10 Commandments

Ten Commandments

From 1944 to 1948 Shree wrote several handwritten letters which contain information about His life, His work and His philosophy. Although addressed to individual persons, they are nevertheless universal. One of these letters, addressed to Kantilal Patel from Mumbai, is titled

VEDA-TATVA DASHAKA – the 10 basic principles of the Vedas

Later, they were known as the 10 Commandments of Shree.

These principles do not mean that earlier commandments or guidelines from Messengers of God are abolished. Whenever such high-ranking messengers absolve a Divine mission, they pursue the same intent, namely to show humans the pathway to the Light in the best possible way. The elemental guidelines were always the same, only differently stressed and phrased due to diverse circumstances at various periods of time. The Ten Commandments of Shree are a great help especially in our time and for the coming bright Golden Age.^{1,p. 75}

1.	Satya	Truth, Truthfulness

2.	Ahimsa	Non-violence

3.	Sarva Bhooti Daya	Compassion for all

4.	Shiva Sankalpa	May your mind always affirm the holy

5.	Datrutva	Inculculate the habit to sharing assets

6.	Pavitracharan	Purity of deed

7.	Bramacharya	Habits to unfolding the divine

8.	Tapa	Self-discipline

9.	Swadhyaya	Self-recognition

10.	Ishwar Pranidhan	Surrender to His Will (“Thy will be done.”)

When once asked about the relation between the 10 Commandments and the Fivefold Path, Shree explained that the 10 Commandments were given as an exercise to prepare oneself to follow the Fivefold Path. The first nine commandments are the disciplines to practise in daily life. The last commandment “Ishwar Pranidhan” is the most important; it means “na mama”, that is “not mine”. Na mama is the ultimate aim. This is Agnihotra.^5,p.194

Shree: “Whoever obeys these Ten Commandments of the Holy Vedas will, without doubt, be liberated. However, these Ten Commandments are to be followed virtually by body, speech and mind.” ^{4, p.136}