The Difficulty of Being Good

[Guest guest]

I read a book recently. The title is 'The Difficulty of Being Good'. The author,

Gurcharan Das, has been a corporate leader and an admired thinker. The book was

conceived when he took an academic holiday during which he studied the

Mahabharat (among other things). His intent must have been to gain a real

insight into this epic. And, he has succeeded in his mission.His book is based

on some of the important characters in the Mahabharat. He has analysed

these personalities thoughtfully, without distorting any of

their cardinal traits. Inferences drawn from the classic are juxtaposed on the

current events.

'The Difficulty of Being Good' is,well, about being good. What does being good

mean? Simply, a person is good if others think he is. Goodness is the summation

of all good qualities a person can have. In the context of the Mahabharat, being

good means being just and righteous. It is not easy to be good if goodness is

equated with justice and righteousness. Further,  thoughts  and

actions resulting from goodness can create very difficult circumstances.

However, good people are not restrained by the possible negative consequences of

their righteousness. Nor are they they motivated by the expected positive

outcomes.

One does not need a reason to be good. The strength of your morality determines

the degree of your goodness. In Mahabharat, Yudhishtra epitomises  'dharma'. He

always chose the path of righteousness. When he was cheated out of all his

possessions by  a scheming Duruyodhan, Dropadi asked him, " Why be always be

good? " Yudhishtra replied, " I act because I must. "

Goodness is the ultimate human quality. We must be good, but goodness dos not

guarantee 

reciprocal goodness. It is very difficult to be good to a person who does not

understand what goodness is. Perhaps Yudhishtra ignored this fact and acted

righteously even when the Kauravs laid a trap for him. So it is not right to be

always 'right'. Mahabharat can be summarized in the form of a simple, but

important, lesson: Morality must be balanced against reality. 

Bharat