Selfless Service is Scriptural Injunction

Introduction

A human being is not only a rational animal, but also a social being. This gregarious nature is not unique to human beings alone, for it can be seen even among animals. Hence for a person to become “human” there must be the integration of one’s rational faculty and one’s social nature. One’s instincts and senses must be tamed and base behaviour regulated to accord with the approved and accepted norms and conventions of society, because one does not live in isolation from society - for individual welfare contributes to social welfare and social progress influences individual well-­being. There fore, the welfare of the individual, both material and spiritual, can be attained simultaneously with the welfare of the society. This inter-relation and mutual dependence between human beings and society have been recognised by Indian philosophers in their emphasis on selfless-­service, niskama-karma, which forms the key concept of the Bhagavad-gita. In fact, all the schools of Vedanta assign to it the foremost place among the preliminaries to liberation. The ideal of niskama-karma otherwise called karma-yoga has inspired contemporary Neo-­vedantins like Swami Vivekananda and others. It is social service and humanitarian work - ­service for the sake of service but not in expectation of pay or material cash.

The Meaning of Niskama-karma

In the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krishna tells a confused Arjuna that in the days of yore, after creating the world and mankind, He propounded two paths:

1) the path of activism (pravtti­marga), leading to worldly prosperity (abhyudaya), and           
2) the path of asceticism (nivrtti - ­marga), leading to liberation (nisreyasa).

To effect a via media between these two extreme paths, leading to divergent goals is the aim of the Bhagavad-gita. This is attained in niskama-karma-yoga, wherein there is a harmonious synthesis of knowledge, devotion and action pertaining to the intellectual, the emotive and the conative aspects of man. “Yoga” is perfection in action (karmasukaualam). It has to be borne in mind that niskama-karma is not “un-interested activity” but “dis-interested activity”. In detachment or selfless action we do not suppress the senses and their activities, but sublimate them for altruistic or spiritual purposes.

Let us now see whether niskama karma is possible, and what benefits accrue to the individual and the society, when it is adopted and practised by the individuals constituting the society. We shall, therefore, discuss the psychological, the sociological and the philosophical aspects of disinterested or selfless work.

The Psychological Aspect

In the Bhagavad-gita, III, 5, Krishna tells Arjuna that no one can remain quiet without doing any work even for a moment and that one is impelled to act by the constituents of prakrti. But a life of ceaseless desire-impelled activity is unfavourable for spiritual progress. For while engaged in action, one considers oneself as the agent or doer (karta) and enjoyer (bhokta). Inevitably, one comes across failure or success. When one’s efforts fail to produce the desired result, a discontented individual is overtaken by depression and anger, leading to non-­discrimination between the bad and the good. Ultimately, one loses one’s mental equipoise and perishes, unfit to realize the higher values of life (Bhagavad-gita, II, 63).

Scriptures recognize the psychological weakness inherent in man, when they affirm that no individual ever acts without a motive behind the act, i.e. all the actions of an individual are desire-driven. And desires, usually being self-centred or ego-centric, are non-conducive to liberation, because liberation (moksa) demands the total annihilation of the ego (ahankara) and a complete loss of self-­identity.

In the hierarchy of values (purusarthaa), wealth (artha) and pleasure (kama) are regarded as lower values, whereas righteous action (dharma) and liberation (moksa) are considered as higher values. Artha and kama are called lower values, because these are common to human beings as well as beasts and they are also selfish. Through dharma one strives to rise above one’s base and impulsive behaviour, and become divine by attaining moksa. Thus dharma becomes the means for attaining salvation which is foremost among the values (parama-purusartha). Moksa is the highest value because in it there is a total absence of the ego. In dharma, an individual who practises one’s duty (svadharma) with a detached attitude, subordinates one’s selfish desires to those which promote the welfare and progress of the family and the society at large.

Actions are unavoidable in life, because one has to act even to sustain one’s life. The actions of the enlightened or the realized (jnanis) are desireless, whereas those of the bound (baddhas) are tainted with desires. Desire is the source of all misery and bondage. Desires lurking in the senses, confound the mind and lead it astray, just as wind sweeps a boat off its course at sea. Hence the emphasis on the need to mentally renounce the desire for the fruit (phala) of one’s effort. Desireless action liberates an individual, whereas those done with a selfish motive bind the individual and lead to endless transigration (samsara). Hence the Bhagavad­gita exhorts one to renounce desire and not the deed. One is asked to renounce the fruit of one’s action and not the action itself, i.e. it teaches karma-phala-tyaga and not karma­tyaga. Disinterested work involves sacrificing the agency and not the act. Therefore, “duty for one’s own sake” is transformed into “duty for duty’s sake”, in the words of kant. Through niskama-karma-yoga, one attains freedom in action and not freedom from         action.

            Niskama-karma does not mean just desireless or detached action. It also includes acting in accordance with, God’s will, as an instrument in His hands, for the fulfilment of a divine purpose. And acting in accordance with God’s will requires devotion (bhakti) and self-­surrender (prapatti). One, therefore, dedicates one’s actions to God. “Duty for duty’s sake”, now, becomes “duty for God’s sake”. With this spiritualization and enrichment of action, karma gets transformed into service (kainkarya).

Thus, we see that in niskama-karma which forms the core of the Bhagavd-gita, there is a harmonious blend of knowledge (jnana), devotion (bhakti) and action (karma) pertaining to the intellectual, the emotive and creative aspects of human being.

The Sociological Aspect

An oft-repeated criticism is that Indian philosophy is other-worldly, moksa-­oriented, self-centred, preaches renunciation and is therefore negative, places more emphasis on the liberation of the individual than on society, etc. But this is wrong or only partially right. Its initial pessimism promises a worthier goal. Just as little drops of water make a mighty ocean, integrated individual adheres to what Bradley calls “my station...” (asrama), and performs “its duties” (dharma). A detached performance of one’s duties assures the welfare of an individual, here and hereafter, as well as that of the society both materially and spiritually. It has to be remembered that in the enunciation of the ideal of one’s duties, the criterion is psychological, since the “nature” of the individual is taken into consideration. Duties are assigned for each of the four asramas of life.

Man should serve not only his fellow human beings but also birds beasts and all created things, especially the environment.