‘Ethics in Vedanta’ is a series of blogs we will be publishing from the book, ‘The Choice is Yours‘ by Swami Chinmayananda. Our choices should be based on some ethics and values. Here we understand what are the ethics mentioned in Vedanta. After reading and understanding each value we will be better equipped to make the ‘Right Choice.’

Daily introspection and meditation are sure methods for building peace and happiness in the mind. The daily practice of meditation is one of the most effective springboards for developing clear and precise thinking. A sincere meditator, in the early days of struggle at meditation, learns to concentrate; and a mind held in concentration brings into view the deeper thoughts that were until then hidden by the mind’s own fluctuations. Great ideas are conceived only by alert minds held steady in this meditative poise of unbroken concentration and dynamic vigilance.

The mind not only serves us in registering all that is happening around us, but, as a part of our inner equipment, it conceives new ideas and new ideals for us to act upon and pursue tirelessly. The mind is ever the field from which all true culture must spring forth and flow out to enrich our life and, ultimately, the lives of all around us.

The joyous expansion of a mind in prayer and the hushed silence of the restful, inner dynamism arising in meditation are the sculptors that fashion our character and conduct. The more we detect positive changes ourselves, the more we discover an incentive to struggle to attain the higher purpose of existence – to reach ultimately the joys of illumined living. 

Our strength of determination should perennially cascade from the realization of the immense resources that lie untapped within our hearts. The Lord, the Omnipotent, ever resides in us. The greater our surrender to Him, the more He shall come to express himself through us. But today our hearts are full, and there is no such accommodation for the Lord. Therefore, we must keep on clearing out the mental rubbish accumulating daily in us. This inner “disposing of garbage” is achieved by the study of the scriptures for a short time everyday, and through regular introspection, prayer and meditation.

Let us carry ourselves confidently; success shall be ours, and, in fact, failures can only be “success delayed” to every seeker of the Higher.

If we choose to do so, even the lowest of us can grow through prayer, develop through study, and expand through meditation. Thereafter, our heightened awareness will impose upon us a sacred responsibility to make the most of life, both for ourselves and others. 

The highest prayer in this world is service; the greatest devotion is loving the people around us; and the noblest character trait is divine compassion for all living creatures.

Shall we waste our life in the futility of indolence, or shall we gain a glimpse of our glorious being through the purity of our sincerity and earnestness of our dedication? The choice is ours. The future lays open, waiting.