Thursday, November 14, 2024

Never be afraid of doing the right thing. The Bhagavad Gita ensures that good deeds never go unrewarded.

Amlan Shekhar Baruah

You may already know that it is always important to do what we love and also focus on doing the right thing without being attached to the results. How we perform our actions is in our hands, but the results are not. So it is pointless to worry about the results of our actions, and instead, it is important to just focus on our performance so that we can give our best and become better at the task even if we fail. However, what is the use of doing the right thing if we always fail and never succeed in it in this life, no matter how much we try? If we see that we have almost zero chance of succeeding in something we love doing and can never succeed in it in this life, should we give it up and change our dreams and passions?

The Bhagavad Gita says that good deeds never go unrewarded, so we should never give up doing what we love doing. Even if we do not get rewarded for our good deeds in this life, we will certainly be rewarded for them in some other life.

In verses 37-38 of Chapter 2, Shree Krishna says to Arjuna:

“If you are slain in the war, you will attain Swarga (heaven). Or if you win the war, you will enjoy the kingdom of earth. Therefore, arise, O son of Kunti, with determination to fight. Treating victory and defeat alike, gain and loss, joy and sorrow, engage yourself in battle. If you perform your duty in this way, you will never incur sin.”

In Verse 37 of Chapter 6, Arjuna asked Shree Krishna:

“O Krishna, one who is possessed with faith but does not endeavor sufficiently and whose mind deviates from Yoga, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, what end does he/she go to?”

Then Shree Krishna replied to Arjuna in Verses 40-43:

“O Partha (Arjuna), he/she does not meet with destruction either in this life or in the next. My son, anyone who does virtuous deeds never faces degradation/downfall. The unsuccessful Yogi, upon death, attains the abodes of the virtuous and dwells there for countless years. Then he/she is reborn (on earth) in a house of the pious and prosperous. Or he/she is born into a family of wise Yogis. Indeed, such a birth is very rare in this world. There he/she regains the wisdom of his/her previous life and strives again for perfection in Yoga, O Kurunandan (Arjuna).”

We should not hesitate to do the right thing, even if it does not have much of an impact on the consequences. Things will certainly get better eventually, and some day we will certainly receive the reward we deserve for all the good things that we have done. Good karmas (actions) never go unrewarded. As our souls are immortal, we should also not worry about delays in receiving our rewards. If we do not receive something we deserve in this life, we will certainly receive it in some of our upcoming lives. It is a big misconception among the majority of people that this is the only life that they have. This kind of approach to life motivates people to chase after fulfilling all their material desires in just one life, even by doing wrong or evil things. It also convinces them to give up easily after failing at something because they believe that it is of no use to try if they cannot succeed in this life. But in reality, whatever wisdom and skills we gain in this life, we subconsciously carry a lot of them with us to our next life as well. So if we are unable to succeed at something in this life, we will get the opportunity to try it again in our next life with all the wisdom and skills that we have acquired. This is why it is important that one always sticks to the right path and never loses hope.  

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