A fresh day. Outside my home , its pretty good weather. Bangalore has recieved its little share of the summer monsoon over the last week and its green and clean near my house. I watch out of my balcony and see the small plants in the pots swaying to the gentle wind. Am sipping from my cup of lime juice as i start penning down this blog.
My thoughts wander .. I try to follow the thought chain ..
What makes man give his best to work ? Is that the expectation or the desire of a result at the end of the task ? Our Lord Krishna has advised to do our duty and not bother about the results. What is meant by duty ? If we are not bothered about the results , then why do them ?
Some thoughts , some questions , I say to myself - People on ST are sure to provide answers. That would be very encouraging and knowledge gaining. On second thoughts , what matters most to me is what I think of the answers. Surely , knowledge is welcome irrespective of the source , I grab at it. But the greatest source lies within. So, I close my eyes ( after finsihing off the lime juice ).
He appears. As usual , he is smiling. Not laughing , not roaring , but just smiling. At peace with himself. Put him anyplace and in any situation , he is always peaceful and smiling. Thats what I like about him. He answers me :
"Duty is the fees you pay for occupying the space on this planet"
"In sanskrit ," he continues "Kartavya means duty.Kara also means "tax or duty". Lovely isnt it ? So , what is the duty one should pay ? It is simple - To server others in need of help is your duty"
Why shouldnt I focus on the results ?
"Go ahead and focus on the results. As they say , Begin with the end in mind. Visualise the results. But don''t be attached to them." he continues, leaving me wondering more.
"Some examples may help you. Suppose you are a farmer and you want to get a bumper crop. The result is that you should get a very good yield. You start out with the necessary preparations for the same. But some factors like a good rainfall , etc are not in your hands. Suppose , you want to ascertain a good rainfall this season and then only till the land and sow the seeds, you will be failing in your action."
Similarly , if a student gets attached to the result of scoring First Rank , only then will he sit for the exam , he may never appear for the exam.
Suppose you are travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai by car. You make sure your car is in good condition , brakes are fine , tyre pressures are checked, etc before starting out. Maybe you will also get a map and still some may get a weather report checked.Right ?"
I nod along , seemed logical.
But if you wait till the weather is perfect all along the way , there are no traffic pileups anywhere , then you may not get started only. That is attaching to results and failing to do your duty.
Seems fine , except that - We work for a company and expect a salary from that. Do you mean to say that we shouldn't expect anything in result for our work ?
Its not like that. People are paid for their value added by doing the work. That value addition is the result of your work and as the owner gets a benefit due to the additional value , he performs his duty by paying for it. So , focus on what value you can add while at work or anything else. Working just for getting money and paying your bills is fine , but you are not meant to just pay your bills. There is a bigger purpose. Seek it.
I open my eyes. It's time to go back to my work. I start checking my emails and there is one from my client in US. He wants me to get a software tape release done ahead of plan. I think - "How can i add value to ensure my client gets his request completed ? I make changes to the Release plan and .... (The rest of the story is just my duty )
My thoughts wander .. I try to follow the thought chain ..
What makes man give his best to work ? Is that the expectation or the desire of a result at the end of the task ? Our Lord Krishna has advised to do our duty and not bother about the results. What is meant by duty ? If we are not bothered about the results , then why do them ?
Some thoughts , some questions , I say to myself - People on ST are sure to provide answers. That would be very encouraging and knowledge gaining. On second thoughts , what matters most to me is what I think of the answers. Surely , knowledge is welcome irrespective of the source , I grab at it. But the greatest source lies within. So, I close my eyes ( after finsihing off the lime juice ).
He appears. As usual , he is smiling. Not laughing , not roaring , but just smiling. At peace with himself. Put him anyplace and in any situation , he is always peaceful and smiling. Thats what I like about him. He answers me :
"Duty is the fees you pay for occupying the space on this planet"
"In sanskrit ," he continues "Kartavya means duty.Kara also means "tax or duty". Lovely isnt it ? So , what is the duty one should pay ? It is simple - To server others in need of help is your duty"
Why shouldnt I focus on the results ?
"Go ahead and focus on the results. As they say , Begin with the end in mind. Visualise the results. But don''t be attached to them." he continues, leaving me wondering more.
"Some examples may help you. Suppose you are a farmer and you want to get a bumper crop. The result is that you should get a very good yield. You start out with the necessary preparations for the same. But some factors like a good rainfall , etc are not in your hands. Suppose , you want to ascertain a good rainfall this season and then only till the land and sow the seeds, you will be failing in your action."
Similarly , if a student gets attached to the result of scoring First Rank , only then will he sit for the exam , he may never appear for the exam.
Suppose you are travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai by car. You make sure your car is in good condition , brakes are fine , tyre pressures are checked, etc before starting out. Maybe you will also get a map and still some may get a weather report checked.Right ?"
I nod along , seemed logical.
But if you wait till the weather is perfect all along the way , there are no traffic pileups anywhere , then you may not get started only. That is attaching to results and failing to do your duty.
Seems fine , except that - We work for a company and expect a salary from that. Do you mean to say that we shouldn't expect anything in result for our work ?
Its not like that. People are paid for their value added by doing the work. That value addition is the result of your work and as the owner gets a benefit due to the additional value , he performs his duty by paying for it. So , focus on what value you can add while at work or anything else. Working just for getting money and paying your bills is fine , but you are not meant to just pay your bills. There is a bigger purpose. Seek it.
I open my eyes. It's time to go back to my work. I start checking my emails and there is one from my client in US. He wants me to get a software tape release done ahead of plan. I think - "How can i add value to ensure my client gets his request completed ? I make changes to the Release plan and .... (The rest of the story is just my duty )
