This verse emphasizes dharma. Right action not "any action" under all circumstances.
Actions have consequences. That is a given. To perform without focusing on results does not seem possible, but what the verse explains is tha Despite your best effort the result is not under your control so do not get attached to the end benefit. Shift the focus on performance instead.
Ravindra Salian - 8 years ago
I believe one of the main purposes is if we expect return for our actions, we will always be unhappy if somebody instead of being grateful for the help, goes against you. This will always keep hurting us and make us unhappy. Instead, if you help somebody out of compassion when he is in difficulty and do not expect anything in return, not even gratitude, we will always be happy for the good deed done.
Bhanu Kiran Datta K - 9 years ago
An extension to this could be:
Do not have even the faintest thought that "I am doing the work.", "I am thinking" etc. Instead think that this work is being done by Him through me. Place God in everything you do. Then you don't, in any way, become responsible for the results. He will be responsible. Even leave the results to Him. Do not let the 'I' conscious enter when you work.
Before starting any work imagine that He is guiding you. Like, He is guiding your way to the office, He is thinking, He is eating, He is bathing etc.
And, imagine for a minute that He is eating the food, before you eat. Then it will no more be just food. It becomes 'Amritam', God's food.
Balmick - 10 years ago
When I learnt this Sloakh from BHAGWAT GEETA I always referred to prescribed duties. As Shri Krishna say, either you perform your duty or you don't. But the outcome is there which is not in our hand. If we perform our duty it's in favour of whole humanity and if we don't the whole humanity suffers. Let us come to our famous prescribed duties.
Duty is duty. We can't avoid. We have to respect without questioning. Whether you are at work, at home, at school, among friends, among people, wherever you are.
Prescribed: You go to see a doctor when you are sick and suffering. After examining you he PRESCRIBES some medications. Just think of your situation if you don't follow the prescription.
And now imagine the DUTIES that are PRESCRIBED by GOD himself. What the outcome will be if we don't follow and respect.
Dwaraka - 11 years ago
Though each sloka in Bhagavadgita (BG) carries a very relevant msg to all mankind for all times, this one perhaps is the most relevant to all people. Every human being does some action or d other, including those who 'renounced' d world. This verse tells us all 1. To do work. In fact it is not only that u hv right to action, but it is ur duty to perform action. There is no way u escape from action. 2. It tells us how to do action- in a detached and very objective way. Don't work 4 results r rewards. Do ur job with all devotion without expecting that d result should b d way u want. But if u do d job with all devtion, u r very likely to succeed.
Nishkama Karma does tell us dat means r more imp than ends. I recall what is said by Robin Sharma in d 'Monk who sold his ferrari' that 'with one eye on d destination, u r left with only one eye to guide u through d journey.' what a gr8 way of saying that one should totally focus on d action! In d anxiety to reach d destination, we do not enjoy d journey!!
Recently, I came across a quotation of Henry David Thoreau "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking 4 it!!!"
Learning is a process, not an end result. The results are not divorced from the actions. Simply that one is not attached to the result of the action. :)
Siddharth - 12 years ago
"A student – His duty is to study, he passes or fails that’s not in his control. The student does not study just for the sake of passing his exams. When he studies, he learns. Whether he pases or fails he should not be too happy or too sad about it."
So you are just replacing the goal of "passing exams" with the goal of "learning". You are still studying (performing your duty?) with a fruit (=learning) in mind. Secondly, how does one decide what should be one's duty? the results of an action can never be divorced from the action. Anything you do, depends on how inclined you are to do it and what the potential returns are.
This verse emphasizes dharma. Right action not "any action" under all circumstances.
Actions have consequences. That is a given. To perform without focusing on results does not seem possible, but what the verse explains is tha Despite your best effort the result is not under your control so do not get attached to the end benefit. Shift the focus on performance instead.
I believe one of the main purposes is if we expect return for our actions, we will always be unhappy if somebody instead of being grateful for the help, goes against you. This will always keep hurting us and make us unhappy. Instead, if you help somebody out of compassion when he is in difficulty and do not expect anything in return, not even gratitude, we will always be happy for the good deed done.
An extension to this could be:
Do not have even the faintest thought that "I am doing the work.", "I am thinking" etc. Instead think that this work is being done by Him through me. Place God in everything you do. Then you don't, in any way, become responsible for the results. He will be responsible. Even leave the results to Him. Do not let the 'I' conscious enter when you work.
Before starting any work imagine that He is guiding you. Like, He is guiding your way to the office, He is thinking, He is eating, He is bathing etc.
And, imagine for a minute that He is eating the food, before you eat. Then it will no more be just food. It becomes 'Amritam', God's food.
When I learnt this Sloakh from BHAGWAT GEETA I always referred to prescribed duties. As Shri Krishna say, either you perform your duty or you don't. But the outcome is there which is not in our hand. If we perform our duty it's in favour of whole humanity and if we don't the whole humanity suffers. Let us come to our famous prescribed duties.
Duty is duty. We can't avoid. We have to respect without questioning. Whether you are at work, at home, at school, among friends, among people, wherever you are.
Prescribed: You go to see a doctor when you are sick and suffering. After examining you he PRESCRIBES some medications. Just think of your situation if you don't follow the prescription.
And now imagine the DUTIES that are PRESCRIBED by GOD himself. What the outcome will be if we don't follow and respect.
Though each sloka in Bhagavadgita (BG) carries a very relevant msg to all mankind for all times, this one perhaps is the most relevant to all people. Every human being does some action or d other, including those who 'renounced' d world. This verse tells us all 1. To do work. In fact it is not only that u hv right to action, but it is ur duty to perform action. There is no way u escape from action. 2. It tells us how to do action- in a detached and very objective way. Don't work 4 results r rewards. Do ur job with all devotion without expecting that d result should b d way u want. But if u do d job with all devtion, u r very likely to succeed.
Nishkama Karma does tell us dat means r more imp than ends. I recall what is said by Robin Sharma in d 'Monk who sold his ferrari' that 'with one eye on d destination, u r left with only one eye to guide u through d journey.' what a gr8 way of saying that one should totally focus on d action! In d anxiety to reach d destination, we do not enjoy d journey!!
Recently, I came across a quotation of Henry David Thoreau "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking 4 it!!!"
Learning is a process, not an end result. The results are not divorced from the actions. Simply that one is not attached to the result of the action. :)
"A student – His duty is to study, he passes or fails that’s not in his control. The student does not study just for the sake of passing his exams. When he studies, he learns. Whether he pases or fails he should not be too happy or too sad about it."
So you are just replacing the goal of "passing exams" with the goal of "learning". You are still studying (performing your duty?) with a fruit (=learning) in mind. Secondly, how does one decide what should be one's duty? the results of an action can never be divorced from the action. Anything you do, depends on how inclined you are to do it and what the potential returns are.