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There are many differences between a human being and an animal. There are some commonalities also. The commonality between a human being and an animal are that both have the following equipment: the eyes, the ears, the skin, the nose and the tongue. It is through which seeing, hearing, feeling (through the skin) smelling and tasting are possible. The process of evolution took off from the mineral age to plant age, to animal age to human age.

The humans are different from the animals in that they have the equipment called “Intellect” to discriminate/discern. They know the difference between right and wrong, they are supposed to have morals, ethics and values. Morals and values are generally personal and ethics is generally professional/social.

One of the morals/values a human being is presumed to have is a clear “Conscience.” Conscience is that part of the mind that discerns between right and wrong. It is more than a just “gut instinct;” our conscience is a moral muscle. A story to exemplify:

There lived a man who was a thief. That was his profession. He was good at it. He lived with his wife and son in a house. Just like many parents who want their children to do the same profession as theirs when they grew up, this thief also wanted his son to become a thief. Not just a thief but a “master thief.” He wanted to leave a rich legacy behind!!

The thief had taken his son who worked as an apprentice to many places where they stole and escaped without anyone getting noticed. He was so good at that. When the thief thought that his son now had all the exposure to thievery, he wanted his son to graduate and prove that he has earned the worthiness of being a good thief – just like him.

One day the thief told his son, “You now have all the expertise to break open a house, steal and get away with the booty without getting noticed and getting caught; I want you to prove yourself that you can handle the job independently. This is to prove your mettle. Tonight, you will go to this address, break open the lock silently, get inside, steal the valuables and get back as silently as you had got in. Make no mistake, you will decamp with the valuables and return in about 2 hours. Leave by 11 pm. I will be expecting you by 1 am.

The son was going to steal for the first time independently. He was anxious. He was worried. Taking a deep breath, he bid bye to his parents and walked towards the prescribed address. His father had taught him the art and the son meticulously opened the lock, went to the right place where normally people keep their valuables and embarked on his return journey with the booty.

It was 1 am and the father was sitting on a chair outside the house waiting for his son to arrive. Time slowly became, 2 am, then 3 am then 4, then 5. The father got very restless. He thought maybe his son had got caught and been handed over to the police or got thrashed by the owner. He was now profusely sweating and feverishly pacing up and down on the road in front of his house. Around 6 am the son appeared and the father first saw his son’s hand. It was empty. He was aghast. He saw his son’s face; it looked crest fallen.

The father was truly worried and walked towards his son and asked him,” What happened?” Is everything alright? The son’s face looked forlorn and cried. “Sorry dad, I failed you,” he told his dad. “What happened? Were you caught or were you not able to break in?” No dad, replied his son. “I broke in easily, quickly got to find the location of the valuables, got them, put them in the bag that you had given me, closed the door behind me and silently started walking back; Saying this he sobbed and told, “I failed you dad, I failed you.”

Tell me what happened, the adoring father told his son. The son said, “soon after I left the address with the booty, I had a strange feeling that someone was watching me.” “So, who was watching you,” asked the father. The son replied, “everyone was watching me; the moon was watching me, the trees were watching me, beyond all this my Conscience was watching me.” “Only the house owner and his family did not watch me.” “I have failed dad; I have failed you.” As often as we hear something like, “Operation success, but patient died !!”

The dad prompted his son to proceed telling as to what he did with the valuables. The son said, “as much as it was easy to break the lock, find the valuables, undoing was not that difficult; I kept back the valuables in the same place, closed the door behind, on the way home sat under a tree and contemplated about my future.”

Sorry dad, I will not do this profession. I am not comfortable with what I did. I would go and do some other work which is not against my morals and values. I would also request you to do some other profession making his dad feel bewildered.

We might think that no one is watching our actions. In fact, everything is watched by the “Silent Witness” which is our soul or Consciousness and our soul is connected to everything in the universe. What ever we do we are being watched. Let our actions be noble; Existence will take care of the rest. You become what you think all day long…

This is how “Karma” works. The law of causation – Cause and Effect. As you sow, so You reap.

Conscience is the voice of God, in the soul….
“Watch your thoughts; they become words.”
“Watch your words; they become actions.”
“Watch your actions; they become habits”
“Watch your habits; they become your character”
“Watch your character; it becomes your destiny” --- Lao Tzu
Never do anything against Conscience even if the state demands it – Albert Einstein