To a friend who is of
the view that no voluntary action is possible without a desire or purpose and
wants me to cite some examples of “work for the work’s own sake”.
We are on a
familiar ground. We had discussed this issue
on a number of occasions in the past and we continue to hold our respective
views. Still, I am making an effort to
respond to your question – without expecting that this would find acceptance. This itself is an example of “work for the
work’s own sake”.
Coming to the
‘concepts’ mentioned in my post on the Facebook (for the post,
comment and interim response, please see the Appendix – I to this article), though you
may be aware of all of them, they require to be revisited here for appreciation
of answer to your question. Some of the
statements of truth shared by the enlightened one’s (it might help if the reader pauses to think after reading each of these statements
and tries to relate them to one’s experiences in life) and the
examples of ‘work for work’s own sake’ are:
(1) Out of Avyakta (unmanifest, eternal, nirakaar
and nirguna reality) springs up
the manifest universe (Purush
and Prakriti or Spirit and matter – Purush is also referred to as life, consciousness, inner guru, self or witness and matter
includes bodies and minds of Jivas). Coming out of perfect (one reality), world and self are one and perfect – all opposites
(dwait) perceived by
the mind complement each other and make the whole. Being perfect, there is no scope or need for
any change or improvement in them. Only our attitude is faulty and needs
readjustment. This process or readjustment is Sadhana.
(2) Manifest word is a work of Maya, play of
three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). Sattva Guna harmonises, Rajo Guna distorts
and the Tamo Guna obscures reality – oneness of everything and everyone. Seeing imperfections (where there is none) and consequent desire for improvements in the world
is the work of mind dominated by Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna.
(3) Some
unknown power acts and we imagine as if we are acting. The very idea of doing the right thing comes
from the unknown. We merely watch what
happens, without being able to influence it in any way (two examples based on
our experience are given in Appendix – II).
One needs to leave it to the unknown as far as the results go, and just go
through the necessary movements.
There is no need for having one’s own designs.
The life of which one is an expression will guide him.
The idea of
purpose and responsibility and consequent action is something like one carrying
a load on his head while travelling in a train.
When our
efforts and aspirations happen to be in line with whatever is otherwise going
to happen, our efforts appear to have succeeded and we have the illusion of
success; and when it is contrary to that, we have illusion of failure. Success and failure are illusions.
(4) Everything in existence is the cause of
everything – with no particular cause for an event. The
very urge to achieve is also an expression of the total universe. We are merely one of the links in the long
chain of causation. Doership is a myth
born from the illusion of 'me' and 'mine'.
We often come
across examples of great human beings who appear to have changed the course of
history or the way we live our lives.
This gives rise to speculation that human endeavor is necessary and that
it modifies the situations. The fact,
however, is that when some event is to take place, the life makes anyone a
focal / rallying point – energy
potential mysteriously rises at that particular point – and entire existence conspires to make it happen.
(5) Sattva Guna has the attributes like contentment, peace, joy and love. Attributes of Rajo Guna are restlessness, urge for action and ambition. Tamo Guna is the source of inertia, obsession (moha), grief (shok) etc. Every Jiva is the work of each of these Gunas in varying proportions and therefore unique.
(6) Our worlds, being projections of our mind,
are subjective and personal like dreams, everyone lives in his own private
world.
(7) Without or with a perceived purpose, action
is inevitable for every Jiva. Work is pure action but is perceived differently
depending upon the state of one’s mind.
Every action is dictated by Trigunas
– we are compelled by Gunas to act in a particular manner or not to act –
done under compulsion, question of voluntary action or purpose behind doing a
work does not arise.
A person in
whom Sattva Guna is predominant, his every action is spontaneous response to a
situation. There is no other
purpose. He attends to the task which
presents itself before him (according to one’s prarabdha), he does not look for some other
preferred task. He enjoys the very fact of doing a job well – to his own
satisfaction (swantah-sukhaya). He is not
affected by the outcome of his action or how his work is viewed by others –
appreciated or condemned (except in that fleeting moment). Work done by such a person is closest to
“work for work’s own sake” (see Appendix – III).
A person with
predominance of Rajo Guna is driven by desire and fear (prompted by one’s preferences and prejudices). He sees a purpose in doing a work. He also sees imperfections around and may aim
for improvement of the situations around;
would aim for a particular outcome and would be prone to anxiety for
fear of failure. He would also aim for recognition of his work and would feel
unhappy, frustrated and discouraged, if his work is not recognised and
appreciated or is condemned.
And a person
with predominance of Tamo Guna, will either avoid the work or do it because of
greed, vengeance etc. or in a complaining mood and will apportion blames to
others for a situation or outcome. His
very approach is destructive and perverted.
He would hold system, circumstances and others for his negative actions.
Two examples
of actions by persons with predominance of Sattava, Rajo and Tamo Gunas are
given in Appendix – III.
(8) At the root of ‘purposeful action’ is the
idea that one exists as an independent being (‘I’) and is thus capable of
voluntary action. Let us first examine
the reality or otherwise of ‘I’.
Subtle body (linga sareer) is the work
of nature. It consists of Mind (chhitta, mana, buddhi and ahankaar – sense of ‘I’) and
Indriyas. Various desires and samskaras are stored in the mind. Subtle body enters a gross body when it finds
a suitable body for expression of its desires and samskaras.
Subtle body, a bundle of memories and mental habits,
attracts attention, awareness (consciousness)
gets focalised and a ‘Person’ suddenly appears.
This ‘person’ dies with the death of this body, never to come again.
It is one life, one consciousness (call it God, Self or by any other name), which envelops all.
A reflection of the watcher (also known as
consciousness or self or God)
in the mind creates the sense of 'I' and the person imagines that it has independent
existence. A ‘Person’ being a reflection is just an appearance – not a reality.
A ‘Person’
Being a mere reflection has no independence of action. Once
it is realised that the person is merely an image or shadow of the reality, and
not reality itself, one ceases to fret and worry.
There is only life. There is nobody who
lives a life (one
life envelops and pervades all the bodies and matter).
In life itself a little whorl arises in the mind, which indulges in
fantasies and imagines itself dominating and controlling life. As long as one has the idea of influencing events,
liberation is not for him : the very notion of doership, of being a
cause, is bondage.
The false and
illusory sense of ‘I’ and distortions created by the mind create the illusion
of responsibility and freedom of action.
These distortions slowly vanish on advent of Sattva Guna after
dissipation of Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna.
(9) Coming to the ‘voluntary’ action, it can
examined from another aspect also. There is no such thing as mind apart
from thoughts (and
feelings) which come and go
obeying their own laws, not ours. None can know what his next thought would
be. Thoughts just randomly involuntarily
pop up from the memory all the time. One
has no power over this process and cannot avoid them with best of one’s
efforts. This can be easily realised if
one sits with closed eyes for just 10 minutes and attentively observes the
thoughts and feelings randomly appearing and disappearing in mind. Even when one is engaged in some specific
activity (so called voluntary action), only one part
of the brain is engaged in that and appearance and disappearance of thoughts
and feelings in other parts continues unabated.
Out of a
number of such random thoughts popping up, mind decides to pursue a particular
thought. Selection of thought to be
pursued and taking action based on that (or decision not to
act) is prompted by one’s preferences or prejudices based on genetic coding
and social conditioning. Neither of them
is voluntary. We mistake following the
dictates of mind borne out of them (trigunas, genetic coding and social conditioning) as our
freedom. In reality it is slavery of the
mind – how can an action done under compulsion be called as freedom (Incidentally I may mention that my mind has been working on this
response right from the day it was confronted with the question even while I am
meditating, chanting or walking. It is a
compulsive urge of my mind for expression of knowledge and experience it has
gathered over the years / lives. Obviously
I had no freedom – this apparently voluntary work can, therefore, not be called
as voluntary).
Next step is
consequence of action in pursuance of a thought. When one acts on a thought aiming at a
particular outcome, the result may or may not be what was aimed at because the
outcome depends on innumerable factors (in fact, on entire
existence).
A favourable
outcome causes pleasure and adverse ones cause pain. This is also not voluntary.
Thus right
from the stage of thought to the resulting pleasure or pain nothing is
voluntary and nothing is in our hands.
Shri Ramesh
Balsekar, a master, explains that external situations are going to
affect the body and mind (creating sensation of
pain or pleasure) of a worldly person as also that of a realised
one. Only difference between the two is that the former carries it over
in the mind even after the event and relives the experience time and
again but it does not happen to the later (like
a child).
Therefore, act playfully and be finished
with it.
(10) A ‘Person’ with Rajo Guna propelled by Karta Bhava will naturally follow ‘Pravritti’ marg – path of action borne
of desire and ambition. As you rightly
said Karta Bhava would later be
abandoned to develop ‘Nishkaam Bhava’. This, in turn, will finally lead to ‘Nivaritti’ marg in due course (Sant Gyaneshwar speaks of a short span of hundreds of lives for this
process to be complete!). In the
words of Shri Nisargdatta Maharaj:
“The way of outgoing (pravritti) necessarily precedes
the way of returning (nivritti). To sit in judgment
and allot marks is ridiculous. Everything contributes to the ultimate
perfection. Some say there are three aspects of reality – Truth – Wisdom –
Bliss. He who seeks truth becomes a Yogi,
he who seeks wisdom becomes a Gyani
and he who seeks happiness becomes the man of action”.
(11) The ultimate knot of ignorance (हृदय की दुरभेद्य ग्रन्थी) is the sense of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ – that one is this body and
mind and whatever they consider as theirs (like skills, thoughts,
feelings, values, relationships, possessions etc.). Purpose, responsibility etc. are the work of
this ignorance. We (meaning ling sareer) acquire
different bodies (persons with entirely different personalities,
animals, plants etc.) in different lives.
Which one of them can truly be called as ‘me’? None – being always in flux. Logically, therefore, this body and mind
cannot be me – I just happen to inhabit this body at this point of time – I am
a witness (consciousness or self) independent
of this body and mind.
(12) Everyone seeks to achieve happiness (pleasure), love, peace and freedom in life through whatever means (acquisition of money, power, knowledge etc.) one
adopts. Why is it so? The reason is simple, the reality of which
‘Person’ is a reflection, is all this and more.
‘Person’ feels constrained and suffocated – wants to break free from the
limitations of body and mind. Without
knowing, everyone seeks to realise all the attributes of reality but in the
wrong place – through worldly pursuits – in the objects of the world which are
limited and impermanent by their very nature.
Apparently
driven by desire for pleasure (for origin and nature of desires
please see Appenidx – IV), even when one appears to have succeeded in one’s
endeavor, whatever one achieves is, at best, limited and fleeting and,
therefore, never completely satisfying (pleasures are like the
fishes, few and swift, rarely come, quickly gone). For this reason, it will always
give rise to desire for repetition of the pleasurable experience or when bored
with repetitive experiences of a pleasure, it gives rise to other desires for
pleasure and leads one to perversions.
This is an unending, unrewarding and ultimately painful process. If one does not turn a blind eye to this
reality (fleeting and non-satisfying nature of pleasure), is
intelligent and aware, not lazy in thinking, and seriously looks into this
aspect of pleasure, one would surely be free of the desire for pleasure – kill
it. Discrimination (vivek) leads to detachment (vairagya). These are the keys to freedom from bondage
and bliss (uncaused happiness).
To achieve
what one seeks (reality with all its attributes like uncaused
eternal hapiiness), one needs to search for it in the right place.
(13) As long as one’s focus and attention is on the
things in the objective world (which include one’s body and mind), they appear
to be real (our attention imparts them reality) and the
reality (source of consciousness, self, witness or life) appears to be
an abstract concept or just a figment of imagination (even though one may intellectually accept that there is a reality beyond
this body and mind and the body and mind are expressions of that reality). And when attention is shifted inwards (one looks inwards), one is taken in by the reality with all its
attributes and then the external world appears to be like a dream or just an
amazing play.
To take the world as
real and one's self as unreal is ignorance, the cause of sorrow. To know the
self as the only reality and all else as temporal and transient is freedom,
peace and joy. As
long as we imagine ourselves to be separate personalities, we cannot grasp
reality which is impersonal. Wisdom is
eternally negating the unreal. To see the unreal is wisdom. Beyond this lies
the inexpressible.
(14) As for going beyond one’s mind and to realise
the self, one need not wait for long process of change referred to in Point No.
10 above. There is a shorter way. As Nisargdatta Maharaj says, one can begin
with trying to understand that “whatever you can perceive is obviously not you
– the perceiver”. Perceived cannot be the
perceiver, experienced cannot be the experiencer, overserved cannot be the
observer. For realization of reality,
one has to time and again dwell on this and deny reality to everything that can
be perceived.
The sense or
thought-feeling ‘I am’ is the only undeniable reality we are aware of, it is
always there irrespective of state of one’s body or mind. Everything else including the body and mind
is transient – vanishes with time. It is
this sense of ‘I am’ that perceives thoughts, feelings, activities of mind,
body with its limbs, external objects and events etc.
Shifting the
focus or attention from the perceived to the perceiver (‘I am’) is the way (this is somewhat similar to the teachings and
practices given by Shri Raman Maharishi). Sadhana consists in shifting the
emphasis from the superficial and changeful ‘person’ to the immutable and ever
present ‘witness’.
One need to just keep in mind the feeling 'I am',
merge in it, till mind and feeling become one. The reality – source of ‘power of
perception’ – is just behind this thought-feeling ‘I am’. Relax and watch the 'I am' and
struggle to find the source thereof.
This blind groping is full of promise.
Keep quiet, keep silent, it will emerge, or rather, it will take
you in. One cannot fail.
Intellectual
understanding of the statements of truth above is only the first step in one’s
journey. Even if it appeals to some of
the readers, it will soon be erased from the memory. It is, therefore, necessary that a sadhaka reads some scriptures and autobiographies
of saints on regular basis so that the teachings seep into the deeper layers of
the mind and reside in the mind. And, of
course, without support of spiritual practices, these also would be of little help
– will remain mere beliefs and will not turn into conviction based on
experience.
The
inspiration for change comes from the universal mind (Inner Guru or consciousness or life).
If one’s mind, engaged in external objects, does not catch the subtle
communication from signals of the Inner Guru, it manages to get it conveyed
through a book, a communication in some form or an event (often a painful or violent one) or through an outer Guru. It may come as a surprise to you that when I
was putting up the extracts from the book ‘I am that’ on the Facebook, your
thought had crossed my mind though I did not expect any comment or response
from you. And just see only you have
questioned the correctness of the contents of the post. Our conversations may, perhaps, be inspired
by the Inner Guru.
Regular
reading of scriptures, denying reality to objects with names and forms –
perceivable through senses, spiritual practices on a regular basis and company
of saints and bhaktas facilitate and
hasten the process of change.
This response is mainly based on
the teachings of Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj and our ancient scriptures like
Shrimadbhagwat and Yogavashisth. Some
distortions may have crept in the response because of my misunderstanding. The reader may kindly pardon me for that and
grasp the essence.
APPENDIX – I
Post on the Facebook
From 'I am that' - Nisargadatta Maharaj
"M : Whatever you do for your
own sake accumulates and becomes explosive; one day it goes off and plays havoc
with you and your world. When you deceive yourself that you work for good of
all, it makes matters worse, for you should not be guided by your own ideas of
what is good for others. A man who claims to know what is good for others, is
dangerous.
Q: How is one to work then?
M : Neither for yourself nor for
others, but for the work's own sake. A thing worth doing is its own purpose and
meaning. Make nothing a means to something else. Bind not. Each is made for its
own sake. Because it is made for itself, it does not interfere. You are using
things and people for purposes alien to them and you play havoc with the world
and yourself."
Comment by Shri S R Singh
My opinion seems to be a bit contrary
here may be, I am at lowest level. All Involuntary actions are the nature's
gift to creatures but I fail to understand how voluntary actions can be
done without any desire/purpose or ambition for the sake of work only. You
cannot move an inch without purpose. How can we kill the desire of pleasure or
comfort which is a drive force for any conscious action? 'Karta- bhava'
is a by-product of your conscious action which you can abandon later on to
develop so-called 'निष्काम भाव'. Please cite some examples of works to
elaborate the phrase 'doing for the sake of work'.
Interim response on the comment
Apparently, every action has an
immediate purpose. In reality, every action is a response to a situation -
'purpose' is an illusion created by the sense of 'I'. 'I' itself is not
real - I will elaborate on this separately.
For evolved ones, every action is
spontaneous response to a situation – it is just a joyful / playful expression
of their inner self – not intended to serve a purpose. In the process, though,
many may be helped.
As for examples of an action without a
purpose, an artist has an urge to express himself on a canvas – not to impress
someone and not for getting money on sale of his work – just the joy of
expression. Just like a flower – by its very nature it exudes fragrance – it
cannot hold it back – there is no purpose behind it. It is another matter that
the work of the artist may fetch him a fortune.
Answer to your question requires
understanding of several concepts. Without that examples will not make any
sense to you. I will post you a response on your email ID in couple of days.
APPENDIX – II
Examples of unfolding of events
(1) One
day we were sitting with a Guru. Without
asking, he started telling me that you are going to be transferred soon and that
you will occupy a particular post at a particular place. At that time, I was not due for transfer
under the transfer guidelines and the post he named, was of higher rank. I told him that neither I am due for transfer
nor am I fit to occupy that post as my promotion was due not before 2 years at
that time. He said that this is what he
has seen and must be true.
To our surprise, the transfer guidelines
were immediately modified and I was transferred but obviously not on the post
named by him. Four years passed and the
post named by him at that place fell vacant.
After a long tussle between the powers that be, I was ordered to occupy
that post.
This shows all favour and opposition was
merely a play and of no consequence – whatever was to happen, happened.
(2) On another occasions without asking, the
Guru told us that one of our close relatives will no more sail and would take
up a job in Mumbai with a New York based company with the help of a lady.
And after
coming back from sailing, he announced that he would not be sailing anymore and
start searching for a job. I also tried
to help him. None of these efforts
succeeded. One day a lady, one of our
family friends, knowing about my relatives search for job, casually told us
that one of her cousins is in that industry and that he will guide our relative
in finding a suitable job.
That cousin of
hers, turned out to be a senior person in Mumbai in a New York based
company. My relative got the job.
Failure of my
effort and help by our lady friend was all part of play of consciousness. Whatever was to otherwise happen, happened.
APPENDIX – III
Examples of
work by persons with predominance of Sattav, Rajo and Tamo Guna
(1) As an example, let us take situation of a
housewife. The first category of a lady
will lovingly do household chores like cooking food, taking care of his
children and other family members and guests, enjoy the process. She is content and fulfilled in her
work. Does not feel that any other work
would have been better for her.
A lady falling
in second category will do the work thinking that she is doing a great service
to her family, sacrificing her comfort.
She would do it happily, if her work is appreciated and would feel upset
otherwise. May aspire for other avenues
of work.
And the third
one would like some domestic help to do the chores while she just gossips and
lazes around. If she is forced to work (by circumstances or someone in the family), it will done with anger or
grief or with some such emotion feeling miserable – blaming her miserable
condition on others.
(2) Take a case of a transferable office
goer. The first category of person would
happily work on any assignment given to him at any place. Will do the tasks before him with all
sincerity (it will obviously include planning and steps for
the execution of task) and enjoy the quality of his work. Will guide and motivate his team with
affection. Will take up tasks and
innovative steps when he finds any such opportunity in a given situation – even
though there was no such expectation from the organisation. Will not be much bothered about the targets –
knowing that achievement of targets depends upon innumerable factors and his
endeavor is only one of them. Will not
seek rewards (of course, more often than not he will be rewarded
because of quality of and attitude towards his work) and will not
be discouraged if his work is not appreciated.
The second
category of person would have preferences for place and kind of assignment –
look for better opportunities. Would try
to develop contacts and work for having his way. Have mind fixed on the targets and labour for
their achievements. Will be prone to
anxiety and have high expectations from his team. Would work for improvement of systems with an
eye on being recognized as an outstanding officer / manager. Will get frustrated and dejected if he cannot
have his way or outcome is not as expected.
And the person
in the third category would shirk work or grudgingly do it, adopt corrupt
practices and blame the failures on the system and the team. He will also cause disturbance in the work
place by his destructive activities.
APPENDIX – IV
Origin and
nature of desires – Excerts from ‘I am That’
Q : Is there no such thing as free
will? Am I not free to desire?
M : On no, you are compelled to
desire.
…
Q : What is the cause of desire
and fear?
M : Obviously the memory of past
pains and pleasures. ...
Q : How to put an end to memory?
M : It is neither necessary, nor
possible. Realise that all happens in consciousness and you are the root, the
source, the foundation of consciousness. ...
…
Out of pain desire is born, ... and it
ends in the pain of frustration and despair. Pain is the background of
pleasure, all seeking of pleasure is borne in pain and ends in pain.
…
… that one need not be prodded into
happiness; that, on the contrary, pleasure is a distraction and nuisance, for it merely increases the false
conviction that one needs to have and do things to be happy...
…
Desires are just waves in the mind. ...
no action needs to be taken on it.
…
Desire is merely the fixation of the
mind on an idea. Get it out of its groove by denying it attention. ... Whatever
may be the desire or fear, don't dwell upon it. ... Here and there you may
forget, it does not matter. Go back to your attempts till the brushing away of
every desire and fear, of every reaction becomes automatic.
…
Whatever happens, remind yourself that
only your body and mind are affected, not yourself. The more earnest you are at
remembering..., the sooner will you be aware of yourself as you are, for memory
will become experience.
