We come across so many different types of people in our day-to-day life. Each of them has their own different mindset and life goals. While some are flexible about these, others are very rigid. Some follow them passively and others follow them actively. Some go even to the extent that if anybody comes in between them and their ambitions, they try to damage that person in different ways.
When somebody acts without any self-interest in the organization, there are many whose interests are hurt. In today's world, there are more people driven by self-interest. That's why these people easily lobby against people working selflessly and try to defame or damage them and try to create hurdles for these people. Today's world being Kaliyuga, that is bound to happen. Now the question arises as to what should the people working selflessly do in these situations?
I feel that first of all one needs to look inward to see the real source of one's motivation. When one is working selflessly, there may be two possible sources of motivation:
- He has realized the futility of certain things such as money or power or positions and is inclined to move towards deeper objectives such as knowledge or harmony.
- He has established a deep connection within and feels no need for any external stimuli. In that state of internal satisfaction, he develops compassion for the people around and out of that compassion, he wishes harmony for them.
In the first case, there would be continuous frustration. The reason is very simple. One has realized the futility of money, power, and positions because either one has already tasted them and found them to be distasteful or has seen the ill consequences of these possessions in the lives of others. However, others have still not realized the futility. For them, the temptation for money and power is still strong. Such a person wants to move the organization in the direction of knowledge and harmony while others are still stuck with the baser needs. In this state, if such a person is not well connected internally, so he remains in confusion like Arjuna.
On the one hand, he wants to set up harmony by taking the kingdom of Hastinapur back from Kauravas, on the other hand, he does not want to damage his own relatives and colleagues. That is where Krishna appears on the stage and tells Arjuna, by giving the precious discourse of Bhafwad Geeta, that all the 3 natures: Tamas, Rajas, and sattva are not the consciousness. They are just different manifestations of the same consciousness.
ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये।
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि नत्वहं तेषु ते मयि।।7.12।।
7.12 ये whatever? च and? एव even? सात्त्विकाः pure? भावाः natures? राजसाः active? तामसाः inert? च and? ये whatever? मत्तः from Me? एव even? इति thus? तान् them? विद्धि know? न not? तु indeed? अहम् I? तेषु in them? ते they? मयि in Me.
7.12 Whatever beings (and objects) that are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, know that they proceed from Me. They are in Me, yet I am not in them.
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत्।
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम्।।7.13।।
7.13 त्रिभिः by three? गुणमयैः composed of Gunas? भावैः by natures? एभिः by these? सर्वम् all? इदम् this? जगत् world? मोहितम् deluded? न not? अभिजानाति knows? माम् Me? एभ्यः from them? परम् higher? अव्ययम् immutable.
7.13 Deluded by these Natures (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) composed of the three qualities of Nature all this world does not know Me as distinct from them and immutable.
The confusion of Arjuna is due to the lack of a strong internal connection with Krishna. Arjuna is still seeking something externally, be it harmony. The moment Arjuna sets up the connection internally, he does not need any external stimuli to be satisfied in life. With this connection comes compassions automatically. He carried out all the worldly roles with compassion and without any frustration. Working towards harmony without that internal connection is not only difficult but also not desirable. It may result in physical and psychological issues and turn out to be disastrous.
One, therefore, needs to constantly work inwards. Compassion is the barometer of internal atmospheric pressure.
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