Scout's honour: For dharma and country

(Robert Baden-Powell)

Although it is often assumed that “Scout’s honor” is specifically associated with an Abrahamic type “God,” that assumption is not necessarily true.

Wikipedia reports that when Robert Baden-Powell founded the Scout movement, it was “independent of any single faith or religion, yet still held that spirituality and a belief in a higher power were key to the development

of young people.”  Because scouting organizations have since interpreted this conceptual foundation in a variety of creative (and sometimes secular) ways - their promises, prayers and laws can differ significantly from one another.

For example, Baden-Powell’s original “Scout’s honor” promise reads as follows:  On my honour I promise that - 1. I will do my duty to God and the King.  2. I will do my best to help others, whatever it costs me.  3. I know the Scout law and will obey it.  Although this may sound traditionally English to many modern minds, Baden-Powell had actually drawn his inspiration from such interfaith/intercultural sources as “the

Bushido code of the Japanese Samurai, laws of honor of the American Indians…  and the Zulu fighters he had fought against.”

When this original promise is contrasted with some modern-day versions, the differences can be striking. Here is a current FOS Open Scouting promise from Belgium:  I promise, on my honour, to try:  To be loyal to a higher ideal, our group and democracy   To obey the guides/Scouts law   To help where

possible.  Here is one from The Bharat Scouts and Guides of India:  On my honour, I promise   That I will do my best   To do my duty to Dharma and my country,   To help other people and   To obey the Scout/Guide Law.  The Israeli version reflects a Jewish avoidance of the explicit word “God”:  I promise to do my best to fulfill my duties to my people, my country and my land, to help others at all times and to obey the Scout Law.

Although significant differences do exist within these promises, the spirit of each remains remarkably in sync with this final message from Baden-Powell to his beloved Scouts:  Happiness doesn’t come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor from self-indulgence…  the real way to get

happiness is by giving out happiness to other people.  Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy…

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baden-Powell,_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Scouting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_Promise

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Last_message_to_scouts

Copyright March 12, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved