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Story – Unblemished Conduct The Jewel Of Good Men

Story – Good men have only one jewel, their unblemished conduct, and they must guard it, come what may...

Once a hunter pursued by a ferocious tiger got up a big tree which was already occupied by a bear. The tiger stopped at the foot of the big tree, looked up and advised the bear to throw down the hunter, for the man was the common enemy.

The bear refused, saying that a guest must be protected by all means and he would not break the law of hospitality. With this high thought, the bear closed his eyes and slept comfortably on the tree.

The tiger turned then to the man and asked him to push down the sleeping bear. This the man did. The bear, however, being used to such mishaps, caught another branch and saved himself.

Virupaksha Temple - Hampi - Karnataka

The tiger saw a fresh opening for his talent of persuasion. “Look at this man. Is he not to be punished? Push him down at once said the tiger to bear.”

Quietly and in accounts of benignity, the bear enunciated the eternal code.

A righteous man ought not to be turned from the right by the sin of a sinner.

The rule of honour is inviolable. Good men have only one jewel, their unblemished conduct, and they must guard it, come what may.

Be they good men or bad, be they deserving of death, still they must be pardoned and treated with mercy by one claiming to be a knower of Truth.

For no one is above error. So then let us give up the idea of retaliation or retribution and abstain from injury to all.

SourceThe Divine Life Magazine July 2013 – Article – Be Good and Do Good by Sri Swami Yogaswarupananda

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