कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते
मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā
phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you
are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of
the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty-Bhagavadgita
Once Krishna and Arjuna were
walking towards a village. Arjuna was pestering Krishna , asking him why
Karna should be considered an unparalleled Donor & not him. Krishna , wanting to teach
him a lesson snapped his fingers. The mountains beside the path they were
walking on turned into gold.
Then
said, Arjuna, distribute these two gold mountains among villagers, but you must
donate every bit of it.
Arjuna
went into the village, and proclaimed he was going to donate gold to every
villager, and asked them to gather near the mountain. The villagers sang his
praises and Arjuna walked towards the mountains with a huffed up chest.
For
two days and two nights Arjuna shoveled gold from the mountain and donated to
each villager. The mountains did not diminish in the slightest.
Most
villagers came back and stood in queue within minutes. Now Arjuna was
exhausted, but not ready to let go of his Ego, told Krishna he couldn't go on
any longer without rest.
Then
Krishna called Karna and
told him to donate every bit of the two gold mountains.
Karna
called the villagers, and said Those two Gold mountains are yours, and walked
away.
Arjuna
sat dumbfounded. Why hadn't this thought occurred to him.
Karna
holds no such reservations. Look at him walking away after giving away a
fortune, he doesn't expect people to sing his praises, he doesn't even care if
people talk good or bad about him behind his back. That is the sign of a man
already on the path of enlightenment.
Giving
with an Expectation of a Return in the form of a Compliment or Thanks is not a
Gift, then it becomes a Trade.
Be Like the Nature, that is our True Nature
Give without
expecting anything in Return.