Golden Rule For Progress.

THE GOLDEN RULE
MEANING: The Golden Rule means, substantially, to do unto others, as you would wish them to do unto you if your positions were reversed. The real reason behind this rule is – There is an eternal law through the operation of which we reap that we sow.
When you select the rule of conduct by which you guide yourself in transaction with others, you will be fair and just, very likely, if you know that you are setting into motion, by that selection, a power that will run its course for well-being or grief, in the lives of others, returning finally, to help or hinder you according to its nature.
This law goes much further and even returns a person the results of every thought that he releases. The law upon which the Golden Rule is based begins affecting him, either for good or evil, the moment he releases a thought. It is the medium through which a person becomes the master of his own destiny. It is because his thoughts and acts are the tools with which he ultimately does make his destiny.
Therefore, not alone it is advisable to “do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.” But to avail yourself fully of the benefits of this great Universal Law, you must “think of others as you wish them to think of you”.
You cannot pervert or change the course of this law. But, you can adapt yourself to its nature and thereby use it as an irresistible power that will carry you to heights of achievements which could not be attained without its aid.
A passive attitude towards the Golden Rule will bring no results. It is not enough to merely believe in it. If you want results, you must take an active attitude towards it. With full faith and prayer, apply it in your relationship with others and gradually, you will develop belief in its soundness. There is the belief that no man can attain success in its highest form without the aid of an earnest prayer. Give prayer a trial after every thing else fails to bring you a satisfactory success.
To decide whether your particular action is right or wrong, use logic and reason to deduce its consequences on yourself. You must attempt to determine how your actions will influence others to act towards you. Do you really not care what others think? What are the long-term effects of your actions? May be you need to temper your actions a bit to get more of what you want from others.
Emerson said, “A man passes for what he is worth. What he is engraves itself on his face, on his form, on his fortunes in letters of light which all men may read but him.”
With idea of Golden Rule in mind, Emerson further said, “Whilst frankness proves to be the best tactics, for it invites frankness, puts the parties on a convenient footing and makes their business a friendship. Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great by making an exception in your favour to all their rules of trade.”
As this rule comes to be understood, cooperation will take the place of competition, with the result of removing all ground for enmity, whether between individuals, classes or nations. All who will understand and apply this law may profit by shaping their business philosophy to conform to this sweeping change toward cooperation which is taking place all over the world. The failure to adopt the Golden Rule as the foundation of one’s business or professional philosophy is the equivalent of economic suicide.
Golden Rule philosophy when rightly understood and applied makes dishonesty impossible. It also makes it impossible all other destructive qualities such as selfishness, greed, envy, bigotry, hatred and malice.
When you apply the Golden Rule, you become at once, both the judge and the judged–the accused and the accuser. This places one in a position in which honesty begins in one’s own heart, toward one’s self and extends to all others with equal effect. It is not the brand of honesty which recognizes nothing but the question of expediency.
Those who apply this law, do it not alone out of their desire to be just with others, but because of their desire to be just with themselves. They understand that through the operation of this law every thought they release and every act in which they indulge has its own counterpart in some fact or circumstance with which they will later be confronted.
All our acts and even our thoughts of others are registered in our Sub-Conscious Mind through the principle of Auto-suggestion. With this process, we build our own character in exact duplicate of the nature of our thoughts and acts. Consequently, whatever we do unto others we do unto ourselves.
Stated in another way, every act and every thought you release modifies your own character in exact conformity with the nature of the act or thought, and your character is a sort of center of magnetic attraction, which attracts you the people, and conditions that harmonize with it.
You cannot indulge in an act toward another person without having first created the nature of that act in your own thought, and you cannot release a thought without planting the sum and substance and nature of it in your own Sub-Conscious Mind there to become a part and parcel of your own character. By grasping this principle, you understand the injunction, “Return good for evil.”
If you apply this injunction (Return good for evil), you cannot be induced to “strike back” to the person who injures you, for the reason that no man can “strike back” at another “without cost.” Not always is the cost of a monetary nature, for there are other things with which one may pay that are dearer than money. Your character for you is dearer than money and for the sake of the reputation of your character you may be induced to “forgive” your money.

Let us embody the law of Golden Rule in Code of Ethics and adopt, as under.
I. I believe in the Golden Rule as basis of all human conduct. Therefore, I will never
do to another person that which I would not be willing for that person to do to me,
if our positions were reversed.
II. I will be honest in all my transactions with others, because of my desire to be
honest with them, as well as to impress the idea of honesty on my own Sub-
Conscious Mind, thereby weaving this essential quality into my own character.
III. I will forgive those who are unjust toward me, with no thought as to whether they deserved it or not. Because, I understand the law through which forgiveness of
others strengthen my own character and wipes out the effects of my own
transgressions, in my Sub-Conscious Mind.
IV. I will always be just, generous and fair with others, even though I know that these
acts will go un-noticed and un-rewarded, in the ordinary terms of reward.
Because, I understand and intend to apply the law through the aid of which one’s
own character is but the sum total of one’s own acts and deeds.
V. Whatever time I may have to devote to the discovery and exposure of the
weaknesses and faults of others, I will devote more profitably to the discovery of and correctness of my own weaknesses.
VI. I will slander no person, no matter how much I believe another person may
deserve it, because I wish to plant no destructive suggestions in my own Sub-
Conscious Mind.
VII. I will recognize the power of “thought” as being an inlet leading into my brain from
the universal ocean of life. Therefore, I will set no thoughts afloat upon that
ocean lest they pollute the minds of others.
VIII. I will conquer the common human tendency toward hatred, envy, selfishness, jealousy, malice, pessimism, doubt and fear. Because, I believe these to be the
seed from which the world harvests most of its troubles.
IX. When my mind is not occupied with thoughts that tend toward the attainment of
my “Definite Chief Aim” in life, I will voluntarily keep it filled with the thoughts of
courage, self-confidence, goodwill toward others, faith, kindness, loyalty, love for
truth and justice. Because, I believe these to be seed from which the world reaps
its harvest of progressive growth.
X. I understand the law, through operation of which my own character is developed
from my own acts and thoughts. Therefore, I will guard with care all that goes into
its development.
XI. As enduring happiness comes only through helping others find it and no act of
kindness is without its reward, even though it may never be directly repaid, I will
do my best to assist others when and where the opportunity appears.

The Golden Rule, The Rule of “Like Attracts Like” And Effects of Retaliation:
Your character is but the sum total of your thoughts and deeds. Further, like attracts like, as is known to you through the law of attraction. Due to this truth, it is impossible for you to render any useful service or indulge in any act of kindness toward others without benefiting thereby; because your thoughts and deeds are likely to attract those whose characters harmonize with your own constructive attitude. Moreover, it is just as much impossible for you to indulge in any destructive act or thought without paying the penalty in the loss of corresponding amount of your own power.
You need no proof that your hostile or unkind acts toward others bring back the effects of retaliation. Moreover, this retaliation is usually definite and immediate. Likewise, you need no proof that you can accomplish more by dealing with others in such a way that they will want to cooperate with you. You understand how to induce others to act toward you as you wish them to act – through your own attitude towards them. As your thought effect your action, so positive thought develops a dynamic personality and negative thought develops a personality of an opposite nature.
The law of “an eye for eye and tooth for a tooth” is nothing more than the Law of Retaliation. If I speak ill of you, even though I tell the truth, you will not think kindly of me. Furthermore, you will most likely retaliate in kind. But, if I speak of your virtues, you will think kindly of me and when the opportunity appears will reciprocate in kind in the majority of instances.
Through the operation of this Law of Attraction, the uninformed are constantly attracting trouble, grief, hatred and opposition from others by their “unguarded words” and “destructive acts”.
It is therefore, desirable to do unto others as you would have them do unto you; bearing in mind the fact that human nature has a tendency to retaliate in kind. In other words, if you would not have your eye plucked out, then ensure against this misfortune by refraining from plucking out the other fellow’s eye.

Golden Rule Strengthens Character: Instead of retaliating in kind, as mentioned above, go a step further and render the other fellow an act of kindly helpful service and through the operation of this same Law of Retaliation, he will render you a similar service.
And if he fails to reciprocate your kindness – What then?
You have profited, nevertheless, because of the effect of your act on your own Sub-Conscious Mind.
It might happen that you would base all of your acts toward others on the Golden Rule without enjoying any direct reciprocation for a long period of time or the others would never reciprocate your acts of kindness. But, in the meantime you have been adding vitality to your own character and sooner or later this positive character which you have been building will begin to assert itself and you will discover that you have been receiving compound interest in return for those acts of kindness which appeared to have been wasted on those who neither appreciated, nor reciprocated them.