When you die and you face the doorkeepers to heaven, how well will you account for behaviour in this lifetime?
To get past the scales of Anubis, which weighed the soul against the feather of Maat, the goddess of Justice and Order, the souls of the Ancient Egyptian Pharoahs were measured according to the Laws or Divine Principles of Maat expressed in these statements.
- I have not committed sin.
- I have not committed robbery with violence.
- I have not stolen.
- I have not slain men or women.
- I have not stolen food.
- I have not swindled offerings.
- I have not stolen from God/Goddess.
- I have not told lies.
- I have not carried away food.
- I have not cursed.
- I have not closed my ears to truth.
- I have not committed adultery.
- I have not made anyone cry.
- I have not felt sorrow without reason.
- I have not assaulted anyone.
- I am not deceitful.
- I have not stolen anyone’s land.
- I have not been an eavesdropper.
- I have not falsely accused anyone.
- I have not been angry without reason.
- I have not seduced anyone’s wife.
- I have not polluted myself.
- I have not terrorized anyone.
- I have not disobeyed the Law.
- I have not been exclusively angry.
- I have not cursed God/Goddess.
- I have not behaved with violence.
- I have not caused disruption of peace.
- I have not acted hastily or without thought.
- I have not overstepped my boundaries of concern.
- I have not exaggerated my words when speaking.
- I have not worked evil.
- I have not used evil thoughts, words or deeds.
- I have not polluted the water.
- I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly.
- I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds.
- I have not placed myself on a pedestal.
- I have not stolen what belongs to God/Goddess.
- I have not stolen from or disrespected the deceased.
- I have not taken food from a child.
- I have not acted with insolence.
- I have not destroyed property belonging to God/Goddess
The divine laws taught by the Master Jesus, on the other hand, centre on our attitude to God and our behaviour with each other. Love God, the Creator, the All that Is, however you name It. And be towards your fellow humans as you want them to be towards you. Not in theory but every day, in this life.
To help you relate more lovingly, respectfully and kindly to others, or at least to do it as best you can, I will share with you some of the basic principles of relationships that I have learned from many spiritual teachings and traditions, and that I know from (hard-won) experience really can make an enormous difference.
Spiritual Principles for Relationships with others (partners or spouses, past and present, children, parents, workmates, neighbours, strangers, foreigners, those who are different to us...basically, everyone). Now....
However difficult another person may be, that person gives you an opportunity to know yourself better, and to develop your soul.
So even if a person persecutes you, speaks unkindly about you, takes advantage of you, or intends to hurt you, do not fight back or do spiteful things. Retaliation does not show strength: it expresses inner fear and weakness.
The challenge is not to prove you are right, or good or superior, or to justify yourself to someone else. The real challenge is to turn within yourself to find what you must learn.
First, analyse yourself and your relationships. Do you see problems with others that seem to occur again and again? How might you be contributing to those negative patterns? What faults and weaknesses might those others be reflecting back to you?
Do NOT judge yourself. Judging always contributes to your problems; it never solves them.
Do not judge the other person. You cannot ever know another’s soul , needs, fears or beliefs enough to accurately judge him or her.
Judgement is never constructive. Instead, it motivates people to lie, make excuses, defend themselves, and causes resentment.
Leave judgement in the hands of God, or the universal forces. The law of the Universe (karma) is that whatever a person does to others, they will face in their own experience. Whatever you do to, or think about others, whether good or bad, plants the seeds for your future experiences.
When we find fault in others, we will find those same faults in ourselves. We will experience those same criticisms and judgements in our own lives.
The only way you can ever truly understand a situation, a person - even yourself - is to take things as they are, here and now…not as you wish they were, or think they should be, but as they are right now. What is, is the only material you can ever work with. The rest is not real.
It takes strength to look inward instead of pointing the finger at another. It takes strength to seek the truth about yourself, instead of forming opinions about others. It takes real strength to do what is right and good when you feel hurt, angry or disappointed.
And it takes a lot of patience.
But no matter how difficult it may by, no matter how often you fail, keep trying. I can't tell you what a huge difference it will make to your relationships, to your life and to your peace of mind. And it will, I assure you, make all the difference to your Soul.