14.3 Right Conduct

 14.3 Right Conduct

 Question:

Is right conduct really important?

Answer:

Since right conduct leads to eminence, it should be preserved

more carefully than life itself.                                                      (Couplet - 131) 

ஒழுக்கம் விழுப்பம் தரலான் ஒழுக்கம்

உயிரினும் ஓம்பப் படும்.                                                              (குறள் – 131)  

Explanation:

Valluvar says that one should consider right conduct more important than life itself. When it comes to the question, should one protect his life at the expense of right conduct, Valluvar’s answer is right conduct is more important than life. This may be a tall order to follow for many people. But there are people who consider right conduct more important than life and are ready to follow right conduct even at the expense of their life. For example, the four Chaplains on the US ship Dorchester considered saving others' life more important than their own. 

During World War II, the US ship SS Dorchester was struck by a submarine’s torpedo and started to sink. The lives of the people on the ship were in grave danger. Lieutenants George Fox, Alexander Goode, John Washington, and Clark Poling were chaplains of varying faiths who were stationed in the sinking ship, the Dorchester. When the ship started to sink, the chaplains quickly rallied the troops together and began handing out life jackets, and directed people to safety. When the supply of life jackets ran out, they selflessly gave away their own life jackets. Then, the chaplains joined hands, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship. The Four Chaplains are also sometimes referred to as the "Immortal Chaplains" or the "Dorchester Chaplains". In order to commemorate their brave and selfless sacrifice, in 1948, the United States Postal Service issued a three cents stamp. There is no doubt that the four chaplains valued helping others to survive as more important than their own lives.  Like the chaplains, there are countless other examples of people taking life-threatening risks to save others who are in trouble. These are people who value right conduct more than their own precious lives.