“You reap what you sow” – After this moral lesson was taught to her in the value education class, Rhea returned home from school, her mind confused, full of questions that demanded answers. Curious and eager to know more about the meaning of the proverb, she went to her mother and asked, “Mamma, today the topic discussed in the value education class was, ‘you reap what you sow’. The teacher told us that what we give comes back to us; so does that mean should we should always do good?”
“Yes Rhea,” her mother replied. “Your teacher is right. We all have to bear the consequences of whatever we do, so it is important to do good and be good.”
This moral saying had a huge impact on Rhea and from then onwards she ensured that she was always conscious about the consequences of her actions. As a child she obeyed her teachers and parents and was good to her friends and family. As time passed, she started perceiving the world as black and white and gradually developed fear of committing bad karma which made her not only overcautious but also very anxious. She became increasingly judgemental and feared associating with people whom she considered to be bad. As a result, she started avoiding people with negative behaviour patterns and strived to be good to all.
However, as she grew up she began to realise that every person she met had some imperfection or other. Every person she had personally found to be good had behaved badly with others while people she had presumed to be bad had surprised her with their innate kindness. This made her ponder over the moral principle she had learnt at school. Everyone has shades of grey in them, she mused and so is it possible to be good all the time? This question haunted her.
Eventually she learnt to see people as they are and understood that a person’s behaviour is to a large extent influenced by circumstances. Consequently, it is unjust to be judgemental and label someone as bad. She also realised that being good often meant living up to the expectations of others. When one does not live up to the expectation of others, one immediately ceases to be good for them. Thus it is unrealistic to expect to be in the good books of anyone all the time.
One day when Rhea was filled with anxious thoughts about the right way to deal with people without entangling herself in what she considered to be ‘bad karma’, Rhea found her mother reading the Bhagwad Gita. She asked her, “Ma! I am finding it very difficult to please everyone by being good all the time. Although I have tried my best, many people are angry or disappointed with me. Will I have to pay a price for the bad karma I have accumulated unintentionally?” Her tone was anxious and her mother noticing it, tried to calm her by reading aloud out a verse from the Bhagwad Gita:
Bg. 2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ ४७ ॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te
mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr
mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
Translation
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
LIFE LESSON
We all have obligations towards our family, friends and society. It is important to do our best in the interest of others but not advisable to become attached to the consequences of our actions. People make themselves miserable when they do not get credit for their contribution which causes anxiety. Work that is done with attachment to results, whether positive or negative, is cause for bondage. So whatever you do, do it – UNCONDITIONALLY.
Written by : Saraswsthi M V
Mentor credits: Prof Mrs Shalini Pujari
