Rights And Duties

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥

Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana – You have the right to perform your actions,but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.

Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani – Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty.

-          The Bhagavad Gita.

I suddenly got reminded of an incident in an earlier organisation that I worked for. I was working on a very big project all by myself. It was a huge deal and I had gone through lots of ups and downs during the process of negotiations and a host of other meetings with that customer. The deal was very important for me for my career(as I had thought then) – not just because I had never struck a deal of that size and that too at that very young age, but also was very important for the organisation too for the visibility and the recognition the deal could bring. The top management were also considerate enough in giving me a helping hand to make it a success considering my passion and fervour for the project.

Yet there was a huge pressure on myself. While going through all the stress during this process – I went to my then boss’s cabin and told him just this – I hope we get this order soon!

My boss gave a classic reaction to this. He instantly told me “I am not a believer of God. I am an atheist. But I believe in the Bhagavad Gita. You have done your job extremely well. Do not worry about the outcome. Keep giving your best”. These words motivated me hard and I put in my good efforts still further. It became incidental that I got the deal. But those words are still etched in my memory.

I was in a Zen mood yesterday. I happened to listen to some nice songs. One song struck a fine chord in me, which was a Bhajan in Tamil that gave beautiful summary of the Bhagavad Gita. It immediately struck me that my mom used to sing that song as a lullaby everynight when I was a kid. It brought a nice smile on my face.  And to listen to that song now was not just nostalgic, but it also came laced with a subtle message of what I should do in a particular situation. Perhaps my mom had brought me up instilling this message in me.

So, why was I confused in taking a decision? There was a tricky situation in the office yesterday and I was expected to take a decision. There were two aspects to the decision. On one hand there was an emotional backlog that prevented me to go forward. On the other hand the situation demanded a harder stand. A sudden confusion!

But then, as they say, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. Perhaps, there was a reason behind the confusion. There was a reason behind my feeling Zen. A reason behind the particular song. And a reason behind my remembering my conversation with my ex-boss.

Interesting! It became clearer to me as to how to proceed further. I think I have my Credo in place now. 

By the way, are you confused too?

Some people do the best work when led. Not everyone is born to lead. The best leader, however, is one who 'leads like the baby'. The baby, though apparently depending on everyone, is the king of the household. At least, to my thinking, that is the secret ... -Swami Vivekananda, CW, 8:428