Renunciation of the fruits of our actions

The principle of renunciation of the fruits of our actions is one that is particularly pertinent to our times. It appears in the sacred Bhagavad Gita but it is not always well understood and usually blatantly ignored.

In the Mahabharata epic, Krishna who is believed to be a manifestation of the divine teaches the principle of renunciation of the fruits of our action when he explains the essence of life to the archer Arjuna just before the war of Kurukshetra. Prior to the beginning of the war, a representative of the two sides, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, came to visit Krishna asking for his support. Wishing to be fair to both parties, Krishna proposed that one side gets his army and the other gets his guidance, with the condition that he will not personally take any part in the war. The Pandavas chose Krishna and the Kauravas were too happy to have his massive army at their disposal. In the end, the side that chooses to have the Lord on their side wins.

This is a beautiful metaphor, the choice that Krishna offers is a test. Most people turn to God only because of the powers He holds that can help them achieve what they desire. If they were to choose between God and his powers, they would choose his powers without giving a second thought to God himself.

When the war begins, Krishna is a charioteer to Arjuna who is a fantastic archer, it means that God can only lead you and be by your side in the war between your conscience and your desires, he won't himself act on your behalf. This is the libre arbitre that is also mentioned in the Holy Bible. Moreover, Arjuna as an archer represents action; when the arrow is shot, you have no influence on the outcome. You can only have God by your side and with him as inspiration, you give your best shot. Once it is done, the outcome is no longer in your hands.

We live most of our lives doing things in expectation of a future reward. The action takes place in the present but its fruit lies in the future. Such an action prevents you from fully being in the present moment for what it is worth. More important, such action stems from an ulterior motive, an agenda that often remains well hidden. We find people becoming our friends just because we may be of help to them. We find people showing enthusiasm over some cause only as long as it is in the limelight or because of some benefits they can derive from it. We find people making promises they don't mean to uphold. We find people mingling with others of questionable character and justifying these people's misdeeds because of the position and power they hold. We find people compromising on their self-respect to get some advantage that will further their cause. All these are examples of adharmic actions that lead to the accumulation of negative karma.

Acting on ego, we also at times make a big show about the things we do without being really convinced of what we are doing. As a result, we end up being disillusioned. We then get the impression that the people around us are all so fake and inauthentic, and we develop a deep distrust towards everyone and everything and feel that our life is empty.

There is another kind of action which is not done with a motive to achieve some future result. Such action is natural and spontaneous; it arises from the depths of our being. It springs from who we are, not what we wish to become or acquire. We live our lives not looking for what's in it for us to take but for what we can contribute because through contribution we get to express our essence.

For most people, the idea of doing something and not getting anything in return is unthinkable in our society obsessed with getting rich. They have their eyes firmly set on the future, on their goal, and are ready to compromise on values, friendship, family and relationships, on ethics, just to achieve what they have set out to do. Yet, the future does not exist, nobody knows for sure what shape it will take. It may never arrive, or not as we wish it will. Even the best shot arrow might find that the target has moved or the arrow can get deviated by the wind or obstructed by an obstacle along the way. Circumstances change, people change, and our own children change. In fact, we change too and often find out that after sacrificing so much to reach a set target, it turns out not to be as fulfilling as we thought it would be.

When we look around us, we can see that every one of God's creations is in harmony with a higher purpose, letting God take the reins: the trees are giving fruits, the cows are giving milk and the clouds are giving rain, without expectation of the fruits of their actions. This is the very essence of existence, it is about being spontaneous and natural, every action needs to be a pure and honest expression of truth, not conniving, speculative, and manipulative. This is what God wants our actions to be, not just towards him expecting to impress him, but towards all of creation, every single moment of every single day.