Desirelessness is not about not wanting anything. “The one who is preaching Nishkam Karma is right in the thick of action.” Nishkam Karma is not for absconders. Nishkam Karma means, I am a human being, I have discretion, and my desire will follow my discretion. I’m not an animal. I’ll not blindly run after instinct. Not that I won’t have desire, but my desire will be secondary to my discretion. That’s desirelessness. Desirelessness is not when you do not have desire. Desirelessness is when you do not give desire the top position. When you do not put desire at the helm, when you do not make desire the master — that’s called desirelessness.
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Questioner: What is it to go desireless for those who have not achieved anything in this world? What will be our relationship with this world then? Is desirelessness only for those whose all needs are already fulfilled? And above all, what is Nishkam karma keeping in mind all this?
Acharya Prashant: Desireless action or desirelessness or Nishkam karma are about having the right desire, having a higher desire.
The argument you are presenting is the traditional, cliched argument against Nishkam karma and against all spirituality. So, parents tell their kids, “All this is only for those who have already achieved a lot.” Buddha and Mahavir would quit because they already had kingdoms. So, you forget all this Gita business. You first pursue your worldly ambitions, and once your ambitions are answered, and your needs are fulfilled, then you can step into whatever mumbo-jumbo spirituality there is. That’s the argument that’s been going around, and you must have picked it up from somewhere.
