But if someone was to
write about our world today, who would they say was “good” and who “evil”? Is
Israel “evil” or Palestine? Were the Americans “right” to topple a dictator, or
are Iraqi insurgents “good” for resisting a foreign invader trying to take
their natural resources? The boundaries now seem very blurred; who or what is
good or evil, and what makes them so?
However this is not only a
political issue; this battle takes place within each of us every day. Every
decision we make, every separate thing we do, every path we go down, we have
that choice: right…or wrong?
Now I can hear you at this
point… “I always do the right thing!” Is it that simple though? What is right?
To use a well-worn example, stealing is wrong, correct? What if it is you that
is starving to death and needs to steal food? It is right in your eyes to feed
yourself and save your own life, but in the eyes of the person being stolen
from, it is evil, especially if they require the food themselves. What if you
need to take it further and kill someone else to save your own life?
You have that choice about
what to do and how to think, but essentially your urge for self-preservation will
outweigh all else. You would make what could be seen as the “bad” choice. When
it comes down to the bare bones, usually one will do whatever they can to save
themselves or those they care about, and this is just human nature. However sometimes people take this
principle further, and apply this to other areas of life: not just to
preserve’s one’s life, but maybe to increase one’s power or wealth or
gratification, and they use the same logic of preservation to justify their
choice. In business especially, we see this often, for example, forcing others
out of business to preserve your own margins.
So having said that, are
we able to do the “right” thing? The above says no, it says we would do
everything we can to further our general interests. The right thing will only
be done when it suits us to do it. But
we know this is incorrect! We see people doing it every day, giving their
food to the hungry or giving their time to help others at cost to themselves. Some
people are selfless and give their lives for others, or they sacrifice what
they care about for who they care about. Where does this come from?
It is the values that we
learn, that we experience, that define how we see good and evil. However, we
need to reinforce this with the strength and will to make and follow through on
the right choice. In easier times, we are able to do the right thing more often
and focus on the greater good, as self-preservation is less of a motivator. Even
in difficult times, our urge for preservation may affect our sense of right and
wrong more, but even then, it does not dictate it. For example, a soldier may
sacrifice his life for those of his comrades when he could escape, or a
starving person will give food to others who may need it more. Especially, in
these difficult economic times, we have all got to make sure we do not lose
sight of this.
For every decision in
life, we all have a choice. It is as simple as that. Each of our values may be
different, our experiences may seem completely disparate, but from these come
our individual senses of what is good and what is evil. Often, it may be hard
to make the right choice, but it is what we should strive for in life, to try
and do what we see as the right thing.
Just like Rama did in ancient times.
