Why do we keep chasing one dream to another, why even after achieving, we keep moving our goal posts?
With this feeling of limitation/ not having enough, we keep on trying many different things in order to find that evading happiness which is so near yet so far. It’s like we put in effort to dig for water, and easily get discouraged when we don’t find it at the superficial level, we move to a newer pasture and dig again and then another. This moving from one to another is what Gita calls the wavering intellect. The restless mind which is always jumping from one thought to another , makes us anxious, confused and blinds our vision.
The intellect that is undecided is branched in many directions and it keeps losing its steam. In order to purify our mind and make it one-pointed, we first have to withdraw it from the external world and focus it on one object.To be successful in any task, we need to have a focussed intellect, Gita calls it, ‘vyavasatmika buddhi’
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन।
बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम्।।
The more focussed our thoughts are, the greater the clarity. Just like when the concave mirror converges the earth rays to a single point and generates enough heat to burn the paper. A single pointed effort brings in the virtue of selflessness in our efforts and further purifies the effort.
By being a witness, we can prioritize our attention towards healthy, important and constructive thoughts patterns while letting go of the undesired ones
To achieve anything in this world be it some exams, a job or any mundane work a concentrated effort makes us free from its expectations, our total effort is towards doing the job at hand and we can do it best when we do it as a YAGYAN, giving our best by being selfless and fully available for the job at hand. This is what gita calls Karma yoga.
In essence Karma yoga frees us from any transactional behavior and erases any selfish interests we might have. Our mind gets focussed without being attached to the fruits of our action.To perform without motive or Seva/Service is a way to cleanse our mind of all impurities which in a way manifests the divinity within.
As Swami Sivananda writes, “by doing service, you purify your heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy, the idea of superiority and all negative qualities will vanish. Humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance and mercy will be developed. The sense of separateness will be annihilated. Selfishness will be eradicated. You will get a broad and liberal outlook on life. You will begin to feel oneness and unity.”
By serving others, you ultimately serve yourself through an improvement in your emotional and spiritual well-being.
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