From Values To Virtues

Yesterday I was watching a certain episode.
The sister said I don't believe in values. And everyone
was like what? Then what she shared was very
profound. Values are based on outside - like religion,
culture, environment - and it is an acquired sanskara.
But virtues are divine qualities of the supreme soul
which we ought to imbibe. The supreme soul is happy,
loving, peaceful, blissful, compassionate, ocean of
knowledge, kindness whereas values could be very
related to material world or like a protocol - we are so
and so religion or caste and our value is to eat this or
not eat this or marry like this or not marry like this etc.

Coming to marriage, we have been in this institute
forever and somehow it is now so wrong more than
ever before in terms of its approach, its expected
outcomes and hence the very foundation of this institute
is shaking. In today's world we are trying to fill our
happiness from each other rather than filling ourselves
with happiness and spreading it to others. This is
similar to an example where one well is dug and
another well is dug - both only a few feet deep and then
we expect water - and if water - little bit is seen in one
well - we want to put a pipe and transfer to the other
well - thus wasting water and neither of well having
enough for anyone. But if we keep digging deeper and
deeper- the same well will hit on the ground water
which is so full. And once a well is full of water- people
automatically gather around the well and fill their
buckets. I think the analogy of building a well and then
sharing the water or rather giving away the water to
who ever comes is a great example of how we need to
keep digging deeper and deeper and find out divine
virtues and fill ourselves with them. Then whoever
comes around us will automatically draw from them. In
business language this could become like a viral
marketing. Infect one and rest infect all - so infect with
peace, infect with love, infect with bliss, infect with all
the virtues. My moms says real happiness lies in
making others happy. This does not mean we have to
please people or succumb to the emotional blackmail
that if you do this and this - I will be happy. What this
essentially means that - we first have to connect to the
power house of God and fill ourselves with happiness -
much like charging a power bank - and then let others
get the electricity of happiness through us.
Unfortunately we have understood things incorrectly and
hence when we apply through our limited understanding
which is based on a flawed belief system developed in
material conditioning, we start finding spirituality heavy
and boring! So let us connect with the powerhouse and
charge our inherent virtues of love, peace and bliss!