In everyone's life there come moments when you want to reflect on the meaning of your existence, the importance of relationships with people and the main human values. Then short allegorical stories come to the rescue, in which a certain moral teaching is concluded. They are very close to fables. As V. Dal argued, such teaching by example is a special literary genre of the epic - a parable. There are a huge number of stories on the topic of "conscience", but in this article we will talk about the most common and significant of them.
Vedic parable
The most ancient is the Indo-Aryan (Vedic) civilization, which left the legacy of the Vedas, which in Sanskrit translates as "wisdom". If we consider this culture as the fundamental basis for the existence of society, then it is logical to start with a short story "Voice of Conscience". The parable refers toVedic and lays the understanding of the very term "conscience".
Contents
One day, in search of Truth, a traveler reached a hermit who, according to most, knew God. He asked to reveal the secret to him. The hermit answered quite simply: "In all of us there is a higher "I". If it has awakened, then we show mercy to all things." The traveler was perplexed, wondering why, then, on Earth there is so much hatred and violence? How can God allow this? "Man and the Lord are interconnected by inner consciousness," said the sage, "if you hear the voice of Conscience, it means to live like a god, and if it is cut off, it means to go against his will. Disrupt order and harmony in the world."
The Seeker of Truth thought: "It turns out that the one who took another's life does not have the message communicated by God? Is this message the Conscience?" The sage confirmed the thought of the traveler, who continued to search for an answer to the question that tormented him: "But how did people manage to lose their Conscience?"
The answer of the hermit was not long in coming: "The Higher Self is easy to drown out in oneself, breaking the connection with God. Alcohol, tobacco and dead food contribute to this. But repentance, fasting and prayers, communication with saints will help restore the voice of Conscience. Unfortunately, there is no other way."
Buddhist parable
It is very common to find parables about conscience and repentance that go together hand in hand. If a person violates God's message, this does not mean that he does not experiencemoral agony. In the religious and philosophical doctrine that arose on the territory of India long before the new era, both concepts are key. The Buddhist parable of conscience is based on the theory that every living being has more than one life. Each time it is reborn into a new one, depending on how, for example, a person behaved in the previous one.
Content of the allegory
Somehow a wolf and a deer met on a forest path. And they began to argue. The deer tried to convince the predator that he was spoiling his karma by eating living beings. The deer himself eats grass, and such a virtuous life will lead him to the pinnacle of bliss. At the same time, the artiodactyl animal did not realize that, together with the grass, it was absorbing small insects and did not feel remorse. After his death, a bad rebirth awaited him.
The wolf acted out of natural necessity and at the same time always worried about what he had done. It was he who found himself at the pinnacle of bliss.
A parable about conscience for children
Allegorical stories have an important educational aspect, so you need to choose one that suits children. It will be not only interesting and informative, but also make you think, make deliberate actions. The proposed parable of conscience fully meets these requirements.
A teacher once said to his students: "I am poor, old and weak. I have been teaching you for many years, so you must find means to live on."
The students were puzzled because they understood thatit is impossible to expect help from the inhabitants of the city, they were too stingy. But the teacher continued: "I do not call for asking, you just need to go and take it!" - "How? Steal, become thieves?" - "Is it a sin? And doesn't your teacher deserve a better share?" - "But they'll catch us!" - "And you make it so that no one sees."
Everyone started talking and began to discuss the possibility of extracting money. And then the young man, standing aside and not taking part in the conversation, suddenly said loudly: "Forgive me, teacher! But what you ask cannot be done!" - "Why?" - "There is no place on Earth where no one would see us. Even if no one is around, there is me. The one who sees everything. And it's better to walk around the world with a beggar's bag than to watch me steal from people".
From the words spoken, the teacher's face lit up. He walked over and hugged his student tightly.
An example of a short and very wise parable
Everyone knows that conscience eats a person. She does not give him rest if he has committed an unrighteous act. So is she needed?
Man was advised to look inside himself. Following the advice, he was horrified. Inside was a pile of rubbish. "Shoot!" said a voice. The man was surprised: "For what?" - "What if a conscience is found?" - answered him. "And what do you want me to do with her?" the man exclaimed in surprise.
How was conscience born?
It is curious that there is an allegory about this. It is published in full in A. Novykh's book "Sensei. Primordial Shambhala". And we will give a summary of it.
It happened in a long, long time ago. Conscience appeared in the silence of the night. At this time, all living things begin to reflect after day life and noise. Conscience was beautiful: her eyes reflected the fire of distant constellations, and her face was decorated with moonlight. She immediately went to the people, but during the day everyone brushed her off, referring to the cases. But at night, Conscience freely entered any house and touched the sleeping person's hand. He instantly opened his eyes and asked:
- Conscience, what do you want?
- What day did you do wrong?
- Nothing like that!- What if you think about it?
Conscience did not listen to the answer, but moved on, but the person could no longer fall asleep, tossing and turning from side to side and remembering all his daily events. Soon all the people of the province began to suffer from insomnia and turned to the wise Li-Khan-Dzu for advice. They considered him as such, because he had the most land and money. But he himself suffered from the visits of Conscience and was already thinking about giving him all his we alth to the poor?
Then people rushed to A-Pu-Oh, who lives in Nanjing. Everyone knew that even the Chinese rulers used his wise advice. He listened to people exhausted by insomnia and said:
- Conscience will stop coming when you do not have to think about what you did wrong during the day. To do this, you need to write the laws on the scrolls and act strictly in accordance with them. Tangerines will learn the text by heart, and the rest of the people will turn to them with questions about what to do in this or that case. Conscience will ask: "And what day did you do wrong?" - and the person already has an answer ready: "Everything is strictly according to the scrolls."
The end of the parable
People began to live according to the laws and generously pay tangerines for advice from the scrolls. Their conscience no longer bothered them. Only the poor now suffered from insomnia, for they had nothing to thank the tangerines with.
Then Conscience decided to visit A-Pu-Oh himself. But he only screamed in the night:
- Why did you come, thief? The law says: if someone enters the house at night without asking, then he is a thief. And you are also a harlot, for you came to an outside man.
But Conscience denied that she came to steal and is chaste.
- But then you simply do not follow the laws, and this is also punishable by prison. Hey servants! Put stocks on her and put her in a dungeon.
So now people live, without Conscience, but according to the laws of A-Pu-O and tangerines. As it was in the distant, distant times. And what it is, everyone decides for himself, as soon as darkness descends on the earth and all living things start to think.
On the conscience of a scoundrel and a righteous man
Examples of the conscience of a righteous and vile person can also be found in the parable. We will present it in a somewhat abridged version.
Met the Conscience of a scoundrel her girlfriend. She was lucky to live with a righteous man. Her friend asks:
- How are you?
- It's not life, just suffering! My man has no shame at all. Insensitive. And no onehe doesn’t need anything but himself, his beloved.
- Have you tried to get through to his heart? It's a shame to hear constantly: "I completely lost my Conscience!"
- Great, I've come up with something, - said a friend.
They whispered among themselves, and the next morning the Scoundrel woke up, as always, not in the mood and thought: "Well, how have I already tired of my wife for so many years!" - "That's it! - exclaimed the wife. - And why are you tired of me?"
- Did I say something out loud? How did this old woman guess what I was thinking?- Who is the old woman?
The scoundrel was taken aback, his head ached in earnest, and he decided to take time off from work. Called the authorities:
- Good morning! - he began in an unctuous voice, and thought to himself: "Old goat! When is he already retired!" - What do you allow yourself? shouted the chief on the other end of the line. - If I'm an asshole, then you're… fired!
How the scoundrel became different
Only towards the end of the day, the Scoundrel realized that his thoughts were becoming known to his interlocutors in an incredible way. Everyone turned away from him, who before had no idea about his dark side of the soul. Now in response he heard only one thing: "Where is your conscience?" In complete desperation, he realized that he needed to learn how to think differently, but did not know how. And at that very moment, a quiet voice rang out:
- I am your conscience, I am here. You never heard me before because your heart didn't know what the real one ispain. Knowing her, you became able to hear my voice.
- Tell me, how can I learn to live in a new way, according to my conscience?- Wish people only good things! When you feel for yourself what you used to wish for others, you will change yourself.
The scoundrel who has become an outcast has known humiliation, human deceit and loss. He had to learn again to regret and compassion, to help and give. Imperceptibly, he turned into a benevolent, patient and righteous person. Thus ends the parable of conscience.
About repentance
It is impossible to retell all the parables on the proposed topic in one article, so only a few examples are given. Conscience, moral responsibility to other people, is always accompanied by repentance. Therefore, in conclusion, it would be right to talk about this. So, a parable of conscience and repentance.
A man accidentally fell into the abyss. Wounded, he lies and cannot get out. Friends tried to help him, but they themselves almost fell down. Mercy came to the rescue. They lowered the ladder, but it just doesn’t reach the lying person. The good deeds that he had done in life arrived in time, they threw the rope. Again, not enough to reach the bottom of the abyss. They tried to help and money, power, fame, but in vain …
Repentance came last. As soon as a hand was extended to him, a man climbed out of the abyss. "How did you manage?" the others exclaimed. But repentance was no longer there. It rushed to help others, because often only it can help people who have a conscience.
