Today I'm going to talk about something we Hindus don't talk about. We think we don't have this, that only Christans have it: the Ten Commandments. We have them too and it's very important that we follow them – they're the most beautiful commandments that any religion can have.ONE: Ahimsa – non killing, non injury, not consuming meat, not even having a single thought of injury in your mind. That means you never think, “I should injure or kill somebody”. It's the most beautiful commandment. We're saying that all living entities have the aspect of God, a fragment of God within. Even you have that. It's called the Self or the soul.
TWO: Satya or truth. When you're preaching God's word you must be truthful about it. Do not make what you preach the only truth. There are other truths in preaching God's word.
THREE: Asteya or non-stealing. We should not steal. What is the meaning of the word 'steal'? It's more than taking something from someone else. You should not even steal in your mind. You should not even think that you want someone else's possessions. It is very important. If we want to follow sanatan dharma, then we should be in this state at all times.
FOUR: Brahmacharya. This commandment confuses everybody it has three meanings. (i) Being completely celibate in this life. You can't say “I'm celibate,” and still celebrate. That is very difficult in today's society, it's the most difficult aspect. (ii) Restraint: that means that if you are married you should have restraint in your married life. (iii) This is easiest – just see God in everybody. Brahma charya - see the Brahma in everybody and you are an acharya.
FIVE: Aparigraha – non-accumulation of wealth. We should have just enough, not more than enough. We should know when we have enough. But we don't know. We will accumulate and accumulate until we have more than we can account for.
SIX: Shaucha – cleanliness. We need to live in cleanliness in every aspect of this life. You should follow a specific personal hygiene routine. There are certain things we have to do as male and female. These must be followed
SEVEN: Santosha means to be happy, content with whatever you have in life. Do not think you should have more or less than somebody else. Even if you have one grain of rice on your plate.
EIGHT: Tapa or Sadhana – spiritual practices, austerities. You need to do these continuously like the yoga students. They get up in the morning, do their business then do their sadhana, their tapas, austerities. We all have to do this. Work is tapas if we regard it as sadana, but if we regard it as a salary, then its not pure. The Bhagavad Gita says we should not await the fruits of our actions.
NINE: Swadhyay - the studying of scriptural literature. A beautiful spiritual literature is the Bhagavad Gita. I emphasise this because it is a very easy book to understand. It can make you spiritual overnight if you read it with faith. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, as many times as I can remember, mentions that it is possible for each one of you to become spiritual. So study spiritual literature like the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible or the Koran. Study them. Dedicate at least one hour a day for this sadhana.
TEN: Ishwara Paridhan means surrender totally to the Lord. It doesn't mean you must leave your wife, vehicle and property, and go sit in the forest and meditate. It means you must do everything and still maintain complete divine awareness of the Lord. If you can do that then you can say you have surrendered.
Only if you follow these Ten Commandments, then you can call yourself a Hindu. Just as if you follow the Ten Christian Commandments, then you're a Christian. These were given to us by great saints in the form of yoga. They are the yogic sadhana that we should be performing daily. I hope that we try and follow some of them for now. Start with ahimsa, non-injury. I know it's difficult for some of you.
Hari Om. God Bless.
