This Most Basic Law of The Vast Universe

An old friend of mine I met recently,

And this is what she said to me

(Trembling, shaking, her face wet with tears,

As she laid bare her traumatic childhood years):

“If only my parents and my teachers had

Taught me the difference between good and bad,

If to teaching me morality they had attention paid,

What a difference to my life it would have made!

But they did little, or nothing, of that sort,

Considering it to be of not much import.

They taught me many other things, of course,

But, alas, it is a matter of great remorse

That values, the difference between wrong and right,

Didn’t seem of great importance in their sight.

My parents and teachers certainly did much for me,

This I readily acknowledge, and with alacrity,

But, for them, nurturing me in basic morality

Didn’t seem to be a matter of much priority.

Teaching me good values they largely ignored,

Though this was something they could ill afford,

For, values are for children a most basic need,

As basic as food, shelter and being able to write and read.

“At home, school, college and then university,

They taught us things of great diversity,

Some of which were to prove for me very useful

And for which, therefore, I should be grateful.

Many subjects I was made to learn, all for a sizeable fee,

A waste of precious time, though, much of this was for me.

One may garner many degrees, and even a Ph.D.,

But, of what use is this all if one lacks morality?

Oh how I wish good values they had taught!

That would really have helped me a lot.

Had they taught me simple, basic morality,

Instead of wasting hours on calculus and chemistry,

Shakespeare, extinct languages and geometry,

Statistics, algebra, and also trigonometry

(None of which came of much use to me)

How different my life today would be!

“Had they made me learn this one simple fact,

That every action we do has its inevitable impact,

That we will inevitably get back what we give,

It would have taught me the right way to live.

I would have avoided many errors that way,

Thus, saving myself from going far astray.

“Oh, the misdeeds, some too sordid to relate,

Driven by lust, anger prejudice and hate,

That I could have avoided had I then known

That one day I’d reap the seeds I had sown.

This basic law had as a child I been taught,

My life would likely not have been so fraught

With a heavy record of wrongs simply because

Of not having been taught this most basic of laws.

Knowing this law, from many sins I would’ve abstained,

From much unethical behaviour I could have refrained.

Had I been told that some or the other day

For each misdeed of mine I’d have to pay,

I likely wouldn’t have done so much wrong,

My list of misdeeds wouldn’t have been so long.

Many errors thereby I could have easily avoided

If in childhood I had been properly guided.

Had I known this law, I would have erred much less

And my life wouldn’t have turned into a gigantic mess!

"A child who’s not taught proper morality

Can later fall prey to perversity,

And, yes, even to complete insanity.

What could be a more tragic calamity!

To parents and teachers, I now earnestly say,

‘If you don’t want your children to go astray,

Teach them other things, but please don’t forget

To also teach them the law that as we give so we get.

This basic law every child should get to learn,

That what we do to others will one day to us return,

That if we’re bad to others, one day we’ll feel the pain,

And if we’re good to others, we’ll be blessed with gain,

That if one does good, in return goodness one will get,

And if one does evil, in return evil one can expect.’

“Dear parents and teachers, please be aware

Of how important it is for children under you care

To be taught this law of such immense import,

Ignorance of which can completely distort

The life of the child you’re meant to nurture,

Thereby playing terrible havoc with its future.

This great law is most basic to human life,

Ignorance of which can cause huge strife.

It takes hardly a few minutes this law to explain,

But the reward’s great, saving a child much pain.

If they know they’ll get back whatever they give

It can do wonders for how they’ll go on to live.

“This is a most basic law of the vast universe.

If one flouts it, one’s life will become a curse.

Conversely, one will stand to immensely benefit

If one knows this law and carefully abides by it.

By this law we our own fate ourselves make,

So, let’s observe it with care, for our own sake.”