Should You Be Good to Everyone—Even Those Who Never Were? The Bhagavad Gita Knows

Somewhere between childhood fables and adulthood’s hard-earned cynicism, we all learn a painful truth: Not everyone is good to us. Some take advantage of kindness. Others mistake it for weakness. And then there are those who hurt us simply because they can. So, should we still be good to them? Should we still hold the door open for someone who slammed it in our face? Should we offer grace to those who never gave it to us? The Bhagavad Gita has an answer, and it’s not the easy one.


When Arjuna stands on the battlefield, paralyzed by doubt, Krishna doesn’t tell him to act based on how others behave. He tells him to act based on his own dharma—his purpose, his truth. This is the first lesson: Your goodness should not be a reaction to the world. If you are kind only when kindness is returned, or honest only when honesty is rewarded, then you are letting others dictate who you are. Real goodness is steady. It does not sway with circumstance.
The Gita is big on dharma, aka your moral duty, which in modern terms is like sticking to your values even when life throws lemons. You stay good because that’s your lane, and you don’t swerve just because someone else is a disaster.


The Gita is clear: Every action has consequences, but they are not ours to control. When someone wrongs us, the immediate instinct is to balance the scales—hurt them back, prove a point, show them who they messed with. But karma is not ours to deliver. It belongs to the universe. This isn’t about weakness or passivity. It’s about wisdom. When you let go of the need to punish, you free yourself. You stop carrying the weight of someone else’s wrongs. Let them answer for what they have done. That is between them and the laws of existence.
Revenge is tempting, sure. But Krishna is all, “Sweetie, let karma do its thing.” The Gita says actions have consequences—so instead of wasting your energy plotting petty payback, trust that the universe has a better system in place. It’s like watching someone ghost you and then seeing them post a sad breakup playlist.


Krishna teaches something even harder than forgiveness—detachment. Be good, but do not expect anything in return. Love, but do not demand love back. Give, but do not be wounded if others do not give in return. This is where most people struggle. We want kindness to be acknowledged. We want decency to be reciprocated. And when it isn’t, we feel cheated. But the truth is, the moment your goodness depends on how people react, it is no longer goodness. It is a transaction. True strength is doing what is right, simply because it is right.
Be good, but don’t need people to be good back. It’s like holding the door open with zero expectations—because if you expect a ‘thank you’ and don’t get one, you just ruined your own mood. Free yourself from the emotional blackmail of needing people to act right.


Now, let’s be clear—being good does not mean being naive. The Gita does not ask you to be a doormat. Krishna tells Arjuna to act according to wisdom, not blind sentiment. There is a difference between offering kindness and allowing yourself to be used. Being good to everyone does not mean keeping everyone close. It means wishing them well, even as you walk away. It means not poisoning yourself with hate, even as you choose to never let them hurt you again.
The Gita is about balance, not martyrdom. Be kind, yes. Be wise, absolutely. If someone keeps mistaking your kindness for weakness, it’s okay to set boundaries

Yes. Not because they deserve it, but because we do. Because bitterness is a prison, and cruelty is a cycle that never ends unless someone refuses to feed it. The Gita does not promise that goodness will always be rewarded. But it does promise that if you stay true to your nature, the chaos of the world cannot shake you. And in the end, that is the real victory.