This post has been in production for almost 6 months now...but for unfathomable reasons I could not bring myself to complete it. The issue has raised its head up again due to some recent happenings in my personal life urging me to start typing away.
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Bura Mat Socho, Bura Mat Karo (dont think bad, dont do bad) - something our parents, teachers, our elders and even the course text books have been urging us to follow. And though the definition of bad or good varies from situation to situation, the theme has always remained the same. The question is - do I HAVE to be good or just BEING good will suffice? Is it enough to ensure correctness of action even if the thoughts you have run in the opposite direction?
Most common response I have recieved is - as humans we are susceptible to temptations of life (which usually are the "bad" things :) ) and as long as we can control our actions and not succumb to them, it is good enough no matter what your thoughts/ wants are. But, to me, it seems a response of convenience. By same logic we should not be hurting others even when we claim good intentions or our negative actions would "ultimately" benefit the other person.
Personally, of "dont think bad, dont do bad" the latter is something I am able to practice for most part...its the former that has been my undoing time and again. Come to think of it, even latter is something that I can't practice well. I have either postponed "good" actions (I shall be charitable when I have enough money to donate, I shall be nice when the consequence is not of real importance, I shall be honest when I don't need to cheat) or have carried them out of fear or some selfish interest (fear of god, fear of being caught, fear of adversely impacting my Karma, fear of being disliked).
Would I like to be good in spirit?...ofcourse...Have I been successful so far? No...and the only thought I can find solace is that I am not alone in this failure :)
"I shall be a lady when I can afford it" - famous words of Scarlett O Hara and the truth of our lives!
2 comments:
"Good" or "Bad" is a matter of perspective. There are universal "good " and "bad" things to do, only too often to be used as convinient by the person in question. It is just like the law, if a perpetrator also has a counsel, what is the law trying to uphold ? What is the counsel trying to do other than interpreting the law and trying to discover loopholes ? And then there are expressions like "white lies" which tries to connote "good bad things " ..all very confusing :-)I have come to believe that there are just more and more grey areas than mere black and white !
Knowing you, I was expecting the Gone with the wind quote by the time I reached the end of the blog :-)
Remember Mahasamar? Krishna has been often accused of interpreting Dharma to suit his convenience, but on deeper reflection, it is very clear that it was people like Bhisma who, even though they were following the established interpretation of Dharma, were actually following the wrong path and caused a lot of bad consequences.
I personally think there is no good or bad. There are just actions or thoughts, which then are subsequently classified
1. By self as good or bad
2. By self as good as bad based on consequences
3. By contemporary others as good or bad in themselves
4. By contemporary others as good or bad based on consequences
5. By history as good or bad, and this one based only on consequence
All the five classifications above will be different, which one is correct?
Who is to say that spending money on charity is better than having a glass of wine? Why is my enjoyment less important than anything else?
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