Golden Rue

Dear Friends,

Golden Rule.

 

My mother told me this story in my childhood. It is the same as all mothers tell to their growing kids. These stories carried lot of value as I grew and dealt with others. It has immensely helped me and I am sure about you.

I grew up in Mulund, a last suburban station of Mumbai. I have wonderful memories of those first fifteen years, and many people in Mulund influenced my life in very positive ways. My mathematics teacher taught me the importance of understanding on the concept, discipline, and believing in myself. My Marathi teacher is still the funniest person I have ever met. He taught me that a sense of humour and especially laughing at self could be one of life's greatest blessings.

However, my mother was my hero. She taught me many things, but at the top of the list, she taught me to treat people with love and respect...to live the Golden Rule.

Venu, I remember one particular instance of her teaching this "life lesson" as if it were yesterday. Mom owned a small store, and I used to dust it every Saturday after school to earn my allowance. One afternoon I observed my mother talking to all the customers as they came in...the hardware store owner, the banker, a farmer, a doctor. At the end of the day, just as Mother was closing, the garbage collector came in.

I was ready to go home, and I thought that surely, Mother wouldn't spend too much time with her but I was wrong. Mother greeted her at the door with a big hug and talked with her about her husband and son who had been in a car accident the month before. She empathized, she asked questions, she listened, and she listened some more. I kept looking at the clock, and when the woman finally left, I asked, "Mom, why did you spend so much time with her? She's just the garbage collector." Mom then looked at me, locked the front door to the store, and said, "Son, let's talk."

She said, "I'm your mother and I tell you lots of stuff as all mothers should, but if you remember nothing else I ever tell you, remember this...treat every human being just the way that you would want to be treated." She said, "I know this is not the first time you've heard it, but I want to make sure it's the first time you truly understand it, because if you had understood, you would never have said what you said." We sat there and talked for another hour about the meaning and the power of the Golden Rule. Mom said, "If you live the Golden Rule, everything else in life will usually work itself out, but if you don't, your life probably will be very unhappy and without meaning."

Friends, I recently heard someone say, "If you teach your child the Golden Rule, you will have left them an estate of incalculable value." Truer words were never spoken.