In India, there is dharma, the idea of action-reaction. The righteous path is one that understands the consequences of their actions, and adjusts accordingly. Its opposite is adharma (literally without-dharma). Since dharmic action is that which sustains society, adharmic action would be that which consumes and destroys society as a whole.
In Old English there is wyrd, and wyrm. Wyrd is the English equivalent to dharma, often protrayed as a sort of well by which actions are fed into. It is basically the cosmic blockchain, every action built on top of previous actions. To follow the path of wyrd means to be constantly building in a way that would grow yourself, and society. The nature of everything is to grow or die, and a man was not seen as an individual so much as a facet of his family, clan, and tribe/Nation.
Wyrm is it's opposite. Portrayed as a dragon, the wyrm is something that ravages communities. Diseases were said to be caused by "tiny wyrms". They were the snakes, the dragons, the parasitic worms that plagued mankind. These were the result of impure, or destructive actions towards either yourself, or society at large. The inescapable consequence of crimes which always find a way to affect a person.
Adharma is nothing more than a force, or a reaction of the universe. However they still portray adharma as a demon, with brothers and offspring, which relate to negative actions such as deception, or violence. In Germanic lore, the dragon is similar. There is the dragon Fafnir who greedily guards gold from humans. Similarly in the Old English epic "Beowulf", you see stolen gold which no man can touch without defeating a wyrm/dragon. Both of which are embodiment's of adharma. The wyrm is the consuming nature of man that threatens to destroy his family or tribe.
What wyrd and wyrm show, is just that there is a right way to do things, and a wrong way to do them. It is stupid to do something for short-term gains only to lose even more later. So to make actions towards wyrd, one must first defeat the wyrms. Then move towards a more honest, truthful, brave, and constructive future not only for them but for others. Since no man is an island onto themselves there is no wyrd that does not include others.
For this reason, frith and loyalty have always been the highest precepts for the righteous in Germanic culture. If you do nothing else, at least have people for whom you are loyal no matter what. That you'd never lie to. Lay down your life for. If you do not have that, then you have nothing but a long and slow wait for death. Loyalty to your family, your community, your people, your race, your country, and your gods. If there isn't such a network, you must begin building one. A network of mutual benefit. Without that, the ecosystem by which mankind exists and grows will eventually die.
