An action, in itself, cannot be good or bad because action is never an isolated from its circumstances.
We know many cases where an action is "good" under a given situation whereas, the same action in a different context is "bad". Telling truth is good in a court of law but telling truth where an innocent person can be harmed by someone's evil action is bad! For example, Krishna advising Yudhisthira not to give straightforward answer to Dronacharya when the elephant named Ashwasthama got killed, giving him the impression that it was his son by the same name may have been killed, just to render him ineffective in the war to save Pandavas, where righteousness belonged! Another example, if killing, Per Se, is "bad", why its alright to kill in a war?
The reason for such a complexity is our solid interdependency on each other and nature that no thing in itself can be considered as "always good" or "always bad". Circumstances surrounding events determine relative goodness or evilness! Again "good" and "bad" are only in minds of people, and hence they are relatively good or bad, not in absolute sense!
Having said this, we must be aware of its practical implications:
Engage in those actions without being a doer, and with the best of intentions and skills that will result in greater good even at relative level. And above all, Trust God, HE/SHE/IT knows better!
Understanding comes from the Absolute while living happens in relative world!
Last point: Only as an individual, we don't have freedom or have some freedom limited by our conditioning! However, what we really are is Freedom itself, not that we have freedom, Just as God IS all freedom!
That which IS without limit, how can it not have Freedom to go on existing in infinite ever-changing forms including the freedom to be limited?
We know many cases where an action is "good" under a given situation whereas, the same action in a different context is "bad". Telling truth is good in a court of law but telling truth where an innocent person can be harmed by someone's evil action is bad! For example, Krishna advising Yudhisthira not to give straightforward answer to Dronacharya when the elephant named Ashwasthama got killed, giving him the impression that it was his son by the same name may have been killed, just to render him ineffective in the war to save Pandavas, where righteousness belonged! Another example, if killing, Per Se, is "bad", why its alright to kill in a war?
The reason for such a complexity is our solid interdependency on each other and nature that no thing in itself can be considered as "always good" or "always bad". Circumstances surrounding events determine relative goodness or evilness! Again "good" and "bad" are only in minds of people, and hence they are relatively good or bad, not in absolute sense!
Having said this, we must be aware of its practical implications:
Engage in those actions without being a doer, and with the best of intentions and skills that will result in greater good even at relative level. And above all, Trust God, HE/SHE/IT knows better!
Understanding comes from the Absolute while living happens in relative world!
Last point: Only as an individual, we don't have freedom or have some freedom limited by our conditioning! However, what we really are is Freedom itself, not that we have freedom, Just as God IS all freedom!
That which IS without limit, how can it not have Freedom to go on existing in infinite ever-changing forms including the freedom to be limited?
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