Being Rightly Guided
I've mentioned before ("Doing What is Good")
that people often do what are commonly called ‘good deeds’ for reasons that
are really quite selfish. Consider this: A friend tells you that their daughter,
Jill, is jobless and they are worried about her. You tell them that you may
be able to help. You talk to some friends and get a very good job for her in
an office run by a friend of yours. You feel good about it. Your friend needed
someone and you helped them and Jill.
Do you feel that Jill owes you? Now imagine that something happens, for instance,
she argues with someone in the job and storms out. Then she resents you for
your help. The situation hasn't really changed, only Jill's attitude has changed.
Do you still feel good? Did you do what you did because you wanted to do the
right thing or did you do it because you wanted people to like you? Suppose
she hates you and tells others what a bad person you are. You gave her the opportunity,
if she throws it away that's her responsibility.
People who are enlightened act according to the divine will. They do what they do because it is the right thing to do, regardless of what other people think. Often the Rightly Guided Ones are condemned by people because they act in ways that defy comprehension on the normal level. I talked about this in ‘Good Intentions’.
Having said that, if someone does you good turn, it is not your business to look at the motives. Every good turn should be returned. It is a grave error, what in the past would have been called a sin, to return a kindness with an injustice.
Recently a poll found that people who believed in heaven and hell were more successful than atheists. The reason for this is that real integrity comes through a belief in the afterlife. Someone who believes that they are accountable to a Higher Power after death will do the right thing regardless of whether anyone is watching or what they think they may get away with. Doing the right thing results in the best results, often in this world, always in the next.
