During the holiday season, it may be easier or harder to honor each other. The thing to remember is that we don’t have to wait for a specific time of year to honor each other. We should do it every day.
So how can we honor each other? There are guidelines in each religion on how to act and when to act in these ways, and we as people (and also as a society) live in more peace when we do. In the monotheistic religions we have the Ten Commandments; in the Vedas we have the Yama (social discipline) Niyama (individual discipline).
If we can hold to some basic truths, not only do we honor ourselves, but, at the same time, we honor each other. The two go hand in hand.
When Matthew asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, He summed up the Ten Commandments as follows: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40).
In both the Ten Commandments and Yama Niyama, the highest respect goes to The Source, and then to others as we would respect ourselves.
"Namaste" is a greeting that honors the Spirit in you which is in me. This is honoring God and man.
Honoring each other can involve the simplest things: we don't lie to each other; we don't take that which is not ours; we don't harm others, ourselves or the environment. Basically, if we simply treat others as we treat ourselves, we will be honoring each other.
Namaste to all.
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