GUILTY CONSCIENCE

By Vincent Van Ross

I grew up thinking that you either have a conscience or you don’t. Then, I discovered that you could also have a clear conscience or a guilty conscience!

By Vincent Van Ross

If you have a clear conscience, you need not bother about anything. So long as you have faith in what you say and conviction in what you do you need you should just go ahead and do what you feel like doing. In other words, if you are doing the right thing, there should be no feeling of guilt inside you,

I read a Chinese saying several years ago. I do not remember the saying anymore. There was a great message in the saying. I will try to put down whatever I remember.

The gist of the saying was something to the effect that you need not bother whether your shadow is falling straight or crooked so long as you are standing straight. It simply means that so long as you have a clear conscience, you need not bother about how the world perceives you.

A group of young monks were walking along a river one evening. They noticed a young girl, who had pulled up her long dress up to her knees, trying to cross the river. She made several attempts but withdrew at the last moment for fear of getting wet.

At last, one of the monks picked her up, placed her on his shoulder and helped her cross the river. She was home and dry. Then he returned to this side of the river.

On the way to the monastery, the other monks were very agitated. They raised a hue and cry. They insisted that the matter must be reported to the master as it was not right for a monk to carry a young girl on his shoulder.

The monk who helped the girl simply smiled at them and told them: I dropped her on the other side of the river. But, all of you are still carrying her on your mind!

I cannot think of a better example of guilty conscience—can you?