ON DOING GOOD

“ Do good, be good, and see good. This is the way to God” says Bhagawan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba! It is good to hear such things from avatars and spiritual leaders. But it is easier said than done! It is similar to what we call “ Purana Vairagya”. After listening to a powerful spiritual discourse on the Ramayana we come home with pious thoughts and want to conduct ourselves in righteous ways like the hero Sri Rama! But our thoughts evaporate as soon as we return and we tend to follow the qualities of Ravana! That is human nature! Our mind is so unstable and forgetful that we don't care for what we have heard from the great speakers. If every person were to follow the words of the great masters, the world would not be so bad as it is today! We hear endlessly and forget immediately! We can compare our mind to the dog’s tail which remains straight as long as it is kept straight by force and returns to its original curve soon after the force is released. Man has become so selfish that he does not think of others. He wants to do good for himself at the cost of others! He is satisfied if he gets the benefit while the other man suffers. The days of self sacrifice and service to society are gone! He revels in earning money compromising various other values in life!

Great saints and sages direct us to do good and see good! But man is accustomed to see the bad in others and things rather than the good in them! We are expected to be the bee and the butterfly that lands on various flowers and drink deep the sweet honey in them! We see the defects in others more easily than the the virtues and the good in others! Doubt, suspicion and hatred contribute to this attitude of the Individual! When we point a finger at someone we forget that three fingers are pointed at us! In short, for every fault we find in others, we have three defects in ourselves! Every Individual thinks he is perfect and the other person is wrong! This  attitude has to change. The butcher mercilessly kills animals for his business. But is he really without mercy? No! He is merciful to his family and children. We fail to see the positive side of things while stressing on the negative side! Ravana, the villain in the Ramayana, despite his evil nature and despicable character, was great devotee of Lord Siva and pleased Him by reciting  Sama Veda!

We not only see no good but do no good! We don't go to help others in difficulties. We remain mere silent spectators while others are in dire need of support and help! An accident takes place on the busy public road and the victim is in a critical state! The passers by remain at a  distance and look nonchalantly! It is rarely that a person voluntarily comes out to help the affected accident victim! Civic consciousness, which is absolutely essential for man, is significantly absent in present society! It is the duty of every citizen to question any wrong and come to the rescue of anyone in suffering! We could imagine what would be our state if we are in the same situation.

Which of the three mandates given above is easy? All the three are equally difficult!! While doing good is difficult in itself, seeing good is definitely more difficult and being good is much more difficult! Being Good requires certain spiritual qualities like pity, compassion,acting according to dharmic or righteous principles, understanding, selflessness and service mindedness! These qualities aren't found in many people! Among the three qualities viz “ Satwa, Rajas and Thamas, good people have Satwa predominantly. Such individuals are good by nature. People with Rajas in preponderance are short tempered, irritable,and egoistic. Thamas makes people lethargic, dull and thick skinned! To be basically good one has to keep good company, have faith in God and a motive for service to  society!

The three ideal states “ do good, be good and see good” are inextricably interfused! You cannot do one without the other. You cannot do good without being good! Unless you see good in others you cannot understand the person properly! Man is a mixture of all the three gunas or qualities mentioned above. His actions and thoughts are dictated by the particular quality that dominates the person! But a person with “Rajas” can always try to control himself and cultivate the better quality “Satwa” by keeping good company! Similarly, one with “Thamas” can surely discard his lethargy and go for the best quality “Satwa”. Subjected to the eternal invasion of the inner enemies--” Arishadvargas” like desire, anger miserliness, attachment, arrogance, and hatreds, man loses his balance! When he controls his desires and gets himself detached from material connections he becomes good! When he becomes good he sees good and consequently does good also! Thus the duty of every human being is to do good, be good,and see good! That should be the ideal goal of every individual in society! The way to God shall be thrown open to such good people without any doubt!