Yesterday, my son and my first-grader grandson were on a routine call with me. I usually pass on the manuscripts of the books that I write for children to him for his review. The little editor usually sees through the manuscript critically and provides his honest feedback. But today was a different day! He was complaining that he is required to work hardest amongst the three of us – me, my son, who is at a senior position in one of the Tech Giants, and myself – now writing books after a long career in water resources!
Amused, I asked him how he came to that conclusion, and he said, “Well Dadu, I have to work 40 weeks in a year when I go to school from morning till evening, do the homework, take my swimming and baseball classes, do the school homework, do my reading, and edit the manuscripts provided by you.” And Papa – well, he just takes meetings the whole day, either in the office or sometimes from the convenience of home, and you Dadu – do nothing! Me and my son were unstoppable with laughter! But my son tried to tell him, “The harder you work now, the less you will have to work later in life. It is your choice to work harder now or later! But the little one was bent upon correcting the injustice to him and said, “Well, I choose to work harder later!” Seeing his mood, I decided not to press him to see the manuscript I shared for his editing a couple of weeks ago!
But this led me to contemplate a more important question about life: “Looking beyond the obvious in life!” I was reminded of a Russian fable of an angel attached to the God of Death who came to earth with the task of taking the soul of a woman. But he was moved when he saw triplets born to her, one of whom was still sucking the milk out of her lifeless and milk-less breasts! So moved was he with the incident that he couldn’t do his assigned task and returned empty-handed. The God of Death heard him and said sarcastically, “Oh so now you can see beyond the obvious! Very well, you are hereby punished to be on earth with the humans and will be able to return here only after you have laughed at your own folly three times!” And the angel was thrown for his term on the earth.
As he waited near a river in the biting cold of harsh Russian Winter, disguised as a feeble beggar shivering with cold, he saw a poor cobbler who was returning with meagre money after selling the shoes that he made. The cobbler saw a poor person shivering in winter and was moved with kindness. He purchased a blanket for the person in need and spent all the money he had earned and took him home for dinner. The cobbler’s wife was mad on hearing the story- “How are we going to make our both ends meet without money?” she asked. But the angel disguised as a human laughed. The cobbler enquired the reason for this laughter, but he declined to tell him promising that he will do so at appropriate time. The angel said to himself, “ As I failed to see beyond the obvious, this poor woman too doesn’t know my real identity. In fact, their hard days are now over! I am going to help this cobbler to become one of the richest in Moscow! And this happened because of the extraordinary touch of quality in the shoes that the Angel and the cobbler made!
The cobbler became rich and was visited one day by three young women accompanied by a rich old woman. The three girls had a striking resemblance to the woman whose soul he had failed to take away to the death of God. Curiously, he asked the old woman about these three girls, and she explained to him, “Well! We lived in the neighbourhood of the mother of three girls who unfortunately died soon after the triplets were born to her. Since we were issueless, we adopted them, and they have now become young and beautiful.” The Angel once again laughed at himself for the second time! The cobbler once again enquired from him the reason of his laughter. But he repeated, “I will tell you at appropriate time.”
A few days later they were ordered to make shoes for the emperor out of the skin of a rare animal in possession of the king. The cobbler obtained the skin and was strictly told that it was a rare unique piece and no more was available beyond this. So, you must get the soles made out of this only without wasting anything. As per custom in Russia, at that time, the dead affluent people were taken to the grave with clogs on and the alive rich aristocratic class would wear shoes while moving around. The cobbler clearly instructed the Angel to make shoes from this rare piece of skin to fit the emperor’s feet comfortably, but the Angel worked the whole night and made the clogs. The cobbler and his wife were worried that they would all be now taken to the gallows for this serious mistake. But, after a while, a horseman appeared and shouted from a distance – “The Emperor is dead! Please make the Clogs instead of the shoes.” And the Angel had his third and final laughter. He told the entire story to the cobbler and disappeared!
Many of us have heard and read such fables in the past but why can’t we grow up from the innocence of a child and accept that there is only limited that our vision and thoughts can see!
The holy scriptures across the religions and the spiritual guides have consistently reminded humans about their limitations. In Hinduism, most of us are familiar with the Shloka 2:47, viz.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय २, श्लोक ४७
Interpretation: Srikrishna tells Arjuna : You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
Thus, as a matter of Dharma, this shloka advises the followers of Geeta, to focus on performing their duties diligently without being overly concerned about the outcomes, as the full consequences of actions are beyond human comprehension. It emphasizes the importance of detachment from the results of actions and encourages one to focus on fulfilling their responsibilities faithfully.
And the shloka that follows the above too reaffirms this instruction:
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते॥
श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, अध्याय २, श्लोक ४८
Interpretation: In this shloka, Bhagwan Sri Krishna advises performing actions with equanimity, without attachment to success or failure. It suggests that by maintaining a balanced mind amidst both success and failure, one attains the state of Yoga, which is harmony and union with the divine.
Likewise, another verse from the Thirukkural, revered by Tamils, too aligns closely with the concept of performing duties without attachment:
“The prudent man, reckoning consequences, should perform his work diligently, without coveting its fruit.”
This verse too emphasizes the importance of exercising foresight and diligence to fulfil the objective of performing one’s duties while also advocating for detachment from the results.
In Islam as well, there is a concept known as “Tawakkul,” which aligns closely with the idea of doing one’s duty diligently without worrying about the results. Tawakkul can be understood as placing trust and reliance on Allah (God) while exerting effort and taking the necessary steps to achieve one’s goals. It involves having faith that whatever the outcome, it is ultimately in the hands of Allah.
The Quran mentions Tawakkul in several verses, encouraging believers to trust in Allah’s plan and to have faith that He will provide for them and guide them:
“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. And to your Lord direct [your] longing.” (Quran, 94:5-8)
“And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die, and exalt [Allah] with His praise. And sufficient is He to be, with the sins of His servants, Acquainted.” (Quran, 25:58)
Tawakkul does not mean being passive or neglecting responsibilities; rather, it emphasizes the importance of sincere effort while entrusting the outcome to Allah’s wisdom. This concept teaches believers to focus on fulfilling their duties with sincerity and excellence, knowing that Allah is ultimately in control of the results.
The concept of justice after death in Islam does indeed support the idea of doing one’s duty diligently without being overly concerned about the immediate results. In Islam, it is believed that every individual will be held accountable for their actions in the Hereafter, and justice will be served by Allah based on their deeds.
The Quran emphasizes the importance of righteous actions and the consequences they will have in the Hereafter:
“And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We will surely assign to them of Paradise [elevated] chambers beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. Excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers.” (Quran, 29:58)
“And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer – those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even as much as] the speck on a date seed.” (Quran, 4:124)
This belief in divine justice after death encourages believers to perform their duties diligently and virtuously in this life, regardless of the immediate outcomes or rewards. It instils a sense of responsibility and accountability, motivating individuals to act with integrity, compassion, and righteousness in all aspects of their lives.
Therefore, while Muslims strive to do good deeds and fulfil their obligations, they also trust in Allah’s wisdom and justice, knowing that He will ultimately judge their actions fairly in the Hereafter. This belief reinforces the concept of doing one’s duty diligently without being overly preoccupied with the immediate results, as the ultimate reward or consequence lies with Allah in the Hereafter.
Thus, the religions and spiritual thoughts across the societies share sentiment similar to the Bhagavad Gita’s teaching on Karma Yoga, encouraging individuals to focus on their actions rather than being preoccupied with the outcomes.
All of the above reaffirms the limitation of human perception in understanding the full consequences of actions. Yet, humans wouldn’t refrain from trying to extend their perceptions beyond the limitations of their vision out of ignorance, ego, and greed and forget that we can only do our duties diligently. The results are not in our hand. We can even err in understanding the outcome of our actions in their entirety. The outcome that appears unfavourable could be a stepping stone to make us resolute and stronger and change us from imperfect to perfect! Thus, we shouldn’t be depressed when outcomes appear unfavourable. Likewise, being at peak shouldn’t make us overjoyed. Our job is to continue our efforts using all our intellect and sincerity – that’s what we can do!
Inspire Positivity 