 |
Chapter 2
THE TEACHING IN BRIEF: SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND EQUANIMITY
8.The Way To Harmonise The Two Principles: Renunciation Of The Fruit Of Actions
14. The Gita, while asking us not to have any desire for the fruit of actions, insists that the work must, however, be perfect. The work of a desireless doer can rightfully be expected to be better than that of one driven by desire for the fruit. The reason is that, because of attachment to the fruit, the latter is bound to waste at least some time and energy in day-dreaming about it. On the other hand, every moment of the desireless doer’s life and every bit of his energy would be spent in the work in hand. A river knows no respite; wind takes no rest; the sun shines for ever. Likewise, a desireless doer is ever engaged in unremitting service. Who else can then achieve perfection in work, if not he? Secondly, mental poise, the equanimity of mind is a great quality; and the desireless doer has this quality in his own right. When equanimity of mind is combined with the skill of the hands, even an ordinary work of an artisan is bound to be better and more beautiful. Moreover, the difference between the outlook of a desireless doer and of one with attachment to desires is also conducive in making the former’s work better. A man having an eye on securing the fruits looks at the work from a selfish point of view. In his view, the action as well as its fruits are exclusively his own. Therefore, he does not feel that any negligence in the work is a moral lapse. For him, it may, at the most, cause the output to be defective. But a desireless doer has a moral sense of duty towards his work. He is, therefore, extremely alert to avoid any shortcomings therein. Hence his work is bound to be more flawless. Thus, from whatever angle one may see, falatyaga (renunciation of the fruits of actions) proves to be a sound and effective principle. That is why it could be called a sort of yoga or the art of living. 15. Leaving aside the matter of desireless action, there is in the action itself a joy which you cannot find in the fruit. Total absorption in one’s own work is an everlasting spring of joy. Were you to offer any amount of money to an artist for refraining from painting, would he agree? Certainly not. If you tell a farmer not go to the field, not to graze the cattle or draw water from the well, and offer him as much grains as he wants, he would certainly not agree to it if he were a true farmer. A farmer goes to the field in the early morning. There the Sun-god welcomes him. Birds sing for him. Cattle gather around him. He caresses them with affection, casts a loving glance at the plants. There is a sattvik, sublime joy in all this. This joy, in fact, is the true and main reward of his work. Compared to it, the material fruit of action is secondary. When the Gita takes a man’s attention away from the fruit of his actions, it increases hundredfold his concentration in his work through this ingenuity. When the doer’s mind is free from the desire for the fruit, his absorption in his work attains the character of samadhi. Hence his joy is also hundred times more than that of others. Looked at from this angle, it is clear that the desireless action is itself a great reward. Jnanadeva has rightly asked, “The tree bears fruits, but what fruit could the fruit bear?” When the body is used for the desireless pursuit of swadharma, such pursuit itself is the beautiful fruit that the body bears. Why then look for any other fruit? Why should a farmer who has sown wheat, sell it and eat a bread of millets? Why should one not eat what he grows? But the ways of the world are strange. The Gita asks us to refrain from such behaviour. It asks us to relish work, to rejoice in it, to be fully absorbed in it and draw life-blood from it. To act itself is everything. A child plays for the joy of playing. He does get the benefit of exercise thereby, but he does not think of this benefit. His joy is in playing only. |
 |