Power of Goodness and Entering Evil

March 2017  CFOCONNECT 17
ONTHE JOB
prostitute in the village came in
here, would you be able to see her
as neither beautiful nor seductive?”
“No, but I would be able to
control myself,” the saint replied.
“And if I offered you a pile of gold
coins to leave your cave in the
mountains and come and join us,
would you be able to look on that
gold and see only pebbles?”
“No, but I would be able to
control myself.” “And if you were
sought by two brothers, one of
whom hated you, and the other
who saw you as a saint, would you
be able to feel the same towards
them both?”
“It would be very hard, but I
would be able to control myself
sufficiently to treat them both the
same.” Chantal paused.
‘They say this dialogue was
important in Ahab’s conversion to
Christianity.’
The stranger did not need
Chantal to explain the story. Savin
Abandon wrongdoing. It can be
done. If there were no likelihood, I
would not ask you to do it. But since it
is possible and since it brings blessing
and happiness, I do ask of you: abandon
wrongdoing.
Cultivate doing good. It can be done.
If it brought deprivation and sorrow, I
would not ask you to do it. But since it
brings blessing and happiness, I do ask
of you: cultivate doing good.
— Anguttara Nikaya
From pure behaviour comes self-
power, which frees a man from (many)
dangers; pure conduct, like a ladder,
enables us to climb to heaven.
— Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King
Doing good has its own remainder:
some of the perfume stays in the bottle.
— Fred Smith
O
ne of the key components
required for an enduring
victory is goodness. What
is this goodness? Goodness
encompasses honesty,
loyalty, kindness, empathy,
gratitude, and fairness. These
attributes are necessary both to
achieve and sustain success.
If success brings arrogance,
failure will follow. If success brings
dictatorial tendencies, mutinies will
erupt. On the other hand, if success
brings the feeling that you are a
divine instrument to look after the
welfare of those around you, more
success will follow. Even grandeur
may come.
Can goodness be learnt?
Of course. Read the following
If success brings
arrogance, failure
will follow. If success
brings dictatorial
tendencies,
mutinies will erupt.
Pavan Choudary explains why enduring victory is goodness and
the need to enter evil occasionally
Goodness
The Power of
enlightening paragraph from The
Devil & Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho.
That’s right. Except that, before
going to sleep, the two of them
talked together for a while. Even
though Ahab (the bad one, [sic!])
had begun to sharpen his knife
the moment the saint set foot in
his house, safe in the knowledge
that the world was a reflection of
himself. He was determined to
challenge the saint and so, he asked
him: “If tonight, the most beautiful

18 CFOCONNECT  March 2017
and Ahab had the same instincts —
good and evil struggled in both of
them, just as they do in every soul
on the face of the earth. When Ahab
realized that Savin was the same
as him, he realized that he too was
same as Savin.
It was all a matter of control.And
choice. Nothing more and nothing
less.
Mahesh Bhatt, a thought leader
of the Indian film industry, narrates
this story, which his mother used to
tell him and which takes this point
a little further. She used to tell him,
“There is a bad dog and a good dog
in everyone of us. Whenever we are
at moral crossroads these two dogs
start fighting.”
“Who wins?” he used to ask.
“The one you feed more,” would
be his mother’s reply. How do you
feed the good dog? And what food
do you provide? Company of good
people is one. Unshakable belief
in the power that good ultimately
triumphs, is the other.
Believing that good lies dormant
in some and a strong, selfless
initiative can wake it up, is the
third. If you feed the good dog
within you with these three kinds of
food, it is not only able to overpower
the bad dog within you, but also,
the bad dogs around you. As the
Dhammapada says: No flower’s
scent goes against the wind — not
sandalwood, jasmine, tagara. But the
scent of the good does go against the
wind. The person of integrity wafts
a scent in every direction.
He (the good) doesn’t need the
wind to spread his perfume. He is
himself a windmill powered by the
energy of the Universe.
When you live with good values,
brick by brick, you construct a
temple through your good conduct.
By the time it is ready, you realise,
it is also a castle. It has made you
impregnable. The robe has become
the armour.
Power of Entering Evil
According to a Buddhist tale, “A
house has caught fire. The adults
have escaped but a few children
are playing inside. Surrounded by
the flames, unmindful of the danger
and admiring the sight of the fire.
The parents outside are shouting,
exhorting them to come out but
they ignore their appeal, busy in
their game.
Which is when a sage happens
to pass by. He takes stock of the
situation and calls out to the
children, “Come out, I have brought
toys for you from the market.” On
hearing this, the children come
out running. The parents and the
bystanders profusely thank the sage
but ask him, “You are an epitome of
truth but you resorted to a lie.” He
replies, “A man of truth knows when
a lie is as sacred as the truth and can
utter it for the benefit of his fellow
beings.” Abraham Lincoln realised
that the slavery abolishment bill
will fall for want of two votes. So,
he said that those two votes must
be procured. When asked, “How?”
he remarked: “I am President of the
United States, clothed with great
power. The abolition of slavery by
constitutional provision settles the
fate, for all coming time, not only
of the millions now in bondage, but
of un-born millions to come — a
measure of such importance that
those two votes must be procured.
I leave it to you to determine how it
shall be done; but remember that I
am President of the United States,
clothed with immense power, and I
expect you to procure those votes.”
These gentlemen understood the
significance of the remark. The votes
were procured.
The bill was passed. A huge
swathe of humanity broke its
bondage. Lincoln died soon after.
His death overtook the events and
which is why he didn’t have to pay a
price for the deed. The deed accused
him but the results excused him.
Learning from Romulus
Romulus — the founder of Rome
— was the man who made laws
for free existence. To establish a
civil society in Rome, Romulus
had to first kill his brother, and
then consent to the killing of his
partner even though, initially, he
had himself chosen this partner to
share the kingdom with him. Prima
facie, these acts make him appear
violent, ruthless and unfaithful.
However, because his intention was
not to grab power but to introduce
sociopolitical equality, Romulus is
lauded not denigrated. Soon after
the murder of his brother and his
partner, Romulus instituted a senate
for consultation, followed the advice
given by them, and thus laid the
foundations for what we today call
democracy. To enact your position
of justice you must gain authority
first.
Your journey to power may need
you to enter evil once in a while. The
noble and wise man knows when to
do so, and exits soon after. He enters
evil to overcome it.And then exits it.
Secondly the belief that
‘power corrupts’ needs to be
revisited. Personalities like Swami
Vivekananda, Mother Teresa and
President Obama prove that benign
power can be a reality. Not only
do they preach and speak about
kindness but practice it even after
rising to power. Whether power
will corrupt or exalt depends more
on who it is vested in. Power in
Genghis Khan’s hands could corrupt
but in Mother Teresa’s hands would
exalt. n
When you live
with good values,
brick by brick, you
construct a temple
through your good
conduct
Pavan Choudary is
Managing Director,
Vygon India Pvt Ltd. He
has authored several
books.
ONTHE JOB

Power of Goodness and Entering Evil

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Power of Goodness and Entering Evil