Book Review: The difficulty of being good – on the subtle art of dharma - Gurcharan Das

This book is a magnificent work out of an academic holiday of the CEO turned full-time writer, Gurcharan Das. Inspired and influenced by his childhood memories of his grandmother telling him stories from the iconic epic of Mahabharata, Das dissects various characters of the epic to find answer to the fundamental question - Why is it so difficult to be good? The beauty of the book lies in its simple language and complex juxtaposition of various situations in the mythological story with various contemporary happenings, which often force us to question the importance of ethics and values and their role in shaping actions of people. The choice of Mahabharata tends to give the thoughts of Das an added philosophical behavior, as at the heart of the epic lies Bhagwada Gita, which not only is the most holy text in Hinduism, but is also one of the most profound texts that deals with Dharma, the right way of life. The way Das has made the values of satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence) and anrishamsya (compassion) enshrined in the millennium old text relevant in the present context is remarkable.

Das, in his quest to assuage his ‘mid-life third stage melancholy’ turns to Mahabharata and tries to learn from its various characters about the basis of behaviors of people around us. He delves into the question of why good people behave badly. To put up the question more vividly, he takes up the example of Ramalinga Raju, who through his sheer dedication and effort built the Satyam Computers Ltd. but still ignominiously ended up defrauding the same company. He then goes on to emphasize that Dharma, or the distinction between right and wrong is more often than not, subtle. By picking up the most significant characters of the epic, he illustrates the humanly traits, that make it so difficult for us to act in the most positive and righteous manner. The best part about this book is the way in which a continuous thread keeps linking the present, from the behavior of Wall Street bankers and investors during 2008 downturn, to the American strategists during Iraq war, with various situations in the epic.

Interestingly, Das begins with the villain of the story – Duryodhana. Duryodhana is the ‘chief cause of unevenness’ in Mahabharata. He suffers so many vices, but envy is what Das considers as most dangerous and takes up for analysis. Duryodhana is the personification of envy who is unable to tolerate prosperity of his kin and hatches conspiracies to eliminate them or devoid them of their wealth. The author writes that envy is one of the most basic human frailties that almost every one of us feels. He compares this to the infamous Ambani brothers’ feud in which their mutual envy put the future of Reliance Industries, of its employees and investors and fortune of the brothers in soup. Similarly Jews had to become victims of German envy during the holocaust. Das says that as one rises up the ladder of success, he has to deal with envy of others. Das shares that his father believed that envy can also sometimes promote positive competition, however it is usually exceptional. Usually envy is a negative leveler and pulls down those striving for heights, and hence should not be ignored.

The next chapter on Draupadi’s courage brings forth more nuanced questions about Dharma. Draupadi transforms the discussion about Dharma from a legal perspective to a moral perspective by asking not what is legal for a king to do, but what is fair for a king to do. This also stands rightly in the context of lives of civil servants, when many a times they need to take decisions based on conscience and not just tow the legal line. Thus Draupadi brings in accountability in public life. Here, when even the luminaries like Bhishama and Vidura remain silent and helpless, we realize how Dharma can be highly subjective and ‘sukshama’. Das also takes this chance to discuss issues such as racism, slavery and injustice to women that are plaguing our world.

Yudhishthir, the eldest pandava, is the epitome of Dharma. He is a preacher of peace and compassion. But pragmatism is something that even he is not able to avoid in the end and he has to resort to the principle of reciprocity, the evil must be destroyed using evil. We see the beautiful transformation of Yudhishthir from an idealist to a more practical ruler, from the eyes of Das. Here we are also encountered by thought provoking query of Draupadi, as to why one should be good if good still has to face the pain and despair while the bad enjoys all the pleasures. Yudhishthir offers four-fold answer, firstly, it is one’s duty, secondly, bad actions incur karma which leads to bad consequences, thirdly, good actions ensure that society remains in order, and fourthly that dharma helps us lead a fulfilling life. But still we see that Yudhishthir gets caught in gambler’s frenzy putting the life of brothers and his wife at stake. Undoubtedly, the question of Dharma is not so easy and choice becomes difficult in situations when hardly any fair choice exists. Das boils down the whole debate to that between consequentialism and absolute ethicality.

When the greatest warrior of all times, Arjuna dithers in despair right at the centre stage of the Mahabharata, the Dharmayudh, we are introduced to the principle of Nishkama Karma, selfless action, propounded by Lord Krishna. Here, amidst the debate between sva-dharma or the duty to one’s caste and sadharna dharma, or the duty of universal conscience, we also learn that most of the times situation demands us to choose between choices involving equally serious wrongdoings. The best way out then is to focus more on motives which should be right, than actions. Here we also learn about the inner meaning of war, i.e. inescapable tragedy for both the sides.

Bhishma’s selflessness tells us that ‘selflessness alone does not necessarily make one a moral person’. While Bhishma is remarkable karma yogi, his excessively rigid approach to questions of dharma sows the seeds of Mahabharata. Had he acted when he was required to, a lot others adharmas could have been checked in time.

Karna is personally one of my favorite characters of Mahabharata, for his exemplary skillfulness, selflessness and loyalty is unmatchable. Yet he is one of those characters who, without any mistake of his own, had to face tragic hardships throughout his life. While he also has been righteous in his own ways, be that in his loyalty to friendship or to his vow of donation, his constant ambition to be acknowledged and his anxiety about his status makes him blind towards the excesses done by Duryodhana and he also falls prey to adharma. Das says that ‘The attention of other people matters because human beings are uncertain of their own worth’. This distorts their character. Throughout his life Karan bears the burden of being Suta putra and faces many reverses because of that. Das’ comparison of Karan’s situation with the present form of caste discrimination and other related issues of reservation, affirmative action, reverse discrimination etc. is interesting to read.

Krishna is the Lord. He is the God, the creator of all and destroyer of all. He is the director of Mahabharata. But there lies some discomfort in the fact that despite being God, Krishna finds it difficult to be good and has to use perfidy to help pandavas win. Krishna is the balancing power in the epic and emphasizes that while good cannot be compromised, yet evil has to be destroyed with evil. He puts all the focus on action, which should be selfless, and then the results that follow are inconsequential. Krishna’s role as an imperfect God also reiterates the point that dharma is subtle, ‘sukshma’ and hence there remains scope for debatable outcomes.

This book therefore is a genuine and sincere attempt to understand complex human nature, by a very rational portrayal of characters including that of Krishna without stereotyping them. It lists out the dangerous traits that must be guarded against and also appreciates desirable traits that must be cultivated. The book makes us to look through Mahabharata beyond its religious context and helps us see the characters, both villains and heroes, in lights of both criticism and admiration. Reader can easily connect various facets of his life with these characters and hence can introspect towards self refinement.

The book therefore is a remarkable ‘tour de force’ and a must read for all those who love to think about the philosophy of life and are looking forward to resolving the moral dilemmas of life. Its reference to Mahabharata makes the book even more interesting and realistic for Indians who have grown in the age of B R Chopra’s rendition of Mahabharata. It becomes even more relevant today when our country is facing a massive ethical and moral crisis. The difficulty of being good: the subtle art of dharma’ is definitely a page turner.