karmaṇy-evādhikāras te – Critical Analysis

Most of us will know one of the most celebrated verse of Bhagwad Gita –

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 2.47 ||

This means that if you have the capability to work it doesn’t imply that you will have a control on the result of that work and so, you must work with sincerity and dedication, the results will follow with time. Develop patience. The 21^st century version of this is ‘excellence ke peeche bhaago, kamyaabi jhak mar ke tumhare peeche aayegi’ !

But many of the modern, educated urban dwellers find it difficult to accept this as a philosophy of work. On the contrary they are negative on these ideas and question the very point in working if we do not have a goal in life.

The Beginning of Karma Yog – Before we go into the explanation, let us understand the context from where 2.47 came. Arjun the mighty warrior and one on whom his team depended severely, at the point of the starting of the biggest and mightiest war ever until that time, declared to his friend and charioteer Krishna that he will not be able to fight and kill his respected elders.

At times even we are confused about many things happening at the workplace and feel like someone to clear our mind. The lack of clarity leads us to sadness, frustration, anxiety and workplace deviance. We suddenly lose the charm to come at the workplace and give our best at work which has its unpleasant repercussions for us which further drowns us into negativity.

The Context Setting for 2.47 –  Bhagwad Gita is not saying that results will not come or you be satisfied with poverty or you become some hermit. It is saying you have the right to bring the best quality work (excellent work) on the table, rewards will follow, effortlessly ! So let us find the Arjun within us before we step ahead.

In his attempt to clear the cobwebs in Arjun’s mind, Krishna mentors him. Krishna starts his wisdom on karma yog in shlokas 2.31 to 2.33 which forms the basis for 2.47. So in simple paraphrasing of what Krishna says in 2.31 and 2.32 is that there are three aspects to work:

1. You have a skill which makes you very relevant at the workplace. Like Arjun, Sachin, Virat, Messi, Steve Jobs you are hailed and wanted for your special skills.
2. Because you are really good in the given work, you love to do that work and a thought never crosses your mind that you shouldn’t do the given work. Rather you try and improvise on your work which excites you even more about your work.
3. Given that fact that you are excellent at a work and want to do it, stop here and imagine…what if there was no work for you, for whatever reason!

Covid-19 or market recession of 2008-09 have been recent examples with millions of such cases across the globe where qualified people were sitting without work. Bhagwad Gita says, if all three conditions meet in your case, just focus on the quality of work and nothing else.

So the message here is simple – be happy if you have work to do which you can do and you love to do and you also earn a livelihood from it. Just do your best because you can try and do it; the results will follow. Results are not your domain so don’t waste time and energy looking on that side of the work equation !!

What About Results – In 2.33 Krishna says that you will insult yourself and also account for sin if you say no to such a work and ditch your luck because such a combination where all three conditions meet is rare and you have it all served on the plate !

kaamyaabi jhak maar ke peeche aayegi is common sense if you have above average self-worth and confidence. Why worry about results when you work so well ?!! Results will come effortlessly if you are good.

Coming back to 2.47, Krishna is saying focus on the quality of work. Focus all your energy and sincerity in that work to bring out the best possible work from within you and then you will see that eventually you will be getting more rewards than you ever imagined. A farmer, probably not educated from Ivy League university knows when the seeds are sown properly, the crop will germinate. May be a year of floods may spoil his crop once in a while, but that doesn’t mean he will fortify his field for safety purpose because of fear of results not achieved after hard work invested !

The autobiographies of success of people like Dhirubhai Ambani, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. Dr. APJ Kalam, Jack Ma, Sachin Tendulkar (it’s a long list) are a testimony to what Bhagwad Gita is saying here. These are people who had nothing in the beginning and who almost rose from the ashes. But of you read their lives, they never thought in the beginning that they will create empires of legacy.

To summarise, Krishna says put your work before anything, focus on excellence and results will follow.