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Is it even possible to work without caring for results?||'Karma'conversations, AcharyaPrashant(2021)
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4 years ago
Nishkam Karma
Action without expectation
Right Work
Karma
Fulfillment
Desire
Mindfulness
Description

In response to a question about the possibility of working without expecting results, Acharya Prashant explains that when an action is intrinsically joyful and beautiful, one becomes completely dedicated to it, leaving no mental space to think about the outcome. He uses the example of the ongoing conversation, stating he is so completely dedicated to it that he has no space to think about the online audience. This, he says, is what is meant by action without desire or great consideration for its fruit. Acharya Prashant elaborates that people focus on results because they believe the result will bring them happiness and fulfillment. He suggests considering a situation where a similar or even higher fulfillment comes from the action itself, rather than from its fruit. This is the essence of 'Nishkam Karma' (selfless action). Since the result is unpredictable and not entirely in one's hands, one should not mortgage their happiness to it. Instead of waiting for the result to feel happy, one can find happiness in the doing itself. The key to this state is to first pick the right work. When you are immersed so deeply in the right work, you have no time to think of the results, and often, the results take care of themselves. The desire then becomes sharp and focused on the work itself, not on what the work might bring in the future. When one is totally immersed in the work for its own sake, one is left with no desire for the result. Even defeat becomes similar to victory because you have already given everything you had. This becomes a love affair, but it is only possible if you first choose the right work to do.