Krishna is often quoted for his words in the Bhagwat Geeta that we should do our work without worrying about the result. We often do not realize the great teaching behind this simple statement. Why is our every action in life tagged to one or the other result? We study to get a job, marry to find life, bring up kids so that they may take care of us, form friendships to seek the company of like-minded people, seek positions to get power, and even seek spirituality to get enlightenment or moksha. We constantly seek because we are not "aware" of what we are. Krishna is aware of who he is, and therefore, he does not seek. He acts. He explores possibilities.
Whenever we lose awareness of who we are, we will be fearful and insecure. We will become desperate to "become" somebody who looks "secure". This cruel and stupid society makes a child insecure. Unless you prove yourself to be a good student in the class and get the number one position in the class, you are worthless. Unless you get a job offering you a package better than your colleagues, you are a failure. The poor child has to prove himself on all fronts. Despite being the best job among his colleagues, he is a failure if he does not have a "beautiful wife". Even after that, people will not leave him if he does not have "kids" to demonstrate that he is a man. Now he has to prove being a good father, a good employee, a good friend, and also a good husband. Our entire life is spent proving our worth.
When we are fearful and insecure, we become desperate for security. We sell ourselves cheap. A poor and insecure student may be worth becoming a scientist, but he would be desperate to prove his worth and therefore would choose to take up a job after the 12th. Then his daily routine will leave him with no scope to improve and get a better job. The more we are insecure and the easier target we set for ourselves. That's why we would see that many of the kids coming from poor families are exploited so easily by the capitalists by offering them some job which has no opportunity for growth and just makes them pillars to the post. When they get exhausted, they are thrown out. There is no dearth of unemployed people in the market.
Where are all these insecurities coming from? Our society is highly ignorant and arrogant. Dogs bark louder when they hear an elephant in their street. It is because they are frightened. Society is very shallow. Its entire existence is supported by a hollow foundation of belief and mental stories. That's why it barks more just to keep the elephant away. It's beyond society to handle the elephant of "awareness". That's why it is so aggressive. Since childhood, it breeds fear and insecurity in each and every kid. Society can't handle freedom. That's why it has tried to kill any and every free voice, be it Christ, Socrates, Buddha, or Meera. After their death, they become very respectable because now society can assign whatever meaning it wishes to their teachings.
In such a fearful and insecure society, one naturally acquires fear and sets targets to feel secure. The more insecure a person is and the easier the target he wants to set. For the son of a grocer, the easiest target is to be a grocer. We try to get social validation in whatever way possible. By organising social functions, taking people out for lunch and dinner, spending time in mindless gossip, flaunting our money, and showcasing our generosity by organising bhandaras and opening NGOs. We are desperate to become something or get something.
It is only those aware of the true meaning of "freedom" who can withstand this madness. That requires absolute awareness. No pretensions. No mental stories. No faking around. When we are absolutely clear of what we are, we are not insecure. This world can't make us fearful. We choose our targets with complete awareness, security, and peace of mind, and are not driven by desperation to get some result. That is what Krishna tells Arjuna that Arjuna need not fight the battle for getting social validation or run away from the battlefield for being criticised for having killed his cousins, teachers, and elders. He tells Arjuna to fight the battle because Arjuna is a warrior, and when there is injustice, it is his "dharma" to fight. He should not fight the battle for some result. He has to fight the battle for the establishment of harmony. When we act with that "awareness" and "fearlessness", we are completely aware in the moment and therefore our efficacy is at its peak. A fearful mind acts quite inefficiently by wasting precious energy in its fear of the results because it is so insecure. That's why this awareness is required right at the beginning of life, and it can't be a post-retirement pursuit.
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Pravah
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