DUTIES: THE PATH TO YOUR “RIGHTS”
“People tend to forget their DUTIES, but remember their RIGHTS.”
This quote was given by India’s first ‘women Prime Minister- Indira Gandhi.
The then-incumbent Prime Minister made enormous contributions to the economic and social conditions of the country.
And no Indian would probably forget the “1975 EMERGENCY,” which is often considered to be one of the dark phases in independent India’s history.
All the works of the Prime Minister correctly substantiate the quote put by her.
She performed her duties diligently, and that was the reason which made her one of the most prominent leaders of India to date.
Her duties made her build a respectful image in society that is alive to date even after her death.
Performing one’s duties is something that decides the kind of journey a person travels in his life.
And the fruit, whether GOOD, OK, or BAD, depends on the journey one travels.
But unfortunately, that is the thing man has been lacking for decades-HIS DUTIES.
THE FRUIT/RESULT
The Bhagavad Gita (chapter 2, Verse 47) says-
“You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.”
This verse has a deep meaning in itself.
And these three lines can summarise the whole article that you are currently reading.
FRUIT/RESULT- it is the core reason behind the non-performance of duties by man today.
Let’s try deciphering it.
Every action of a person is premised upon a GOAL/OBJECTIVE.
And a person’s desire for the FRUIT from the action is something that attracts his attention.
While performing our duties, the result of our actions tends to distract us.
We start worrying about the result we will get.
And this worry doesn’t let us perform our duty the right way.
Although the result depends on how we perform our duties, we still tend to worry about the results than focusing on our actions.
Let’s take an example of a sport, say ‘Javelin Throw.’
The world record in this sport is “98.48m,” by Jan Železný of the Czech Republic.
Athletes in this sport try to make the javelin travel as far as they can.
Usually, a throw beyond or equal to 85–90m is considered to be a good one.
Here, staying engrossed in the distance the javelin traveled is a distraction caused by the fruit of your actions.
The traveled distance depends on how well you throw the javelin.
Yet, instead of focusing on the THROW, people tend to think or worry about the DISTANCE.
So shift your focus from the FRUITS toward the DUTIES.
The day you start playing the same sport for your duties/actions you perform instead of playing it for the results you get, you will find yourself utmost relished out of it.
SPEND TIME WITH THE SEEDS YOU SOW THAN WITH THE HARVEST YOU REAP
Also the Bhagavad Gita(Chapter 3, Verse 6), says-
“Those who restrain the external organs of action, while continuing to dwell on sense objects in mind, certainly delude themselves and are to be called hypocrites.”
Why do we let the thoughts in our minds distract us from the organs of our duties?
Then it doesn’t matter even if these distractions are the FRUITS of the actions themselves.
So focus on your DUTIES instead of focusing on the FRUITS.
Also, with the focus in this direction, the FRUITS reaped will be much better than one could have thought of.
Perhaps people, from the outside, judge you on the HARVESTS YOU REAP.
But your true identity is by the SEEDS YOU SOW every day.
There was this beautiful quote from the Chinese Business Magnate, ‘JACK MA’ that said-
“Today is difficult, tomorrow is much more difficult, but the day after tomorrow is beautiful. Most people die tomorrow evening.”
And the reason people die tomorrow evening is their focus.
Their focus is on the FRUITS.
Be it today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, our eyes are on a FRUIT that can satisfy us from the inside.
Every day, everyone is looking for a good harvest, which isn’t possible.
No one aims for the seeds they put(DUTIES).
We know that our DUTIES determine the FRUIT we get in our life.
Still, we act so foolishly that we keep on looking for a good HARVEST than for a quality seed.
And that is the reason we all die ‘tomorrow evening.’
You go to the gym, come back home, look at yourself in the mirror and see the bulging muscle in your forearms.
That bulge isn’t because of what you did today.
Perhaps, because of what you did a month or two before.
You don’t know when and what type of harvest you’ll reap.
But what you know is the seeds and efforts you put in every day.
They are in your control.
So live your life based on something that’s under your control.
Today, tomorrow, and every day, we live for a FRUIT, which we can’t get daily.
Also, we don’t know when we will reap it.
And that’s why we quit early.
We expect something good that we can reap.
But if we live on the terms of the EFFORTS AND DUTIES we put in, we will be alive even after tomorrow’s evening and will see the day after tomorrow’s ‘beautiful sunrise.’
So do your DUTIES diligently. Serendipitous things will happen.
And these serendipitous things will then be your actual “RIGHTS”.
Your duties are your KARM.
And PERFORMING THOSE DUTIES IN THE RIGHT WAY is your DHARMA
Let your duties be in the driver’s seat of your life and not the results.
Which one will you choose to keep in front?
