Today is the times of quick and fast. So even good deeds have gone the instant way. Payment send screen of UPI transaction is competing with the smile on the face of a needy person. There is general confusion as to how to identify a good deed. Let’s dive deep into this.
Using the correct words
In India a good deed is called सुकर्म or सत्कर्म . Sukarma is a combination of two words “Su” means good and “karma” means deed. Like most Hindi or Sanskrit words, there is no direct translation but a relatively closer meaning. So karma can also mean action. The same way Satkarma is also a combination of words.
A bad deed on the other hand is called कुकर्म or दुष्कर्म . Kukarma is again a combination of two words “Ku” means bad and “karma” means deed. “Dushkarma” is a derivative of the Hindi word “दुष्ट” or “dusht” which means bad or evil. It can also be used towards an evil character or a person. It is also described as a bad behaviour towards someone.
Understanding with an example
To understand the meaning of “dusht” let us take examples of Kaikeyi from Ramayana and Shakuni from Mahabharata. Both are perfect examples of an evil character. However both of them were doing their bad deeds out of a situation. They were doing it out of love for a person which is again a matter of interpretation.
Kaikeyi wanted her son, Bharata on the throne of Ayodhya. Hence she made use of her two boons to exile Rama. Similarly it was only Shakuni who fully supported his nephew, Duryodhana. The actions of Kaikeyi might have caused general hardships to Ram, Sita and Laxman but Ram had taken birth on earth for defeating Ravan. So her actions set into motion the sequence of events leading to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Similarly acting totally for Duryodhan, Shakuni managed to get rid of all the wealth and kingdoms of Pandavas without firing a single arrow and the death of a single soldier.
Even Ram had to atone for a sin
In the history of India, it is Ram who is considered the one who did only good deeds in his lifetime. But did you know that even he had to ask for forgiveness from Shiv Ji. While returning from Lanka, as per custom, Ram went to meet Bharadwaj Rishi. The great maharishi refused to meet him because Ram had committed the sin of Brahma-Hatya as Ravana was a Brahmin. As a task, Ram was asked to worship ek koti (one crore) shivlings. To accomplish this seemingly impossible task, Bharadwaj Rishi gave him a clue, of creating a shiv ling made from the sand of the banks of river Ganga. Each grain of sand of Ganga Ma is equivalent to one shivling. Ram performed the penance and asked for forgiveness from Shiv Ji and that locality is today known as Shiv Koti with the Shiv Koti Mahadev Mandir on the banks of Ganga.
Some simple examples of a good deed
The most simplest example of a good deed is making someone happy. A genuinely happy person is when he or she does not expect help to come and you do it anyway. Did you help someone without keeping your self benefit in mind?
It is easy to exchange a few pleasantries with someone, but would you pause in between your busy schedule to listen to a person’s tale of woes. I am all ears, is a rare commodity these days.
A person can be surrounded by a room full of people the whole day but still feel lonely at the end of the day. Have to spoken to such a person to make his or her day more memorable.
Need based approach to life v/s deed based
It is natural for us humans to decide to work for our own needs. So every action that we do is for ourself. If you ever decide to shift to a deed based approach, you need to keep a track of all the good deeds you did for the day. A good way to do that is to maintain a hand written diary. The last one hour of your day should go into writing and contemplating.
I am Manisha Yadav, Founder and Ideologue of Narisakti. MBA Student and Digital Marketing expert, I take your brand online and help you reach more customers.
