Nishkam Karma

The Bhagavad Gita contains a beautiful sermon in which Lord Krishna imparts to his disciple, Arjuna, the way to perform right action. Arjuna, the warrior king, falls prey to despondency and is in a quandary over fighting a war against his kith and kin. Fearing the consequences of his actions, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna:

Dedicating all actions to Me, with mind intent on the self, and being free from desire and the conceit of mine-ness, fight without any fever (of passion).
_{The Bhagavad Gita}

As Arjuna’s guru, guide, and confidant, Lord Krishna explains the above lines to Arjuna as the art of desireless or selfless action or nishkam karma. This is the path to right action and is necessary for a spiritual aspirant to understand.

We often place questions in front of the Master about our actions, and he always tells us to act but without fretting about the results, and to always be happy with the will of the Lord. Similarly, Lord Krishna here tells Arjuna that performing nishkam karma means performing work without any expectation of reward and to do work as a sacrifice to the Lord.

Honour and shame from no condition rise,
act well your part, there all the honour lies.
_{Alexander Pope, as quoted in Pathways to Liberation}

Honour or shame should be none of our concern. Our performance in this world has to be without any expectation of reward. Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Saints and masters add to this saying that on this stage, action is the rule. We are bound to this world due to the actions we have performed in our previous lives. These karmas (actions) are the responsibilities we have to bear in this lifetime – they become our dharma (duty). But when we attach expectations and calculations to our duties, we sow new seeds of karma. For example, a mother loves and nurtures her child regardless of not knowing whether her deed will be returned in her old age. A judge has to sentence a criminal to harsh punishment; he can’t pass a verdict based on his emotions. In the same way, a soldier has to take part in fighting a war. All of them are doing their duty. Maharaj Charan Singh explains how we can act our part to the best of our ability:

To do your duty is something different from being attached. We have to do our duty as a citizen, as a husband, as a son, as a brother, as a friend. But we should not be so obsessed by these duties and people that we forget the real purpose of life, the real destination, the real path. If you keep yourself attached to the holy spirit within, then whatever type of work you do in this world, you always do it with a detached mind. Otherwise, you are doing everything in the world with an attached mind. Your attachment to the spirit within automatically detaches you from everything else.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}

The keyword here is detachment. Only the meditative process can help us reach a state where we can become silent actors and observers of our destinies. Hazur referred to this process as being attached to a bulldozer, something so powerful it will pull us towards itself. The Master, Shabd, or Nam is the bulldozer. The power of the Shabd will eventually pull us to its level of purity, where we become capable of acting without any desire for results. It will bring us to that level of understanding that everything that is happening is in our best interest and is the will of the Lord.

In almost all the letters in the book Spiritual Letters, Baba Jaimal Singh encouraged Baba Sawan Singh to do all his work in a selfless manner:

All work is his work; remain happy wherever he keeps you, and take on whatever work you do as the Satguru’s work – do not keep your self in it. Instil it firmly in your mind – this idea should never leave the mind – that the body, mind, wealth, and the inner faculties, the eyes, mouth, nose, ears, hands, feet, all, everything, each and every article that exists in the world, belongs to the Satguru: “I do not exist.” Look upon everything you do as the Satguru’s work; do only that which is appropriate.

This advice, the directive I have written above, should never leave your mind at any time. Keep these words firmly in the mind while doing your work, and also during simran and while listening to the Shabd-dhun.

Lord Krishna’s philosophy of nishkam karma can be summed up in one word: surrender. One should never feel he is the doer – that thought brings in the ego and keeps the mind working and analyzing one’s actions. In today’s world, self-assertion has become a prominent part of our personality. However, masters tell us to inculcate the quality of nishkam karma instead, where our action is determined by wisdom, understanding and compassion without the interference of thought or ego. This type of action is calm, not reactive, not hurried, and does not come from a place of fear or anxiety; it does not leave any residue of guilt, shame or repentance.

We can learn from our Master by how he humbly acknowledges himself as merely a sevadar, attributing all that is being done to his own Master and even to the sangat. His actions are selfless, without bias or attachment. Every act of the saints comes from being in harmony with the laws of this universe; they are one with the Lord and see the Lord in all. We have to walk in their footsteps – in the direction towards God. That is truly the path to nishkam karma.

Whatever a person does
by his body, by words, by thoughts,
by will, by intellect, by ego
or due to his natural tendency (samskaras),
he should dedicate them all to the Supreme Being.
_{Shrimad Bhagavatam, as quoted in Pathways to Liberation}