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| My Book of Positive Thoughts by Anil Kumar |
Virtuous persons are those who adopt a high moral standard. Their behaviour is morally good and desirable, and their character is a bundle of virtues. Such persons are sensible, that is, they are wise and prudent. They can distinguish between the right and the wrong and always stand by and for the right.
We should do our best to be virtuous and sensible. Simplicity, humility, love, compassion, politeness and courtesy are the hallmarks of a virtuous and a sensible person. We should develop them in us. We must not allow anger, hatred, pride, boastfulness, meanness and evil thoughts to affect our virtues and sensibility.
Our virtues and sensibility get expressed in our manners and etiquette. We are nothing but our manners and etiquette, which our conduct always exhibits wherever we go and whatever we do. For a start, we must learn to be always cheerful, polite and courteous in our behaviour. We ought to obey and respect our parents, elders and teachers and everyone around us. Little words of gestures such as 'please', 'thanks', and excuse me for making our speech courteous.
We must also avoid criticizing others for any reason. If we must disapprove of others' unbecoming behaviour, we must choose our words carefully. Unnecessary criticism of others can seriously affect our relationships. We have no right to indulge in scandalous talk about others and spoil their name and harm their reputation. Since ours is a democratic country, people are free to have different views, opinions and beliefs.
Therefore, we may disagree with others on all matters, but we must respect the freedom of thought and expression. We must learn to understand and appreciate the views of others, and for this, we should develop the fine art of listening to others with patients and compassion.
Finally, a word about our speech: a polite and courteous speech is an index of our mind and character. It can win us friends, respect and a good reputation and if it is the other way round, we may develop a lot of enemies around us. Therefore, always be polite, courteous and well mannered.
Sharmila Vijayvargi
The Fabindia School
svi@fabindiaschools.in