Does Anyone Care About Doing What Is Right

“Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts, driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness.” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 1.44)

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अहो बत महत् पापं
कर्तुं व्यवसिता वयम्
यद् राज्य-सुख-लोभेन
हन्तुं स्व-जनम् उद्यताः

aho bata mahat pāpaṁ
kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam
yad rājya-sukha-lobhena
hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ

“Listen, I love Bhagavad-gita. I perhaps was not so interested in the beginning. The cover is this sort of head-fake. You get this idea that you are about to open up a narrative describing military conflict. Winners and losers. Ups and downs. A beginning and an end. High and low points. You know, how in professional wrestling they have what they refer to as a ‘high spot.’ It’s where you think the match is about to end. It is like the greatest moment of suspense. But then something happens to sort of reset the situation.

“But no, Bhagavad-gita is basically all philosophy. No narrative to speak of, except for maybe when Krishna shows the virat-rupa. This is the only transformation that I can think of. There is nothing really dramatic to it, from my perspective. It is cool that Arjuna is blessed with the vision. It is nice that we have amazing depictions of that event, which can be contemplated upon, appreciated, analyzed, and so forth.

“The reason I grew to love Bhagavad-gita is because of Arjuna, if I am being honest. The foundation of his inquiry is this innate desire to do the right thing. He wants to follow dharma. He is confused; at least at the start. What he thinks is dharma is actually adharma. What he thinks is wrong is actually right. This is why Krishna cannot help but laugh in the beginning of His response. He wonders how Arjuna could ever express sentiments indicative of anarya, or a lack of culture.

“I would think anyone who is similarly concerned about right and wrong would relate to Arjuna. They would appreciate Bhagavad-gita. The thing is, do you even meet such people today? Do you know anyone who cares about right and wrong, especially in the higher sense? They may be concerned about getting caught when deceiving a superior authority, like a boss or the government. They may casually discuss ethical principles and moral boundaries, but they are not really serious about it. They may keep a close eye on others, like colleagues at the office, as a way to monitor adherence to the rules, but that is only for the sake of comparison. They will complain about others getting to work from home while everyone else is stuck sitting at the cubicle after commuting through rush-hour traffic.

“Everyone I come across is interested in survival. Earning money. Paying taxes. Maintaining a family. Finding sufficient enjoyment in the future. Planning for the future, limited to the present lifetime. I don’t see anyone who cares about dharma and adharma. Therefore, what can Bhagavad-gita do for them? Why would they take an interest?”

If we are saying that in the degraded condition of society today people are generally selfish, miserly, cruel, and uninterested in the afterlife, then there is still an angle of interest. There is a way to appeal to their sensibilities. This is because every person either follows some kind of etiquette or expects the same of others.

We take the worst example to see the principle play out. Suppose we have a band of thieves. It is their occupation to steal. They take what does not belong to them. They rationalize the choice by saying that others also steal, that no one really deserves what they earn. These thieves say that there is no such thing as an honest living.

Stealing is the action, and the successful consequence is acquiring goods or services. The thieves take home money. Since they are within a group, there is an informal agreement. The members of the band agree to split the rewards. No single thief gets a higher share than another. In other words, the thief doesn’t want anyone stealing what they have stolen.

The thief insists upon this etiquette. It is the basis for their association. The group can only continue to exist if everyone follows the rules. The rules are dharma. Granted, stealing in this way is classic adharma, but in this isolated circumstance, the theft of a stolen item is considered adharma. The thief does not want to breach that etiquette; at least if they want to remain a thief in good standing.

This means that from the lowest person to the highest, there is always an interest in doing what is right. Bhagavad-gita sets the standard from the highest position to the lowest. It is like working in the opposite direction. Every person can thus relate to Arjuna. The more they hear from him, the more they pay attention to the responses from Krishna, the more they rise to the standard of dharma, in the true sense.

We imagine that we are in a situation where we want to do the right thing. What if there was no interest on the temporary? What if we did not care about ascension or demotion in terms of net worth? What if the reception from society made no difference? That is to say, if doing the right thing meant losing all of our friends, we would still proceed. What exactly is that higher way? That is what we are looking for. That is what Arjuna clarified for all of humanity, through the interaction with his charioteer.

If the example of Arjuna is too much of a stretch to relate to, we can look to Prahlada Maharaja. He was going to do the right thing no matter what. If the father turned inimical, that would not dissuade the child. Prahlada was only five years of age. He understood dharma through hearing from Narada Muni. Prahlada heard only for a brief period of time, while within the womb. That interaction was enough to create something known as dridha-vrata. It was a vow of determination to stay in devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

विष्णुः शस्त्रेषु युष्मासु मयि चासौ यथा स्थितः
दैतेयास् तेन सत्येन मा क्रामन्त्व् आयुधानि वः

viṣṇuḥ śastreṣu yuṣmāsu mayi cāsau yathā sthitaḥ
daiteyās tena satyena mā krāmantv āyudhāni vaḥ

“O Daityas, just as Vishnu is in those weapons and also situated in me, so by that truth your weapons will not be able to overcome me.”  (Prahlada Maharaja, Vishnu Purana, 1.17.33)

The personal interests pointed in the opposite direction. If Prahlada chose adharma, he would enjoy the love and protection of his father, who was the king of the Daityas. Prahlada would have personal safety and comfort. He would not draw the ire of everyone around him. The taste in the connection with God was too high to be abandoned. Prahlada stayed with dharma, in the face of the greatest difficulties. What conscious, living, rational person would not be interested in what made Prahlada so determined?

In Closing:

Not the father obeyed,
So determined what made?

For Prahlada firmly to stand,
Like fear itself to command.

Despite only a child of five,
Worst attacks to survive.

Because found something the best,
In connection to dharma blessed.