Why Should One Be Ethical?

……… A Rhetorical Question

 Does ethics triumph in the end?

 Do virtuous people do better in life?
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The clear answer is NO.
People following straight & narrow path of
virtue, end up being side lined,
if not being persecuted.
 Some Learnings from
“Mahabharat”
Four classic epics:
– Iliad & Odyssey
– Ramayan & Mahabharat

Both ‘Ramayana’ & ‘Mahabharat’ address

the question of “duty” at its core

But arrive at very different answers.

Ramayan’s answers

Your duty is clear, though it may entail

sufferings.
Straight forward story of ideals to be
pursued.
No Moral Dilemmas
Happy ending with ‘Maryada Purushottam’
Ram back on his throne. (Righteousness
triumphing in the end.)
Mahabharat’s questions

Mahabharat takes life as it is, not as it

should be. - Presents no ideals.
Does not leave the reader with comfort of a
happy ending.
Full of unsolved dilemmas & riddles.
Characters struggle to find what is right,
make mistakes & suffer full consequences.
Bhishma

Child of Shantanu & Ganga

Great sacrifice – Never sit on throne, never

marry & have children (Bhishma Pratigya)

Blessing of “Itchha Mrityu” Choose the

time of his death
 “Bhishma” Pitamaha
Choosing brides for Dhrutarashta & Pandu
Draupadi’s vastraharan
In war, to be on whose side / be neutral
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- Not merely knowing, but doing
- Act of omission can also be unethical, not
only act of commission
- Outstanding self sacrifice, but is he
accountable?
Dhritarashtra

Elder son of Vichitravirya

After Pandu’s death, ruled Hastinapur,

never formally crowned.

Considered a great scholar – Practice ?

Dhritarashtra

Could never understand his dharma as a

king and distinguish it from his duties as a
father (fairness and impartiality expected
from a king)
End of exile, when Pandavas came back –
not even 5 villages
Blindness is more metaphorical
Karna

Highly principled and generous

Life deprived him of a lot

– Kunti did not accept him
– Drona rejects him as pupil
– Parsuram gives a

Searching for his identity

Karna

Always in the company of unscrupulous

Kauravas & Shakuni – Never could rise
above them
In friendship & loyalty, there is a fine line
which one should never cross.
Friendship with Duryodhan was his ethical
albatros
Krishna

Lives life to its fullest – No effort to make

golden rules

Newphew to Kunti – Partial to Pandavas –

Sakha to Draupadi
Krishna

“Nishkam Karma” – Action without

attachment to the fruits of action

War as a necessity to achieve larger goals

 Why should one be ethical ?

Non of the theories that we studied, are

really useful in telling us what to do. At the
most they help us evaluate different
courses of action. After which, the
judgement is one’s own.

Ethics is not for convincing others, it is

about convincing oneself.
……………….. As we end

Character of Don Quixote, reminds us

– if we trust only when trust is warranted,
– love only when love is returned,
– learn only when learning is valuable,
we abandon our humanness.

If we act ethically, only if it pays, we loose

an essential part of our humanness.