Understanding The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule [1] can be written as don't treat others the way you don't want to be treated, or treat others the way you want to be treated.

In addition, Jesus said that the two most important rules of The Bible are: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew 22:34-40, NIV)

Changing from personal selfishness (seeking to benefit yourself) to mutual bestowal (seeking to benefit others) is a two step process: First, you have to rise above your ego, then you have to connect with others. By connecting with others, you become connected with The Creator.

Here's a detailed explanation of the rules:

1. Don't Treat Others They Way You Don't Want To Be Treated:
• This has to do with rising above your ego. 
• You have to rise above your personal selfishness and stop seeking to benefit yourself with no regard for others.
• Meaning, rise above your ego and stop harming others and all of Nature.
• Meaning, restrict your ego, your selfish tendency to benefit yourself at the expense of others and Nature, and don't cause them any harm.
2. Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated / Love Your Neighbour As Yourself:
• This has to do with connecting with others.
• Meaning, seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
• Meaning, adopt other people's desires as your own and seek to benefit their desires instead of your own.
• Meaning, 'feel', sense and connect with others, and seek to do good to them and to benefit them in a positive and constructive way.
3. Love God With All Your Heart, Soul And Mind:
• The quality of bestowal is God's quality. When you bestow to others and Nature, and seek to benefit them instead of yourself, you become similar to God in quality.
• When everyone is connected in mutual, reciprocal bestowal, seeking to benefit others instead of themselves, the part that connects is the part that bestows, the part that's similar to The Creator. In this way, you connect to The Creator.
• From the love of friends, you come to the love of God.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

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References:

1. Golden Rule. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Dec 6, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.