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How much importance should we give to our word given to another person?

[Śrī Manikanta asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmiji! How much importance should be given to the oath or the word given to another person. Please clarify this, Swāmi. Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmiji!]

Swāmi replied: It depends on what is justice and injustice in the situation as well as the deservingness of the person to whom you have given the word. A general conclusion cannot be drawn. In any case, giving a word to someone and keeping it at any cost is not the final justice. The final justice lies in not harming a good person. You can even break your word to protect a good person or to punish a bad person. Keeping your word, not telling lies etc., are moral values of a lower level. They can be given up for the sake of upholding higher moral values like helping a good person or punishing a bad person. Lord Kṛṣṇa gave His word to Duryodhana that He would not participate in the war directly. But He took the wheel of a chariot as a weapon and ran towards Bhīṣma to kill him. Kṛṣṇa broke His word to protect justice, which lay on the side of the Pāṇḍavas.

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