So goodness is a sacrifice is it? part 3

So goodness is a sacrifice is it?

Okay! So once a ‘critical mass’ is reached, the dam will break and goodness will flow from all sides. But till then, what? Are all those who are good to become martyrs?

In one of his awareness classes, Prof.G.Venkatraman, Padma Shri awardee and a great scientist of modern India, said,

“When a person is ready to die for the nation, what is wrong in being ready to become a martyr for (Righteousness/Goodness)? We celebrate soldiers who die for a cause. So why not give goodness the same benefit?”

Thought-provoking question indeed but not a very good incentive for being good...

 The whole book explains the rationale behind this statement. One powerful example that He gives will suffice as a summary,

The world is like a dark cluttered room. Hoping to change the world is like hoping to improve matters in a dark room by a mere readjustment of furniture. If however a lamp is lit, even without that readjustment, passage across the room is rendered easier. There is no need to interfere with the furniture at all. That lamp of your goodness may not de-clutter the room. But it will ensure that your passage is safe and smooth.

Never underestimate the power inherent in the flow of goodness... so be the channel for goodness.... part 2

Never underestimate the power inherent in the flow of goodness. So, be a channel for goodness.

The water of goodness

Just as there was no need for the whole dam to be brought down to allow the water to gush out, the whole world need not become good for goodness to gush forth and destroy the seemingly impregnable bridge of the enemies. What matters here is that each one of us decide to become like those tiny chinks in the dam through which the waters of goodness flow out.

 

If we decide to become channels for the flow of goodness, though everything seems lost and nothing impactful seems to be happening, it is only a matter of time before we see the tide change. Miller in the movie reminds me of my Master in that respect - calm and composed because he is absolutely certain of what is going to happen. God knows that people allowing goodness to flow through them and becoming channels of love, peace and goodness is the way to solve all the crises that humanity faces. And once He sees that people are being good, He sits back and relaxes. Members of His team question Him,

 

“How can you relax? The work is not done yet! The whole mission has been a failure!”

 

He is calm for He has brilliantly placed the explosives of His Love, Grace and Inspiration at the strategic points. Now it is only a question of time. Though nothing seems to be happening on the outside, there is a great catharsis of bad and inundation of good that is happening inside.

And so, there is no need for cracks to develop all over the dam. As long as the cracks that have been made allow the waters of goodness through and do not get clogged by defeat, dejection, doubt and disappointment, it is enough! And that is indeed an inspiration for me to continue to be good. It is indeed a great chance to be the crack through which the waters of goodness flow. Little wonder that St.Francis of Assissi prayed thus,

 

Make me a channel of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me bring your love.

Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord

And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

People may consider goodness as weakness or madness but as can be seen, being good indeed means becoming ‘channels’ or ‘cracks’! 

The 'dam' of great potential... From the movie Force 10 from Navarone part 1

Water seems powerless when faced with a mighty dam!

The ‘dam’ of great potential

I must briefly recapitulate some scenes from the movie. Set during the world war II, the movie, based on an Alistair MAcLean novel of the same name is all about ultimately destroying a very important bridge. This concrete arch bridge is vital for the transport of the German troops and a bomb expert, Miller, has been enlisted in the team to demolish the bridge.

The bridge is found to be impregnable and so, the situation seems hopeless. Suddenly, one member of the team comes up with an idea - Why not destroy the dam upstream? Then, the force of the gushing waters will surely down the bridge.

With this plan, the team sets out to the dam. They encounter many difficulties but the greatest problem they face when they get there is, a realization that the dam is too huge and their explosives too few. This is when Miller displays his brilliance in choosing spots to place the explosives. Having done so, the team retreats to a safe distance and detonates the explosives.

Once the detonation is done, Miller walks away and begins to lounge on a tree in complete relaxation. 

The other team members watch in horror as the dam stands without any semblance of having been hit! All that the explosives manage is to open a few cracks through which water starts shooting out - sufficient to water crops maybe but definitely not enough to make any impact on the bridge! They are worried. They tell Miller that everything had gone wrong and wonder how he is so relaxed.

Over time, the water jets gushing from the little cracks slowly start eating away the dam from the insides. Though nothing seems to be happening on the outside, the dam is getting inundated on the inside. A critical mass is reached and suddenly after an hour, for no apparent reason, the whole dam crumbles down releasing a deluge of water. The water gushes forth and destroys the bridge as Miller flashes a knowing smile.