DUTY BEFORE RIGHT — In The Right Order

DUTY BEFORE RIGHT In The Right Order T HE guiding principle for nation-building was given by Mahatma Gandhi in these words: Duty before Right. It is not merely a Gandhian formula. Rather it is a historically tested formula applicable to every country. The best society is a duty-conscious society. The worst society is a right-conscious society. This is a universal principle, and there is no exception in this regard. Enjoying one’s rights does not happen simply by demanding them. Rather, obtaining ones rights is an outcome of hard work. If you demand or protest for your rights, your efforts will be in vain because there is no one to hear your protest and fulfil them. In such a situation, demanding your rights is bound to be useless. Complaining or protesting for your rights is like crying in a desert where there is no one to hear your voice. Perform your duties, and you will automatically receive all the things that you want. On the other hand, when you perform your duties, you become deserving of obtaining your rights. Performing one’s duty is like sowing a seed in fertile soil. Such a seed is destined to produce fruit according to the eternal law of nature. Abiding by one’s duty always results in becoming able to accessing one’s rights, but merely demanding your rights cannot bring you any positive results. Our world is based on natural laws. One such law can be referred to as the Give and Take Principle. Saint Francis of Assisi has rightly said in his famous prayer: For, it is in giving that we receive. If you are a duty-conscious person, you give something to the society. And, according to the law of nature, you certainly deserve its return. But if you are a right's conscious person, you give nothing to the society. And so, you do not deserve to receive any favour from society. All ‘super-achievers’ in history were the ‘super-givers’ of their times. Their ‘super-giving’ made them eligible for ‘super-receiving’. If you want