Bhagavad Gita Act with Purpose, Disregard Outcome

In the previous chapter Krishna said this to Arjuna:

?As a human being, you cannot be inactive. Act as you need to. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to me. Let what happens to be. Accept. Do not be attached to results, whether success or failure, good or bad. Be in equanimity. Attachment leads to greed, greed to anger, anger to delusion, and delusion to conditioned memory losing reason, which destroys you. Disengage from attachment. Let go of the ‘I’ and ‘Mine’. Only then you will glimpse the Truth.

This is the repeated message of Krishna throughout the Gita. This statement alone is a management and life mantra. When internalised, can remove all performance anxiety and fear of failure. Focus on action, not results of success and failure.

?Arjuna is not convinced. He continues to ask in the third session:

Krishna, you said one needs to act, yet knowledge is superior to action. You urge me to wage this war. Isn’t this contrary? Please show me one path to follow.

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Krishna says:

?Yes, I showed you two paths, one of knowledge and wisdom to those who are ready, and another of action to those who are not. Avoiding action doesn’t liberate and enlighten you. Every creature acts according to its nature. No one rests. One who doesn’t act on them, but dreams of sensual pleasures in the mind, is a hypocrite and a coward. One who controls the mind and serves to benefit others is spiritual and brave. One always must act and fulfil one’s duty. Action is better than inaction. You cannot live without action. Act selflessly without thoughts of selfish profit.

Action was created by the Creator to maintain the world. One who does not share in this work lives a sinful life, living only for one’s sensual fulfilment. So, act to serve. But, serve others before serving yourself. Only a thief takes without giving. Attain perfection through action. Perform your duty to guide people for the welfare of serving others.

The individual ego thinks of itself as the doer. It is the cosmos which through its energy performs all actions. You don’t. You are an instrument of the cosmos. Surrender all your actions to the cosmic energy acknowledging it without desires for profit and without claims to proprietorship.

When an exceptional person performs brilliantly, serving others, everyone is inspired to follow. I have nothing to gain through action, and yet I act, for if I don’t, others too will stop, and the world will end.

Do not be attached to the results of action. Accept what results. You are not the doer. Do not be bound by likes and dislikes. Act selflessly for the benefit of others. You then do not suffer the effects of karma. You are far better off doing your duties, even if not perfectly, than another's duties perfectly. Following a path not created for you is dangerous for your spirit. Discover your purpose in life and act aligned to it.

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Arjuna asks:

What forces us to be selfish despite a desire to do good to others?

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Krishna says:

Desire and passion from the attribute of Rajas create sinful consuming selfishness. As fire is covered by smoke, a mirror by dust, and the embryo by womb desire covers self-awareness. Desire is created by the senses of the mind, deluding wisdom. Selfish needs arise from attraction and repulsion of the senses, which control the body. Knowledge is hidden by the selfish desires borne of the senses leading us to delusion. Control your senses, fight and conquer. Your mind controls your body, intellect controls the mind, and above it, is your eternal spirit, the Self. Allow the Self to rule the mindbody senses.

?When Krishna speaks of one’s duties and purpose, he refers to what in Vedic philosophy terms as prarabda, the purpose of our life. Each of us leaves the body of our previous life with an unfinished purpose, which we carry as what Krishna refers to in another session as vasana. Instead of pursuing this purpose that we came to this life with, caught in the delusions of our present life and led by our senses, we imitate what others do. Our purpose defines our needs. Imitating others is our want. Needs can be fulfilled, but wants that arise from greed can never be.

?Krishna’s advice is to act following what our needs are, without expectations, not obsessed with wealth, power and success, and focused on serving others’ needs as well, in addition to ours. This is the only recipe to happiness.

?Ramakrishna Paramahamsa speaks of a monk and a sex worker in his parable. The sex worker does what she must to survive, yet with her heart fixed on Krishna, whom she adores. A monk stays in the temple across from the sex worker. He despises her, curses her and every time she has a customer, places a stone in a heap. This grows into a small hillock. Both the monk and sex worker die on the same day. The sex worker’s body is discarded for vultures to consume. The monk is buried in pomp. As their spirits ascend, the monk is led to the flames of hell. On his way, he is furious when he sees the sex worker feted and celebrated.

Ramakrishna says that what matters is the intent of what one does, which when clouded in judgment, does not serve us. The monk was more concerned about others’ morality, as many of our moral police are, without focusing on what he was meant to do. The woman focused on keeping her mindbody alive by whatever means, with her thoughts on the divine. Don’t worry about others. Focus on your purpose.

These two sessions in Gita, the second and third, are often cited as the message to executives. Short-term and selfish wants do not serve us. Fulfilling longer-term selfless needs of humanity makes us happy and fulfilled. Businesses that last several generations fulfil societal and systemic needs, in addition to those of their founders. Karma has no effect when capitalism is conscious of the societal systemic benefit.

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Reflection

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·?????What is your purpose in life?

·?????What are your needs?

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The Bhagavad Gita is the message for today. If you liked what you read, share with another 20 or 30, and request them to share. We may open closed minds, hearts and will.

Ram is a co-founder and mentor at Coacharya?https://coacharya.com. Ram's focus is the integration of Eastern wisdom with modern science, spiritually, systemically and sustainably. Visit Coacharya.

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