Action with the Focus on the Self

Guru:

“While doing the tasks, where thoughts often stray,
How could I focus on the Self”: you asked and I say
Listen closely now, to the wisdom ahead
On how to balance, by holding to the thread!

Atman, the essence, the core of our being,
When anyone says “I”, it’s the truth we’re seeing.
Simple it is, the true meaning of the “I”
Yet so hard to see, something eludes our eye!

To know the true “I” is to see through the guise,
Beyond all distractions, where the spirit will rise.
So as you engage in actions, let your essence unfold,
In tasks and in presence, let your Atma be bold.

Sishya:

Such import of Vedanta is beyond my reach!
I don’t understand! May you kindly teach!

Guru:

Do not fret, O Seeker, for Truth isn’t found
In the halls of the intellect, where echoes abound!
Yet by inquiry, let us shed what we falsely know,
Unlearning the layers, allowing light to flow.

Step by step, let us move, with hearts open wide,
Foremost, let our actions, the way to do be our guide.

Karma and Karma-phala

Guru:

Tell me! In every task that we take up to do
What is the motive? Is there not an intent too!

Sishya:

Well, it is the result of the actions that we do
That matters to us, propelling us to do!

Guru:

In general, we act with the desire for some result!
Thus the onus on us is to face the consequent effect!

Sishya:

As the doer brings the result, he must have the right
To the benefits of the action, as a whole! Outright!

Guru:

If the doer claims rights to the benefits of the task
Let him also own up to losses therein, it’s a fair ask!
In claiming all the glory, while casting off blame,
One is seen as the cheater! It is an unfair game!

Sishya:

I can see the direction you are heading!
Isn’t it Bhagavad Gita, you are spreading!
“Don’t do actions with the expectation of results”
Is it towards that dictum, you leading me straight?

Guru:

The Gita speaks not of actions done without aim,
For to act without longing would be quite dim!
It guides us in wisdom, a path wise and clear,
To perform with intent, yet release all our fear.

In each task that we do, let our hearts be aligned,
With purpose, yet with a pure calm mind.
For it’s not in the results that our essence is found,
But in the process of action, where peace abounds.

To insulate from outcomes, while playing our part,
Is the art of true living, that fulfills our heart!
To do is our duty, once done, it’s out of hand!
Outcome is a mystery, a grant by divine hand!

When Arjuna draws his bow, with focus and might,
He aims for the target, his purpose in sight.
The result of action, for the goal he sets
To vanquish the sinners, that’s the context.

Once the arrow is sent, its path is set free,
Then the nature guides, setting new decree
The trajectory may sway, the pace may change
Will it hit or fall within the target’s range!

Who scripts the Outcome?

Sishya:

“Without expecting any benefit of the result
May you do your duty” – isn’t it Gita’s state!

Guru:

Every action we take will yield some result,
But to claim it as yours is a wrongful tenet.
As the doer of tasks, may we know our true place,
In the web of nature, we all share the same space.

To assume the right of all outcome is a mistake,
In the perpetual pit, it makes you detained!
The main point, dear friend, is to act with intent
But give-up any hold on the results that is sent!

Sishya:

If I have done an action, then why should I hide,
That I own the action? What is wrong on my side?

Guru:

You have the right to claim the deeds you’ve done,
Free will aiding choices, each battle fought and won.
To say, “I made this happen,” is a fact you can own!
But beware the whispers echoing from a darker zone!

For actions, although yours You know not the design,
The threads of life are tangled, and fate’s hand intertwines.
To think you stand alone in every rise and fall,
Is to blind yourself to wisdom, there’s more to this than all.

Sishya:

I grasp the gift of free will, a power deep and true,
To choose the path I walk on, to act or to renew.
When I decide and do, the outcome is my own,
For every seed I planted, in this garden I have grown.

Guru:

Surely!

In exercising free will, let reason light the way,
May intellect as compass, guide each choice you lay!
To ensure that what you do is just and rightly planned,
You hold the authority, with steady heart and hand.

Having chosen the task, see it through with grace,
As half-hearted efforts tarnish the honor without trace.
To act with full commitment is the mark of true intent,
In every task you undertake, your soul must be lent!

Sishya:

I fully take your point and concur with it all
But why can’t I take credit, for the result, after all?

Divine Hand Plays

Guru:

Reasonable question! Let me further explain!
In the heat of battle’s call, with purpose clear and right,
Arjuna must draw the bow and aim with all his might.
His duty calls for action, to strike the evil foe,
To execute with honor, to let the arrows go.

Yet once the arrow flying, Its path may shift and sway,
For winds of fate are restless, and guide it on its way.
The impact rests not solely in the hands that let it soar,

Outcome is with the Lord Who knows what’s in store.
In the world of choices, we act by free will’s grace,
Yet every deed has ripples, shaping time and space.
To keep the balance flowing, weaving threads of fate,
Our actions spark the journey, but outcomes resonate.

In the hands of the Divine, The results find their place,
Guided by cosmic Dharma, with wisdom’s gentle trace.
We merely trigger in action, our part within the whole,
But the outcome is with Lord, reigning within the soul.

Sishya:

I concur with your saying, we all may decide and act
Yet the outcome is in Nature’s hands, forever in tact!

Guru:

Power of nature or the hands of God
Whatever you may call, it is power beyond!

Acceptance is Strength

So as you claim the actions, tune your heart to do,
To accept the outcome, whatever they may brew.
As the gift of the Lord, as blessings born anew
In reverence as ‘Iśvara-praśād’, so true!

Sishya:

By accepting the results of actions, whatsoever be
Truly as the gift of God, what is my gain to be?

Guru:

By accepting outcomes as God’s gift,
A peace begins to grow,
The strength to face whatever may come
With grace in every flow!
No shadows of vain pride, as anxiety fades away,

In winning or in losing, the heart finds its calm stay.

With open arms to greet what life may choose to send,
There’s no dread, no despair, Just a spirit on the mend.
In Acceptance is the key to freedom’s sweet embrace,
When we take this journey, we find joy in every place!.

Sishya:

Is this the ‘Karma Yoga’ that the Seers brief
As the method for us to get rid of our grief?
Oh Sir! Please teach me about this sacred art!
May Your merciful words guide how I act!

(To be continued….)

Mee. Ra