The Reward for being good

Something that our teachers at school got wrong... They taught us through simple stories, that being good gets us greater rewards in long term, and that being bad makes us face punishment.

I do not think the above rule applies in Kali kaalam.

It applies in a very very very very very long term way, in the sense of afterlife, karma, moksha etc.

But it doesnt always apply in this life, not in material ways at least.

From what I notice, good karma is hard to follow. The more you follow that path, the more you sacrifice and suffer. It's like God setting more difficult tests with every level that we progress.

Some people misbehave, they behave pushy, rude, unethical, they achieve all material things. Whereas the one who follows good karma, always suffers from rules, rules, more rules, more sacrifice to accommodate the pushy/unreasonable candidate.

Maryaada purushottam Rama suffered a lot, so did His pativrata wife Sita. So by following good karma, they were "praised" by people, loved by their parents, but still, they were made to adjust to keep their father's word (this is another topic that I want to blog on one of these days, where does this kind of parent-child relation fit in modern life?). Yes they are immortalized today and worshipped, so they got a lot of reward in after-life.

My husband disagrees with my views, he says that good karma should be followed only because we choose to follow it, not because we expect any reward, hence, there is no reason to be disappointed on facing hardships, because that is the way of good karma. I agree with him, I am not looking for some materialistic reward. But it disappoints me in life when I see that the one who sacrifices doesn't get attention, that is the only reward I look for.

I wonder, if the shepherd has so much time for the lame lamb, and lets the healthy lamb go off on its own, perhaps I too want to be a lame lamb once in a while so that the shepherd will love (shower attention on) me? ;-)

Why is the healthy "good" lamb not worthy of love, why should it keep on sacrificing continually for the errant lame lamb, and why does the shepherd continue to expect further sacrifice from the healthy one? Is it not okay for the shepherd to one day cuddle the healthy lamb and say, "Hey nice lamb, I love you so much, thank you so much for being nice, you're my strength & hope, the future of my flock."? Perhaps the healthy lamb too craves for love & attention?

This is the paradox of religion.

On one side, when catering to the "righteous" side of us, we motivate ourselves by telling ourselves that we will gain heaven, and that the errant ones will be boiled in hot oil ;-)

But on the other side, while catering to the "wrong" side of us, we motivate ourselves by saying that all sins are forgiven in the kingdom of God, He loves the sick more than the healthy, for it is the sick who need Him more! :-O

I have realized that there is really no correlation between good deeds/repentance & rewards, nor bad deeds/guilt & punishment. The world goes on, on its own terms, we can't fully comprehend the cycles of give & take that karma follows. I am certain that there is an account for everything, that we balance it and give ourselves rewards/tests/tension tasks depending on self-evaluation.

But it is not that being good gets us a reward, nor that being bad gets us punishment. It is not so direct, it is much more complex, sometimes beyond understanding, sometimes comprehensible in retrospect. We have to live on with "hope".

It is very interesting how differently western and asian religions perceive this paradox. Modern greco-roman influenced christianity confuses me. It talks of weak lambs, of how we are all sinners, and we can find place in God's kingdom if we repent. It seems to focus more on the inherent sinning nature of mankind, that all of us are potential sinners. I dont know how its parent religion of Judaism sees it. I also dont know islamic interpretations on the inherent nature of mankind.

But in asian religions (like hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikhism), mankind is created by God, with intellect & heart capable to show godliness on earth, we are to be proud of our achievements and want to achieve more, our heart is a mirror image of God, sin is just a sickness which clouds our inherent wisdom, it should be wiped off with good deeds/meditation etc, to reveal the good heart underneath.



In my life, I have seen people who erred, who confessed & tried to reform, but put themselves & others in more mess. I have seen people who erred silently & stay in self-denial, I have seen people with dark secrets who begin life afresh (almost like Valmiki shed his old habits & became a yogi)& bring joy to others. After all this, I am trying to reinterpret the meaning of "lies", "lying", "truth", "being good", "white lies", "God watching over us", "karma", etc.

After all,



सच एक अँधा कुंवा है



I wish I could speak to Judas Escariot, to tell me his version of the "truth", his version of the "white lie", what if he is not actually a betrayer & sinner, but an obedient servant of God, who acted with Jesus' full knowledge and consent in "betraying" his master to the authorities. Or even if he did really betray on his own volition, why is mankind not beatifying him since he helped realize a biblical prophecy, and did what God wanted... In this case, is Judas to be a sinner traitor, or is he a good obedient servant of God?



One point is universal though, the one who lives straight & frank, lives with an unburdened heart. It is very important to at least be able to respect & answer ourselves. It doesnt matter as much if the world doesnt know the truth, at least we & God should know what we have been upto!



p.s.:



Credits- I borrowed the line "Good karma is hard to follow" from my patidev :-)