Right and wrong are relative terms. They depend on the person. What you consider to be wrong, someone else might consider to be right.

Here’s an example. I grew up in Chihuahua, a northern state in Mexico, and a very ‘hot’ state with drug cartel activity because of its proximity to the United States. Drugs flow through the state and into the US and cartels are consistently fighting for territory.

I remember watching a documentary on National Geographic, where the host interviewed cartel members in the mountains of Chihuahua. To see how they lived, why they decided to get involved in drug trafficking, and how they perceived what they did.

When the host asked one of the hitmen, “Do you think killing other human beings is wrong?” He said, “No. It’s my job. It pays well. And there are not many opportunities elsewhere. I have to feed my family. And also, the people I kill are involved in this business.”

This guy doesn’t seem to think killing other people is wrong. He really thinks he is doing the right thing, protecting his boss and the territory, and providing for his family.

For me and for you, killing other human beings is clearly wrong. It is barbaric and atrocious. We would never do it.

For this cartel hitman, killing is okay and justified. He reasons this because of the circumstances he grew up in. He probably didn’t go to school, he didn’t develop empathy for others. He is just content with feeding his family, doing his job and protecting his boss. Whatever it takes. He doesn’t go about his day dwelling and regretting his actions. He doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong.

It’s like a light bulb covered in layers of fabric. The light inside is the spirit, the true self. And the pieces of fabric are different levels of understanding. The outermost layer gets the least light, while the inner layers get more and more light. The innermost layer, closest to the glass, gets the most light, unobstructed by the fabric.

Now, imagine your conscience is one of those fabric layers. Your layer would be a layer closer to the light. The hitman’s layer would be farther from the light. Your layer, your conscience, receives more light. His layer is much darker.

As you grow in life, and as you learn, you slowly discard animal passions and instincts and erratic behaviors. You discard one layer of fabric, then the next, and so on. Each time, the light shines brighter. Things that seemed right in the past, now seem wrong to you.

And so, each person’s conscience guides them based on the highest ethical standards in their present level of development.

Your mind receives more light and therefore, would never harm other human beings. The mind of the hitman receives less light and therefore, thinks it is okay to harm other human beings.

That’s why people's consciences are different. That’s why right and wrong are relative and subject to each individual’s circumstances, understanding and perspective.

Don’t judge. Don’t condemn. Everyone still has the same inner light. It is just covered by more layers than yours. Their understanding of good will eventually evolve into recognizing that it's wrong to do some things. But first, they must develop and unfold.