The Good and the Bad

On Dusshera (Hindu festival - celebrating mythological Ram's victory over Ravan) I got one very different message saying, Can anyone know what Ravan must be thinking at the time of ‘Ravan Dahan’ (Burning huge model of Ravan) in 21^st century, looking at the audience. He asked, “You are burning me here because I am Ravan, but can I see any Ram here?”

We always wish let the good wins over the bad, over the evil. But what is exactly ‘good’ and ‘bad’? How we differentiate if someone is good or bad?

It’s always based on our own experiences, our own set of thoughts, beliefs, and past experiences. Parents are certainly our very first guide to tell us and guide us who is bad and good. From childhood, we have been taught about with whom you should stay or talk or play. And we have followed almost everything. But as you started growing up, decisions shift from parents to you and yourself.

We make choices, we start living our life and we become ‘good’ for someone and may be ‘bad’ for someone else. We teach our kids stories of fairies that are naturally ‘good’ and witches representing ‘bad’. But have you ever thought, unknowingly we might also go in so-called ‘bad’ category. When you go so mad on someone who did bad, have you ever thought how good you are?

Latest fashion, trends, western culture, and internet all these are fine to some extent. We should definitely go with the trend and upgrade our self. But many of these adding wrong examples for someone. In that large audience, so many people must have done so many crimes. Bad is not only about people in cases like rape, murder, accidents etc. Of course, that is worst. But even small things like, betraying someone, dump someone purposely, and cheat someone, giving or accepting bribe, dowry etc. Are all these make you ‘good’?

I have seen so many people proudly do all such things and without any fear. Because they know no one is there to catch them, as from 10, 9 people are doing that, and it’s like so common thing. And we comfortably ignore it. That 1 person, who is sincere and honest from that 10, gets pressurized by other 9, even if he wants to raise the issue. He have been convinced with the statements like life is like that, its common now, forget it, you also do something, go with the world, adapt it, you can’t change these, go with the flow etc.

Then what makes sense of how highly educated you are, how many degrees you have, how rich you are. There is one very nice statement, “CEO of the big company and the street cleaner gets buried in the same soil, may be next to each other.” But people might have praised and remembered that street cleaner genuinely, who must be so good and honest with everyone. And for CEO, there might have been very official fake ceremony of speech, where people might know how much properties he has, but couldn’t say anything good about his nature. Or never ever remember him for his good deeds, if he had earned that money with so many wrong ways, cheating so many people, or harming many families.

We have made this world, countries, states and people. Only we have that ability to change the scenario. If we celebrate such festivals, every person has to know why we celebrate and implement that in life. Our ancestors have made very beautiful examples in form of novels, mythology, stories etc. and every nursery teacher, parents, almost everyone knows in their heart but we don’t follow and ignore is with our own comfort, as we want to run in the race with other stupid who are already running knowingly unknowingly.

Knowing and implementing what is good and what is bad is the first step we all should start working on. Because many people think it’s good, when it’s actually bad. There can’t be any definition as such, but at least we can follow some basic ethics and morals. Let's live peacefully and let others live the same way.

There is one beautiful song from ‘Swades’, saying, “Mann se Ravan jo nikale, Ram uske mann me hai” means: when we throw out (Ravan – depicting bad things) bad from our mind, then you will be automatically good (Ram).