Right Action
The single most important thing in life is right action. In reality, action is life, because action is what defines the state of being alive. As long as I am acting, you know that I am alive. When I stop acting, when I stop doing things, then I can be said to be dead. And as long as I am alive, I must act. Every moment there is action on my part – life is moving forward, and at every instance I have to take some sort of action – whether it is walking, talking, sleeping, or just lying there and doing absolutely nothing – all of these are action.
Every action has a reaction. That is an unchangeable law; therefore, every action has its good or bad consequences. It is not only that we will be judged for our actions in the future. We will be judged by ourselves and by others, but there is more to it. Wrong action automatically creates problems. Wrong action is its own misery – it always brings suffering, worry, shame, fear, etc.
When there are problems, there can be no freedom. And every wrong action creates more problems. But when one is doing everything right – when one is not ashamed of anything, not hiding anything from others, when one is not doing anything illegal – then what is there to restrict one’s freedom? External factors, such as other people, the authorities, the law enforcement are powerless against you, when you are doing everything in accordance to law. Moreover, you become free inwardly. Fear and shame disappear automatically when you know deeply in your heart that you will never do any wrong. When your action is clean and right, there is nothing that clings to you inwardly, there are no problems to think about, there is no fear and no need to hide. For the first time you are totally free, nothing in the world can stop you. Only when you are doing right is it possible to live in total freedom.
If you become a good person, you become open like a book, because you have nothing to hide. And in that openness there is such easiness, such freedom, such joy and love that it is one of the most wonderful experiences.
