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26 February 2010

karmanye vadhika raste....


karmanye vadhika raste, Ma phaleshu kadachana
Ma karma phala he tur bhuh, ma te sangvasta karmani


(Literal translation - Seek to perform your duty, but lay not claim on its fruits. Be you not the producer of the fruits of karma, neither shall you lean towards inaction)

In simple words these lines mean that you should perform your best without having the desire of its resulting profit, you are not the one who decides the result and it doesn’t mean that you should stop performing. These lines of Bhagwat Geeta are impractical for modern world. We are living in a world of cut throat competition where a single piece of work in done for the sake of its result. The simple example starts at our home itself – we ask our kids to finish their homework for a chocolate or anything which attracts them, you go to school and study for getting good results. Moreover we change their area of interest for moulding them to a high paying industry. There is no sense of self satisfaction or self improvement among our youngsters. They are doing every thing for a defined output. Earning a huge amount of money is higher priority then having a sense of self actualisation.
It doesn’t mean that you should stop earning money. Money is a mode of fulfilling few of your physiological needs. If we perform then the flow of money begins itself. The structure of education as well as daily office going world has been created such that one should perform for the scores, graphs, appraisals and incentives. But it does have an extensive room for sheer performance. Results promotions and appreciations are the source of motivation but if you expect them desperately then they can land you in depression. And that is what happening in the present professional world.
We should change our perspective of looking towards our work. Let’s make it satisfaction oriented rather than result oriented.