Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Simple and powerful. That’s not always top of the mind in our day to day. We instinctively choose to be kind and fair in our dealings with others. We give the benefit of the doubt. We look for the best in others and give our partner a moment of slack on a bad day.

But what if we look at the golden rule as more than just a gut reaction? What if we think about it in terms of a framework of a larger principle?

The importance of acting towards others the way we would like to be treated doesn’t fit into a larger context. It can be the larger context. It’s not simply one action in the framework of a larger principle. It is the larger principle. It’s the action that manifests the larger principle. Treating others as you would like to be treated is an action of love, of enlarging our view and seeing a whole picture. We humanize that other person by seeing ourselves in them. Taking the moment to treat another as we’d like to be treated requires taking a moment to recognize the whole person. When we see the moment in need, we can choose to walk on by or we can recognize that there are moments when we all need a hand. That simple recognition enlarges the perception and creates a new paradigm for both the giver and the receiver.

 A paradigm where we momentarily become the person in need. We under-stand that their feelings are the same as ours. Their feelings are our feelings. This seemingly overly obvious statement is at the core of almost every religion. As if no matter who, no matter what, we still need the reminder to see the other as ourself. To treat the other with TLC, tender, loving, care. Even though it is instinctive, we are still reminded to do the work of being conscious of acting with love. .In fact, in Islam it’s stated outright: None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself – 40 Hadith

In most religions, when you boil everything down to its essence. you’ll find that the core teaching, is summed up as this, God is love. When we treat the other with the care and consideration, we’d want for ourselves. We love the other and honor our Self. Some religions see God as outside of the Earth and its inhabitants, a separate benevolent, watchful Being. Others see God as an intrinsic part of us all, God is a force, an energy that exists within us and without us. Despite those differences all major religions appear to agree that we should treat others the way one would want to be treated. We all have that understanding. A Buddhist teaching is: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful – Udananvarga 5:18. Compare that to Judaism: That which is hateful to you do not do to another: that is the entire Torah and the rest is its interpretation. Go study. – Talmud Shabbat 31 a.  There is zero difference.

 Why is that? It is universal to care about one another. To put it another way Love is God. The universal nature of love is the Principle that unites us all and guides us all. When we act with Love we are in God and God is in us.

Namaste