Apprehension of result breeds inaction – Bhagavad Gita verse 2.47

Chitvish · Apr 17, 2008

Karma Yoga:

Krishna showed Arjuna in the last 2 verses that the Goal that is to be reached, lies beyond the realms of the Vedas. Now, he explains the path by which the Supreme Goal can be reached. In a nutshell, this verse teaches the secret art of living an inspired life.

KarmaNyaavadhikaarasthae maa phalaeshu kadaachana
Maa karmaphalahaethurbhoo: maa thae sangO(a)sthvakarmaNi - 2.47

You have a right over action alone; never over results.
May you not be the cause of the results of actions.
May you not have an attachment towards inaction.

Krishna gives a marvellous sequence of instruction here. This verse demonstrated Krishna's deep insight into Arjuna's mind.
In verse 2.45, Arjuna was instructed to "be without the three gunas'.
In the next verse 2.46, Arjuna was told that as a result he would fulfil all his aspirations in the relative field, he might very well infer that he was not required to do anything more.
Therefore in order that Arjuna might not develop an aversion to action, the Lord says here:
You have control over action alone. ( Thae adhikaara: karmaNi aeva )
This is to make Arjuna realise that he should be so completely absorbed in the action itself, to become oblivious of everything else, even of its fruits. For this reason the Lord adds:
Never over its fruits (maa kadaachana phalaeshu)

This does not mean that Arjuna is not to fight for the sake of winning the battle or an action should be done without caring for the result. This would be hypocrisy!
The Lord wishes to emphasise that the result of the action would be greater if the doer puts all his attention and energy in the action itself, without getting distracted by thinking about the results. There is no doubt that the result will be according to the action.
This is the technique for achieving the maximum result from an action. The doer has every right to enjoy the fruits of the action. But he has no control over the fruits which will be according to the action. Having fixed the objective, having begun to act and getting immensely engrossed in the action, he should fulfil the action with complete devotion and undivided attention, without thinking of its fruits.
Most of the failures, we face in life arise from an impoverished mental equanimity. This is created by entertaining unwanted apprehension about the possibility of failures.
The fear of the possibility of a failure makes one nervous before finishing noble endeavours. Krishna advises to avoid such wasteful expenditure of mental energy.
Work with the best that is in us, all dedicated to the noble cause of the work undertaken, is the secret prescription for work in high inspiration and such work will end in brilliant success. That is the eternal law of activity in the world.
Invest intelligently and well in the present moments to carve out the future and reap better times. One should not become unhealthy and inefficient in the present because then, certainly he has no reason to hope for a greater future. If we worry over and get ourselves preoccupied with the anxieties for the rewards of the action, then we commit the mistake of escaping from the present to live in a future, not yet born!
This advice is a call to man, not to waste his present moments in fruitless dreams and fears, but to bring the best in him to the present and live every moment vitally.
Love,
Chithra.

corallux · Apr 17, 2008

I agree with this Chithraji....At a time I have been so tensed up about my result, this comes as a reminder of what SriKrishna said do your actions & leave the rest to me...

Very apt...

Regards,

Corallux

Cheeniya · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chithra
Of all the pilgrimages that I had undertaken in my life so far, the toughest were my two visits to Kedarnath. The rarefied atmosphere, heavy snowfall and the steep climb combined together made it a tough test of endurance and perseverance. The very first instruction that the tour conductor gave us was that we must avoid looking up as we climbed to see how much more climbing was there to do. He said that the mere sight of the steep and arduous climb would cause mental and physical fatigue. He exhorted us to keep our head down and concentrate on the next step to take. As I read this thread of yours, I am reminded of that great experience.

All of us are aware that all world is a stage and we are mere puppets performing our assigned roles. Only the Script Writer knows how the story will develop and conclude and our job is only to play our part well as directed by Him. That is why we talk of following the Divine Laws in whatever we do. Let us take the example of an edifice like the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace><st1laceName>Petronax</st1laceName><st1laceType>Towers</st1laceType></st1lace> of <st1:country-region><st1lace>Malaysia</st1lace></st1:country-region>. Thousands of masons would have toiled on it doing their assigned roles day and night. Individually none of them would have been aware that the small wall that he was entrusted with would be an integral part of a magnificent structure. When it is complete, it would be difficult for the individual mason to identify where his own piece has merged in the awesome building. This should be our attitude. We must know that nothing that we do is outside the purview of His Design and hence we must do the job without any fear, doubt or ego. No matter what task is assigned to us, it should be understood as part of His Design. At the end of it all, what we may achieve may just be a piece of His Jigsaw. As long as we keep this in mind, we will not be assailed by ego, fear or worries.

The following quote from Judaism exemplifies the Hindu concept of ‘Sarvam Krishnarpanam’:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
Those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
Eating the bread of anxious toil;
For he gives his beloved sleep.

Achieving a holy indifference to the temporal success or failure of the cause to which one’s best energies are devoted is, perhaps, the most difficult of all mortifications but take heart from what St.John of the Cross says:

‘The fitting disposition for union with God is not that the soul should understand, feel, taste, or imagine anything on the subject of the nature of God, or any other thing whatsoever, but should remain in that pureness and love which is perfect resignation and complete detachment from all things for God alone’
Sri

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Anandchitra · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chithra
The topic title itself is very catchy and enticing. As we are continuing Karma Yoga I am looking forward to read more about the art of living an inspired life. I admire the emphasis placed upon "Action: thruout.. Here also Krishna says again You have control over action alone.. And never over its fruits. One of the advantages of hearing this line over and over again is because in this world that we live in today everything is definetly based on the result.. the complete focus is on the result always. So it is a must for this path to repeat again and again that action alone is the focus exclusively.
It is interesting to read that the doer has every right to enjoy the fruits of the action. The point here being to focus on completing the action with complete devotion and not even thinking about the result.
This post of your is extremely uplifting and a must read. Thank you for takin the time and effort.

Kamla · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chithra,

Another valuable write up on KarmaYoga.
This particular sloka is very popular I think...Even I am familiar with it!
Today, thank to you, I am able to understand it better.
We certainly do not have any influence on the results of our work/action. Hence we have to strive to do whatever we do with utmost dedication, maybe, God willing, fruitful results follow.
It was slightly consoling to read that it was natural to expect a certain result. But I guess we should strive towards a mental equilibrium to accept success and failure with a certain detachment.
Also, it is very true that we should not waste the very precious time we have and work towards an honest future. Not many of us have that foresight though.
Like the last time, Cheeniya's fb is another eye opener. It is very true that one always is in fear of the obstacles ahead. I guess one has to develop a blind attitude and trudge forth. If one puts in a sincere effort, maybe we will be blessed with the fruits.

L, Kamla

vaidehi · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chitra,

This is the First time i m posting a feedback to ur posts on this thread. I am a silent reader of ur Posts, i must admit even though i do read ur post its been a little above my level of thinking at this point of time in my life (i hope u understand.... i mean i am yet to attain that kind of maturity in life , since i am so new to this family wayof life.).

But i admit this post of urs has been so well described and explained that a Common person like me could even easily get to the meaning of what Lord Krishna wanted to Convey. It has been a teaching for me and will be helpful for me for future guidance.

Thank u so much......

cheers
vaidehi

vidhi · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chith

The very title of your post is very powerful. It was an inspiring post chith. As this shloka is the title song of Mahabharatha which they have aired in Doordharshan I am very familiar with it. But only the shloka not the meaning of it. I used to like it that time very much that I used to not miss it. Only today I came to know about the detailed explanation of it. Anxiety about the future kills the joy of today. It grabs your efficiency from you. You have conveyed it in a very powerful way.

Love
Vidhi

vidhi · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Cheeniya Sir

Your narration about your visit to Kedernath and the example of Petronax Towers of Malaysia was helpful. But very often we forget it and think more of the results than the action itself.

regards
vidhi

aishu22 · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Chithra,
The secret art of living inspired life! Its so inspiring indeed to read these lines.And i feel that this very topic was writtern for me.Lot of my qustions have been clarified in your post... ...I always have apprehensions about what i do.I think so much about the consequences before i do an action- which is in a way good i suppose, but the fear does engulf me about the result...I do postpone certain things for the fear of results....Now, from your post i learnt and will try to make a conscious effort to releive me from the fear of results.
Thanks for your vivid explanation of apprehension of result.Now i do understand the art of living an inspired life.

aishu22 · Apr 17, 2008

Dear Sri,
What you have told about kedarnath is soo very true.I havnt got the nod from God to visit him there till now, but my parents did visit Kedarnath.I'm sure it was a test to everyones determination and preseverance.Both of yours and chithra's post have cleared some questions i had in mind about this very topic. I always used to wonder this...We are the kartha for any action.. and the result is always oriented to our actions...Then will we not be responsible for the fruit of our action??
This very line from Chithra's and your post:

"The Lord wishes to emphasise that the result of the action would be greater if the doer puts all his attention and energy in the action itself, without getting distracted by thinking about the results. There is no doubt that the result will be according to the action."

" At the end of it all, what we may achieve may just be a piece of His Jigsaw. As long as we keep this in mind, we will not be assailed by ego, fear or worries."

has cleared off all my apprehensions!

Your explanation on each human is assigned with a task and about the dutiful completion of the same was very lucid.

Thanks for enlightening all of us here.I think this post is godsent(thru you and chithra) especially for me