Living a good life – Dhyana Yoga 40

In our previous post, we saw that Arjuna, his mind filled with confusion, pleads with Lord Krishna to remove all the wool that he is entangled in and give him the right knowledge. Krishna now replies,

paartha naiveha naamutra vinaashastasya vidyate .
na hi kalyaaNakR^itkashchid.h durgati.n taata gachchhati .. 6.40..

Krishna said, “Dear Arjuna, there is no fall for him either in this world or in the life after. No evil can ever come to that person who does good.”

paartha – Arjuna : tasya – for him : na - neither : iha - here : vinaashaH – fall : vidhyate – is there : na – nor : amutra - hereafter : eva - either : hi – because : tata - my son : kashchit.h – anyone: kalyaaNakR^it.h – who does noble acts : durgatiM – evil destiny : na – not : gachchati – meets with

Before beginning his detailed explanations, Krishna offers consolation to Arjuna and our worried minds, by saying that “no harm will ever come – either in this world or in the next” for the doer of good. Such a person can never come to grief.

Once a woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. “I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a long happy life?”
“I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said. “I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise.”
“That’s amazing,” the woman said. “How old are you?’
“Twenty-six,” he said.

Sinful acts are punishments in themselves. When we go and touch a 2000V wire, there is no need for a separate punishment for that. If we are told not to do something wrong and yet we do it, the very act gives the punishment. When a person does sinful acts, he only sinks lower and lower. On the other hand when a person does good acts, he builds up a reserve of puNya due to the good Karma.

When a person is leading a noble life, having control over his self, showering love on all people, seeing and serving God through all his creations, Krishna assures that such a person can never be destroyed either in this life or the next.

According to Hindu philosophy, a person is born in this world only because of his unfulfilled desires. However, when his acts are noble, then these become the basis for his nature and attitude in the next births. The noble deeds performed in one’s life can never go waste and hence even if he is re-born, he would never have a fall in position.

Further, good acts also have a reversionary power! Even an entire sinful past is forgiven when we change over to lead a life of goodness. As soon as we decide to change ourselves, by doing good deeds, then we start climbing up in our lives. Our present lives are a reflection of how we have led our lives in the past. So all our desires and inclinations are due to the remnants of impressions from previous lives. Similarly, if we change our life and channelize it into good deeds and thoughts, then this will definitely spill over into the future and bring us close to our goal of God realization.

Here are some powerful messages for us to take away and practice..

– often, when we put our heart and soul into an endeavour, we sometimes wonder whether it is worth it! This verse is an assurance that hard work will never be wasted. Not only is hard work rewarding in itself, but it will certainly have an impact whether or not apparent to us immediately

- Good always begets good – try the impact of a random act of kindness – open a door for someone, smile at the doorman / messenger when you enter a building (whom you might not normally notice), help someone with their luggage, observe and talk to the people in an elevator instead of plugging into your blackberry chatting to cyber-friends – many more simple acts such as this can be low in effort but high in impact

- we do not need to wait for an afterlife to measure the impact of doing a good act. Good Acts and goodness are self rewarding and lead to a better attitude, lower stress and improve our appearance (a smile can light up your face) and attitude (being good becomes a habit!)!

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