|
The philosophy of Karma Yoga puts a valid question to you. Is it better to renounce or participate in an action? Would you prefer to act when the conditions are favorable for you or when you need to?
A young man went to a beach. He thought that he will enter the sea to swim, when all the waves stop doing their merry dance. Up-down-up-down! He waited for quite some time. The waves won’t stop.
Some one whispered into his ears, “having gone for a sea bath, don’t be afraid of the oncoming waves. If the waves are powerful, duck them. If the waves are friendly, dance with them. When the waves are normal, swim your way further!”
According to one aspect of the Karma theory, you are advised to do your duty on time without asking for the rewards. You may ponder- If I work, I must get the reward.
Well, I agreed with you for a while. Let’s walk to the rational approach.
Every action has a reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action. By accepting this principle, how can you say that your actions won’t be rewarded? But you are not the master of those rewards, as far as timings are concerned. By demanding the fruits of actions instantly, you presume that you are the master of your past, present and future. Actually, you are not!
So, what you are advised is that to do your duty and do not ask for the reward. Everything will be given to you at the appropriate occasion as per the merits of your own actions.
So, you have to act on in the world outside without any motivated desires. Just do it, with a sense of detachment. Such actions purify your mind and they aid liberation. Desired fruits of action, good or bad are fleeting. They can never be permanent.
|