These findings are worth remembering whenever we find ourselves questioning the behaviours of the people around us. If there’s no good evidence to suggest that their acts of generosity are self-serving, we may choose to give them the benefit of the doubt, knowing that our uncharitable intuitions may be fuelled by our own fears of losing status.

Life Rule: Don’t Rush To Condemn The Good Deeds Of Others

Ultimately, the only fool-proof way to avoid do-gooder derogation may be to do your best deeds in complete secret. And if others happen to discover the truth, despite your attempts to hide it – well, the good reputation that follows is simply a bonus.Oscar Wilde may have put it best more than a century ago. “The nicest feeling in the world is to do a good deed anonymously – and have somebody find out.”

Secrecy Is The Best Policy

Given classic economic theory, you might expect the stingy free-riders to receive those punishments – and that was indeed the case. Amazingly, however, the most altruistic participants were also targeted – even though they were contributing more than their fair share to the others’ riches.Somehow, selfishness and selflessness were considered to be morally equivalent.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The research might also help us to avoid accidental faux pas when we act altruistically ourselves. At the very least, the research shows that you should avoid noisily broadcasting your good deeds. “And if people bring them up, you should downplay them,” says Raihani. Even if you think that you are simply sharing a bit of uplifting news about a cause that you care about, you should err on the side of modesty.

Life Rule: Don’t Broadcast Your Own Good Deeds 

All this means that altruistic behaviour can make us walk a metaphorical tightrope. We need to balance our generosity perfectly, so that we are seen as cooperative and good, without arousing the suspicion that we are acting solely for the status.

The Altruist Walks A Metaphorical Tightrope

Finding yourself taking such an uncharitable attitude towards people who are only trying to make the world a better place might feel uncomfortable. Yet this scepticism is a known behaviour, described by psychologists as “do-gooder derogation”. And while the phenomenon may seem to be wholly irrational, there are some compelling evolutionary reasons for being wary of unreciprocated altruism.

The “Do-Gooder” Derogation

One of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1153808">the earliest and most systematic examinations of do-gooder derogation </a>comes from a global study by Simon Gächter, a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham in the UK. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1153808

Antisocial Punishment Across Societies: A Study

As Raihani points out, we are constantly trying to second-guess the reasons for others’ actions – and we punish people harshly when we suspect that their motives are impure. Those instinctive suspicions may or may not be true, of course. We often base our judgements on intuition rather than hard facts.

The Suspicion Is Constant And The Punishment Harsh

If the participants play fairly, each round should provide a reasonable return on investment for each person. Those who are very stingy, however, can game the system by paying very little themselves and reaping the rewards of others’ investments. It’s easy to see how resentments could build. After 10 rounds, the researchers therefore gave the participants the option of penalising other players by deducting some of the income they received.

Selfishness, Resentment And Penalization 

Nichola Raihani, is a professor in evolution and behaviour at University College London and author of The Social Instinct. Her research of online fundraising pages has found evidence that some people are aware of the potential for a hostile reaction to their generosity. Analysing posts on BMyCharity, she found <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0884">it’s often the highest (as well as the lowest) givers who choose to remain anonymous </a>. They seem to know a showy act could result in feelings of resentment from the other people observing the page, and so they’d rather hide it.

… And He Seems To Know It

Ryan Carlson, a graduate student at Yale University, agrees that altruistic behaviours are often appraised from multiple angles besides the generosity of the act itself. “We don’t just value altruism – we value integrity and honesty, which are other signals of our moral character,” he says. An apparent act of generosity that seems to be driven by self-interest could therefore lead us to score rather badly on those other qualities.

Ulterior Motives

To understand the origins of this seemingly irrational behaviour, we need to consider how human altruism emerged in the first place.According to evolutionary psychology, hardwired human behaviours should have evolved to improve our survival and our ability to pass on our genes to another generation. In the case of altruism, generous acts could help us to foster good relationships within the group which, over time, help to build social capital and status.

How Human Altruism Emerged - Reciprocity And Reputation

Have you ever come across someone who is incredibly kind and morally upright – and yet also deeply insufferable? They might try to do anything they can to help you or engage in a host of important, useful activities benefiting friends and the wider community. Yet they seem a little bit too pleased with their good deeds and, without any good reason to think so, you suspect that there’s something calculated about their altruism.

 Too Good To Be True

Like many studies into altruism, Gächter’s experiment took the form of a “public goods game”. The participants were divided into groups of four, and each person was given tokens representing a small sum of money. Participants were then given the possibility of contributing some of that income to a communal pool in each round of a game. Once everyone had placed their investment, each person would receive 40% of the total sum invested by the group.

The Experiment: A Public Goods Game

Importantly, however, reputation is “positional” – if one person rises, the others fall. This can create a strong sense of competition, which means that we’re always alert to the possibility that other people are getting ahead of us, even if they are achieving their status through altruism. We’ll be especially resentful if we think that the other person was only looking for those reputational benefits, rather than acting out of a genuine interest in others, since it may suggest a cunning and manipulative personality more generally.

Reputation Is “Positional”

And if you do happen to gain from an altruistic act, it’s best to be upfront about the fact. Say, for example, that a perfectly innocent act of kindness in the office happened to get the attention of a manager, who then put you forward for promotion. You may be seen more favourably if you acknowledge that outcome, rather than allowing others to ruminate on the idea that you had somehow planned it in advance.If you happen to reap some benefits from an act of kindness, it makes sense to be transparent. Otherwise, it may look as if you were deliberately managing your reputation to gain status.

… But Do Broadcast Any Gains Of Yours From Them

‘Do-gooders’ are often judged harshly. Why do we resent their acts of altruism or question their motives?

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Why Overly Kind And Moral People Can Rub Us Up The Wrong Way

Therefore, while keeping their place on all fronts, you all undoubtedly protect Bhishma Pitamah from all sides.

Shloka 11

Hey great Brahmin! You should also understand the leaders who are in your favor. For your information, I tell the commanders of my army.

Shloka 7

You Dronacharya and Pitamah Bhishma and Karna and victorious Kripacharya and likewise Ashwatthama, Vikarna and Bhurishrava son of Somadatta.

Shloka 8

And many knights who have given up hope of life for me, are equipped with many weapons and all are smart in war.

Shloka 9

Devoid of eyes which can discriminate between right and wrong, hence blind.Dhrutarashtra asks: O Sanjay! What are my sons and Pandavas, who are eager to fight, doing in the holy battle field of Kursukshethra?

Shloka 1

Sanjay says: After seeing the orderly arranged army of Pandavas, Duryodhana approached his Guru Drona and said.

Shloka 2

O Acharya! See this great army of the sons of Pandu, properly arranged by the son of Drupada and your intelligent disciple.

Shloka 3

In this army there are great warriors comparable to Bheem and Arjun, like Yuyudhana (Satyaki), Virata and Drupadha.

Shloka 4

Besides these, Drushtaketu, Chekitan, the mighty King of Kasi, Purujit Kunti Bhoj and the great among men Shaibya

Shloka 5

Very powerful Yudhamanyu and mighty Uttamouja, Subadhra ‘s son Abhimanyu and the five sons of Darupadi are all great warriors.

Shloka 6

Disappointment of ArjunaChapter 1

Shrimadbhagavat Geeta

Our army guarded by Bhishma Pitamah is invincible in every way and this army of these people protected by Bhima is easy to win.

Shloka 10

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Shubham Jadhav on Oct 28

The thought of revenge only brings destruction. People with intention of killing other's should start digging a grave for themselves too. Revenge, the root cause of Mahabharata. It brought nothing but death and destroyed Kaurva's. Pandavas also lost many of their loved ones. Only Yudhishthir survived on the way to heaven.

Revenge Is Best Not Served At All

During the Mahabharat war, Abhimanyu was stranded alone inside the Chakravyooh with enemies on all sides. He knew his time has come, yet he took his sword in one hand and the wheel of his chariot in another and fought till his last breath like a brave soldier. The Mahabharat War teaches us to never let fear overpower our thoughts no matter how worst the situation is. People who do not trust themselves usually are more worried about winning and loosing.

Believe In Yourself

Abhimanyu learnt to enter the Chakravyooh but had no knowledge about how to exit it. Always gain complete knowledge about anything. Half knowledge is trouble on the way.

Just The Half Of It-Not Enough

It's said that everything is fare in war. In the war of mahabharat Shri Krishna knew Pandavas needed Arjuna to win the war. Not saving Abhimanyu in the Chakravyooh and not using any weapon in the war was all strategy of lord Shrikrishna.

Always Strategies To Win

Life is a Chakravyooh. To enter is our responsibility and get out of it is our destination. We have no control on afterlife, not yesterday, not today and not tomorrow. Work is worship. We know how we enter in Chakravyooh of life we struggle to find a way out of it. So fight hard and stand strong till the end.

Against All Odds 

Morale stories from Mahabharat's Character Abhimanyu's life.

From Mahabharat To You

Be obsessed to gain knowledge. The things you learn in your life live with you until the end. Do everything with passion to learn not just for the sake of completing it. Abhimanyu the warrior of Mahabharata started learning before he was born and kept learning the art of war his entire life. His learning helped him getting into the Chakravyooh and fight against all odds till his last breath. Just like that if you are passionate about your work nothing can stop you from achieving your goals. History has it that many great wars were fought and won with passion to win in the soldiers mind.

Knowledge Is Power

It takes courage to stand strong against the evil in the society. Do not fear if no one is with you, keep fighting till your last breath. The Mahabharata war teaches us about sacrificing our lives for the safety of truth and our loved ones.

Fear Has No Place

No matter how tough the situation is deal with it without fear. Trust your knowledge and use it wherever necessary. Make a dent in the universe. Always try to make an impact with your good deeds. Live for a purpose and not just for eating and earning money. Be a reason for someone's happiness and make people around you feel safe with you.

Be A Hero In Real Life

Failure is not wrong, it's not the end. Life is a journey and it's obvious that winning and loosing has a part to play in it. Don't lose hope of winning the war just because you lost a battle. Learn to accept defeat with respect and keep on trying. During the War of Mahabharat Abhimanyu fought till the last breath and then accepted his defeat, but he did it with so much courage that the enemies were feeling ashamed about what they did to him and their eyes were filled with tears and shame.

It's All Point Of View

Mahabharata

We live a life of delusion, we think if we can get a certain something we will be happy thereafter. But this is a neverending appetite.

2. Never-ending Greed

Don't mind if someone is pointing out mistakes in your art work. Never let pride takeover you.

1. Consumed By Pride

The eternal truth of humanity and it's relationship with every living and non living organism in the universe.

What Do We Learn

When you vent anger on someone, it hurts them pain, It brings pain in their life whenever they remember you.

4. Reflection On Our Anger

When tough times knock at our doors, self confidence is the first one to leave out the window. Ironically, that's what we actually need the most to fight back and survive. People who consume your time, energy and focus are all around you, find them and stay as far away as possible.

3. Self Confidence, Time & Energy

The one who act's gets the best. The one who sit's thinking for a long time, get what's left. Stagnant water gets dirty overtime, river contains fresh water.

5. Work Is Worship

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Bhagwat Geeta

<ol>
<li>Pick a big task that is important and meaningful to you.</li>
<li>Find a way to make the task enjoyable and meaningful at the same time.</li>
<li>Break the task into smaller subtasks that are easier to start.</li>
<li>Remove all distractions like your smartphone notifications, browser windows and other things vying for your attention.</li>
<li>Take it as a dance and pour yourself in!</li>
</ol>

Start The Shift And Accomplish The Difficult Task

<ol>
<li>Challenge yourself to accomplish a big task once a day, for five days a week, and take it to four weeks.</li>
<li>Keep a journal to record what works and what does not.</li>
<li>Do a review and learn from your journal or from other people who follow your progress.</li>
<li>Make it a shared goal with someone else.</li>
<li>Enjoy the practice, making it playful and delicious!</li>
</ol>

The Art Of The Start

<ul>
<li>Getting good at starting a difficult task is a powerful skill to acquire, and if we can just start the task, half the battle is won already.</li>
<li>Fear, stress, uncertainty and a feeling of inadequacy make it hard to start a big task.</li>
</ul>
We need to shift our thinking and take the task as an opportunity, an adventure, a playground to do something useful and fun.

Why Overly Kind And Moral People Can Rub Us Up The Wrong Way

Shubham Jadhav on Oct 28

Mahabharata

It's time to Read like a Pro.

Bhagwat Geeta

It's time to
Read like a Pro.