On YouTube
Avoid the WORST Fate of All
Acharya Prashant
4.6K views
4 years ago
Karma
Action without attachment
Residue of action
Liberation
Cycle of time
Kalachakra
Shri Krishna
Gratification
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the mark of wisdom or understanding is to not act for the sake of the result. When you just act, the action leaves you with no obligations, no achievements, and no heartbreaks. He defines an achievement or a feeling of elation as the fruit of an action. When an action achieves its intended target, the resulting euphoria is a residue of the action. Similarly, disappointment or heartbreak occurs when an action does not yield the desired outcome, leaving behind a residue of despair or sadness. Both elation and sadness are fruits of the action. These residues, whether happiness or sadness, only come to those who act in order to get something for their own gratification. The euphoria and sadness belong to the actor. When you do not act for your own personal benefit or gratification, the action leaves you with neither happiness nor sadness. In this state, you are free of the action, which has attained closure and fulfillment. The speaker states that this is what Shri Krishna says. If an action leaves you with bitterness, it will lead to the next action, meaning you are not liberated and are still obligated to act again. Likewise, if an action leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, you will be tempted to act again to repeat the success. In either case, you are not liberated because you are obligated to act again, thus creating a future for yourself and getting caught in the cycle of time. The desire to act again requires more time. Being dependent on time means you are caught in the clockwork, you are not free of time. You are still in 'Kalachakra' (the wheel of time). The speaker explains that 'Kala' means both time and death, and being caught in this cycle will make you afraid.