Fwd: [ISKCON_jivatattva] Appearance of Good can deceive a person

1 view
Skip to first unread message

Dr Satish Gosain (Sri Krishna Hari Das)

unread,
Jan 17, 2012, 11:52:14 AM1/17/12
to


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jiva Tattva <iskcon_j...@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Subject: [ISKCON_jivatattva] Appearance of Good can deceive a person
To: "ISKCON_j...@yahoogroups.com" <ISKCON_j...@yahoogroups.com>


 


 
Dear Devotee Member

"Srila Prabhupad Ki Jai"

I have two questions

My 1st Question is can you an example for my easy understanding of this statement in every good there is bad hidden and in every bad good is hidden?

Appearance of Good can deceive a person

As Guru sadhu sastras say in every act then one can imagine the no of examples that are present, however we will narrate two stories from the scriptures to make one understand this statement. The end justifies the means. Only from the result of an act we get to know if we have done a good act or a bad act and we need to also know that results are not in our hand but in Krsnas Hands. There is a wise saying if your intentions are good and your ways are wrong then the result is wrong. However in KC Krsna sees the sincerity and intention of a person based on that sincerity and intention he awards result. As the results are in Krsna's hands  we get to see many amazingly favorable results only. Ask an astrologer about a devotees chart and we will get the proof because his predictions will and has always failed them. Therefore there is no point for a devotee to go and see an astrologer. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was a devotee astrologer but even He gave up astrology.

 The first story describes an apparently sinful man who went to heaven, the second narrates the opposite: a "religious" sage who went to hell. In both stories, what matters most is not the act itself, but rather the consequences of the act. Here are the stories: 

Krishna said: "There was a an animal hunter named Balaka who killed animals to maintain his children and wife, not for his own desire. He also maintained his blind mother and father and other dependents. Ever dedicated to his duty, he spoke the truth and did not envy.
"One day, though seeking prey with much effort, he did not find any. Then he saw a wild beast drinking water and using its nose for eyes. Though he had never seen a creature like that before, he slew it at once. Just after that a shower of flowers fell from the sky. And from heaven came an enchanting airplane resounding with the songs of Apsaras and musical instruments, and desiring to take away [to heaven] that animal hunter.
"The [slain] creature had performed austerities and obtained a boon, Arjuna, to destroy all creatures and therefore Svayambhu had blinded him. Having slain him, who was sure to destroy all creatures, Balaka then went to heaven. Thus dharma is very hard to understand.
"Now there was a brahmana named Kaushika, not very learned in scripture, who dwelled [in the forest] at the confluence of several rivers, not far from a village.
"'I must always speak the truth!' This became his vow. O Dhananjaya, he then grew famous as a speaker of truth. Then some people entered that forest out of fear of robbers. Indeed the cruel robbers followed, searching hard for them. Knowing Kaushika to speak the truth, the robbers approached him and said, 'By which path, sir, did all those people go? We ask in truth. Speak out if you know where they are. Tell us!'
'Thus questioned, Kaushika told them the truth: 'They are hiding in that grove full of trees, creepers and bushes.' Then the robbers found them and cruelly killed them. Thus it is heard from authorities.
"Because of that great adharma of injurious speech, Kaushika went to a very painful hell, for he did not grasp the subtle principles of morality. His studies were insufficient, he was foolish, and he didn't know the divisons of dharma." [MB 8.49.34-46, Ganguli 8.9.70]
 

On the Level of spiritual dealing Jana Kalya, Loka Kalyan (KC) is the highest Good or suddha sattva act 
Giving Krsna to all in the form of Holy Name.

Dharma also means doing only good or behaving in a moral way. Dharma is very based on a pirticular situation we can see the flexibility of goodness.

Thus although Balaka was a hunter, his intention was to maintain his family. He was not ultimately a bad person, but he found himself in an undesirable situation. Similarly, Narada told Mrgari, "Because you are a hunter, for you killing animals is a slight offense." Balaka's acts were abominable, but his intention was not.
In contrast, Kaushika's act was superficially moral: he told the truth. Yet in doing so, he harmed other people. He placed a "morality" above the actual good of others, not realizing that morality is only such when it benefits others. We have already seen in the case of Mrgari and Balaka that morality is relative to a person's situation. In the case of Kaushika, Lord Krishna establishes another mitigating principle: morality is relative to circumstances. Thus Lord Krishna states:

"Whenever people seek to unjustly rob someone, if that person can get free by not uttering a sound, then no sound should be uttered. Or, one should necessarily utter a sound if the robbers will be suspicious of silence. In that situation, it is considered better to speak a lie than to speak the truth." [MB 8.49.51-52]

My Second question is how do I identify good in every act?

We will try to reply this with another incident which would be an ideal incident as uttarayan is starting from tomorrow and Bhishma Pitama waited for Uttarayan to leave this planet. This pastime is a homage to Bhishma Pitama.
Happy Sankranti to all!!!!!

In the name of doing good how the appearance of Good can deceive a person is what we have seen.

 
In Bhishma's teachings spoken from a bed of arrows (Mahabharata, Shanti-parva), we find that Krishna's powerful moral lesson - that consequences do in fact matter, at times more than the act itself. The dying Bhishma speaks about satyam, truth, in a far more complex, nuanced way than he did in his youth. He is now extremely concerned with consequences, more than with the act itself. And he understands that in moral matters, appearances can be deceiving, a lesson he has gleaned from Krishna's two stories of the hunter Balaka and the brahmana Kausika. We shall even see Bhishma, at the end of his life, repeat and paraphrase Krishna's explicit language on this topic.
 
As Bhishma lay on the bed of arrows, Yudhisthira inquired about morality (dharma). Significantly, the truth of morality was not obvious even to the king of morality, Yudhisthira. Here is their conversation:
Yudhisthira said, "How should a person, who wants to stand on moral principles, behave? I seek to understand this, O wise one, so kindly explain, O best of Bharatas.
"Both truth and falsity exist, covering the worlds. Of the two, O king, which should a person dedicated to morality practice? What is actually truth, what is falsity and what is really the eternal moral principle?"
Bhishma said, "Speaking truth is righteous. Nothing is higher than truth. O Bharata, I shall speak to you that which is very hard to understand on Bhuloka. Truth is not to be spoken and falsity is to be spoken in a case where falsity becomes truth and truth becomes falsity. An immature person is bewildered in such a case where truth is not firmly established. Determining truth and falsity, one then knows morality.
"Even a non-Aryan, lacking wisdom, indeed a very violent man, can achieve very great piety as Balaka did by killing the blind beast. And what is astonishing when a fool, desiring morality but not recognizing it, achieves a very great sin, like Kausika on the Ganges?
"Such a question as this regarding where morality is to be found, is very difficult to answer. It is difficult to calculate, so in this matter, one must resolve the issue by reasoning. Morality is that which prevents injury to living beings. That is the conclusion.
"Morality (dharma) comes from the act of sustaining (dharana). Thus authorities say that morality sustains living beings. So that which provides such sustenance is dharma. That is the conclusion.
"Certainly some people say, 'Morality is scripture,' while other people deny this. I do not deny it, but in fact scriptures do not give rules for every case. Whenever people seek unjustly to rob one's property, it should not be divulged to them. That is actually dharma. If a person can get free by not uttering a sound, then no sound should be uttered. Or, one should necessarily utter a sound if the robbers will be suspicious of silence. In that situation, it is considered better to speak a lie than to speak the truth. One who does so is freed from the sins of taking a false oath."

Here Bhishma repeats basic points of Vedic moral philosophy taught by Krishna Himself:
1.    To understand what moral behavior is, we cannot, in every case, simply cite the moral rules of scripture.
2.    One must also reason out morality.
3.    In so reasoning, one must keep in mind that the whole purpose of moral principles is to benefit people
(Jan kalian/ Loka kalya we also need to know the true meaning that is the essence of it and process of it).
4.    At times, good people, externally, perform bad deeds.
5.    At times, bad people, externally, perform good deeds.
6.    In such cases one must look beyond appearances to see what actually produces good consequences.
 
Bottom Line:
 
Appearance of Good can deceive a person

For more information please long on to our blogs



http://srilaacbhaktivedantathakuraprabhupada.wordpress.com/  

"Gaura Bhakta Vrida Ki Jai"

Iskcon_Jivatattva Group Team


__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___



--
Yours Servant

Sri Krishna Hari Das
(Dr Satish Gosain MBBS DNB i Med)
Congregational Preacher, ISKCON, Delhi, NCR & Gurgaon.
Dr Bharti Nursing Home, B-30 hari Nagar, New Delhi 110064
+91-97170-55006, +91-98913-86194 +91-11-2512-5595, +91-11-2512-8754
ISKCON-learn Bhagavad-gita Community on orkut:
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=29085008

My Bhagavad-gita Lecture Videos on Youtube.com/bnhpl
http://in.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&dm=0&p=F29FC2589817EB98
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages