The more you want, the harder it is to get. When you seek something badly and constantly focus on the outcome, you lose sight of the actions needed to get there. When you are constantly focusing on what you are meant to get, you lose sight of the contribution you are to make to get there.
The most selfless people are those who devote and dedicate all their actions to others. Think of great souls like Jesus, Buddha, and Sri Krishna, who lived their lives devoting themselves to others and giving all they had for the benefit of others—all selfless actions. They focused on giving. They focused on the actions they had to do every day: meditation, preaching, and serving others. Eventually, all the success and glory in their lifetimes and beyond the millennium belongs to them.
Think, on the other hand, of everyone who is focused only on their own life goals—of accumulating wealth, homes, assets, new ventures, and seeking glory. What happens in the end? All their material accumulations disappear into the sands of time, leaving nothing behind. Their selfish actions are forgotten instantly and the universe moves on. They do not have lasting, eternal success.
What about kings and rulers who build roads, statues, and buildings in their names to seek immortality? All their actions that are devoted to others, like building universities and libraries, continue to do good well beyond their time, earning them eternal karma. All other actions are forgotten.
The Path of the Karma Yogi
The Karma Yogi works for others. The Karma Yogi does not seek anything for himself, but only for others. Hence, working with devotion and dedication to others, he works. He earns all the eternal credit of all the actions.
For the Karma Yogi, work is worship to which we devote ourselves. We work with dedication, devotion, and commitment. We seek not the rewards of the work.
With this focus of giving, of doing our duty, of not seeking a reward, and of not wanting, comes success in this life and in the next.
-
The less you want, the more you can give.
-
The less you want, the more you can focus on the action before you.
-
When you want the least, the success will be the most.
To discover more real-world strategies formulated by the teachings of the Gita, secure your copy of my book, 10X Productive Leader.