Creation and Criticism

“The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you've got. ANYWAY.” — Anonymous

‘Do good’ is a very familiar sentence. It means to act virtuously, especially through lending a hand to others. If one lends one’s hands to the needy ones, one is giving to the world. In the process of giving, one may face hurdles. It is natural. On performing the act of giving, one’s act may be unacknowledged; one’s contribution may be underrated; one’s presence may be ignored. It is also natural. Now the question is— should one stop one’s act of doing good at such levels of life? Who would say—‘Yes’? The simple answer to this question is: the way one handles those hurdles will decide how successful one is.

Another question arises— is doing good a simple act? Again, the answer would not be in affirmative. Consequently, it demands to see it beyond the act, particularly at the levels of the consciousness and the milieu in which the act takes place and its resultant effects. At these levels, one should contemplate— is it the act of wisdom or ignorance? If it is an act of wisdom, where is the problem? If it is an act of ignorance, think twice and stop the act as it may spoil the grand objective.

One, who is wise, clearly knows that doing good neither serves to amplify the ego of the giver nor it generates superiority complex or any other negative complex in him. One also knows the truth that nothing is ours; rather, everything is a gift from the Almighty that one is momentarily in charge of. If one knows all this, one’s act of doing good is complete or unified in itself. At this stage, one’s act of giving is, no doubt, adorable. But, this adoration has its own ambit — its own shades of glory. However, it is not greater than the adoration (as well as splendor) awarded in the act of receiving. The Bhagwad Gita also believes that the receiver is greater than the giver. That’s why— “Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God” (Swami Vivekananda).

All the best!

Happy reading…

Abnish Singh Chauhan

Editor