Taqwa refers to “right conduct” or “piety”, “guarding of oneself” or “guarding against evil”.

Christian view of conscience might be: ‘God gave us our conscience so we would know when we break His Law; the guilt we feel when we do something wrong tells us that we need to repent.’ Therefore, repentance is an act of conscience.

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote in his ‘Meditations’ that conscience was the human capacity to live by rational principles that were congruent with the true, tranquil, and harmonious nature of our mind ; and thereby, that of the Universe.

Existence

“To move from one unselfish action to another with God in mind,...the only rewards of our existence here are an unstained character and unselfish acts.” Hence, whatever be our religion, conscience is something with which the human race lives. To be without conscience, is not to be human.

It is noteworthy that, in a healthy mind only deeds oppress our conscience; not wishes and thoughts. A wrong deed will leave a scar on our conscience, whether we realise it or not; whether we like it or not; whether we admit it or not; and, like all scars, it will be visible to all eyes however much one may endeavour to hide it.

The heavier the conscience becomes, the more oppressive life becomes. Therefore, it is always best to conduct ones affairs in keeping with ones conscience; and conscience is nothing but the faculty by which distinctions are made between right and wrong in ones own conduct and character. Some of the most important and intense trials do not occur in the courtroom.

The greatest battles are often those that rage inside us as we take on the roles of prosecutor, defendant, judge, and jury, debating our own guilt with our conscience. Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.

Give me a man of God -one man - whose faith is master of his mind, and I will right all wrongs and bless the name of mankind. Give me a man of God - one man - whose tongue is touched with heaven’s fire, and I will flame the darkest hearts with high resolve and clean desire. Give me a man of God - one man - one mighty prophet of the Lord, and I will give you peace on earth, bought with a prayer and not a sword.

Give me a man of God - one man - true to the vision that he sees, and I will build your broken shrines and bring the nations to their knees.

- George Liddell

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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