Category:Good Work
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that in the material world, good work is generally understood as pious activities such as philanthropy, opening hospitals, and mundane education. While such activities may yield temporary material benefits like birth in an aristocratic family, wealth, and good education, they inevitably bind the living entity to the cycle of birth and death. Any action performed for personal sense gratification, whether materially classified as good or bad, generates a karmic reaction requiring the soul to accept another material body. True good work, therefore, is defined solely by its connection to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anything done for the absolute satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate good work, liberating the performer from all reactions. By engaging in unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one completely transcends the dualities of material good and bad, achieving the sum total of all benefits for oneself, one's family, and the entire human society.
- The Material Rewards of Piety: Performing good work on the material platform results in comparative material prosperity, such as a high birth, opulence, and a good education in the next life.
- The Trap of Karma: Whether an action is materially good or bad, if it is performed for personal enjoyment, it forces the soul to accept another material body to experience the corresponding reactions.
- The Limits of Philanthropy: Humanitarian efforts like opening hospitals and secular education are considered good works in the material calculation, but they cannot provide the ultimate cure for the disease of material existence.
- The Supreme Good Work: The only truly good work is that which is performed exclusively for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. All other activities driven by sense gratification are ultimately bad work.
- Transcending Dualities: By engaging entirely in devotional service, a conditioned soul completely bypasses the laws of karma, remaining untouched by the fruitive results of mundane good or bad work.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Anything You Do for Satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, That is Good Work.
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
Pages in category "Good Work"
The following 53 pages are in this category, out of 53 total.
A
- According to the law of karma, a man takes his birth in a high family, or becomes rich, or very well educated, or very beautiful because of good work in the past. BG 1972 purports
- All good work, culture of knowledge, meditation, austerity, and so forth - whatever is performed - all of these activities are meant to ameliorate this material disease - false prestige
- Anything you do for satisfaction of Krsna, that is good work. This is the division of bad work and good work. The same thing, if you do for your personal satisfaction, it is bad work
B
- By good work only, as prescribed in the scriptures, can one obtain birth in a good family, opulence, good education and good bodily features. We see also that even in this life one obtains a good education or money by good work
- By good work we get good heritage, birth in a very good place, in a high family, in rich family, aristocratic family
- By good work we may get a good birth in an aristocratic or wealthy family, and by bad work we may take birth even in the animal kingdom or in degraded human families
F
- For one who wants to be liberated from this material bondage, the reactions of both good works and bad works are detrimental. In this material world we are attached to performing good works if we are situated in the modes of goodness
- For ordinary work, if you do good work, then you have to take good result. And if you do bad work, or sinful work, then if you have, you have to take the effect of such bad and sinful work
G
H
- Here (in SB 3.32.1) Lord Kapiladeva is speaking about the grhamedhis, who have made their aim the materialistically prosperous life, which they achieve by sacrificial ceremonies, by charities and by good work
- Here in this material world we act, and the result is there. Because as soon as you act, there will be some result, good or bad. By good result we get good birth, good money, good bodily feature, good education - these are the effects of good work
I
- I am glad that you are taking proper care of your health, and I wish Krishna may bless you for your long life and good work
- If a man is suffering from the bodily ailments, if he is given some relief in the hospital, or if the society is not educated, give him education, this is all good work undoubtedly. But the ultimate good work is not known to them
- If I do good work, Krsna will be obliged to give me good effect. Why shall I care for Krsna?" That is karma-mimamsa
- If one maintains within his heart the desire to enjoy the result of good work, or, being embarrassed by the material world, the desire to get out of material entanglement, one will never be able to attain the transcendental mellows of devotional service
- If we act on the consciousness platform, then we can overcome the fruitive result of good work or bad work
- If we act on the level of consciousness, then we can overcome the fruitive result of good work or bad work. It is a transcendental stage
- If we are in the modes of passion and ignorance, however, we do bad work in passion and ignorance. But for those who are going to be Krsna conscious, there is no need of good work or bad work
- If you are not engaged in good work, then you must act badly. That is natural. You have to work. Therefore idle brain is devil's workshop. If you are sitting idly, then brain also will work, mind also will work
- If you do good work, you'll have to enjoy, so-called enjoyment. And if you do bad work, then you have to suffer. But if you work for Krsna, there is no such reaction
- If you do on your account, there will be reaction. Either you do good work or bad work, there will be reaction. If you do good work, you'll get good result, and if you do bad work, you will get bad result. That's all right
- If you want to give help a suffering in disease man, and bring some nice doctor, medical man to help him and bring some nice medicine, that is good work, but does it mean that it is guaranteed that he will be cured? No
- In our next birth we get such desirable positions only by good work. Otherwise, it would not so happen that two persons born in the same place at the same time are seen differently placed according to previous work
- In the material calculation this is very good work, the opening of hospital or this or that, very good work. And Deity worship and going to the temple is bogus. - You may think like that. But that, your opening of hospital, is sinful
- Instead of improving your karma, karma-kandiya-vicara, fruitive activities, if you take to devotional service and simply try to understand what is Krsna, then you are no longer within the influence of this good work or bad work. You are transcendental
K
O
- One cannot enter into the higher planetary systems without being qualified by good works in this life
- One cannot forcibly sit on the chair of a high-court judge without being qualified for the post. Similarly, one cannot enter into the higher planetary systems without being qualified by good works in this life
- One may perform good work and take his birth in a very nice material condition, but the process under which birth and death take place is like a terrible fire
S
- Some (Men) are trying to reach the moon or other planets by some mechanical arrangement, for they are very anxious to get into such planets without doing good work. But it is not to happen
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura states that (in CC Madhya 19.147) the word karma-nistha refers to one who aspires to enjoy the results of his good work and pious activity
T
- The conditioned souls may travel in space either by good or bad work or by modern spacecraft, but they are sure to die everywhere, although the duration of life in different planets is different
- The reaction of good work is comparative material prosperity, whereas the reaction of bad work is comparative material distress
- The reactions to our work, or our karma, are the cause for our bondage. There are good works and bad works, and in this verse the word sarva-karmani indicates both
- The scholar may be born an extraordinary man due to his previous good work, but this conception of Krsna is due to a poor fund of knowledge. Therefore he is called mudha. for only foolish persons consider Krsna to be an ordinary human being. BG 1972 pur
- The spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Krsna consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. BG 1972 purports
- There are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such purposes
- These (humanitarian or philanthropic work) are undoubtedly good works in the sense that they are pious activities, and their result is that the performer may get some opportunities for sense gratification, either in this life or in the next
- Thieves and dacoits also take no pleasure in the presence of a good king, but it is in the interest of the people to have a well-trained king as the head of the state
- This should be our motto of life, that you should act if Krsna is pleased. This is good work. That is confirmed in many places in Srimad-Bhagavatam
W
- We may be performing some action which we may consider to be very good work, but if we do not perform it in Krsna consciousness we have to suffer the reactions
- What is that bad work? Bad work means sense gratification. That's all. Anything you do for the satisfaction of your sense, that is bad work. And anything you do for satisfaction of Krsna, that is good work
- Whatever Krsna likes, He'll do. You cannot oblige Him, that "You have to do it." No. That is karma-mimamsa, that "If good work gives good result, so why should we care for Krsna? We shall do the good work." Ordinary people, they think like that
- Whether we enjoy the reactions of good work or suffer the reactions of bad, we have to take on the material body and thereby undergo the material miseries