Difference between ‘principles’ and conscience

“There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts” – was rightly said by Gandhiji.

Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment that assists in distinguishing right from wrong. Moral judgment may derive from values or norms (principles and rules). In psychological terms conscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms.

It could also be called as the inner voice which guides an individual to reach to a decision.  We often hear a saying “guilt conscience pricks the mind”. It basically means that, if the conscience is not true, it keeps kicking you behind the mind.

Principles on the other hand are set of rule, which are formulated on the basis of past experiences and logical reasoning.  To keep our conscience intact, one can practice meditation and yoga.