Bhagavad Gita Quotes On - Karma =link=

Arjun picked up his shovel, but his mind was already calculating. “If I dig,” he thought, “and the rains still don’t come, my effort will be wasted. But if I don’t dig, and the rains come, the water will flow to Vikram’s field first. I will only dig if I am certain my field will be saved.” He spent three days measuring the distance, calculating the odds, and waiting for a guarantee. He did not dig.

Vikram wiped his brow and said, “I know two things: the village needs water, and I know how to dig. The result is not in my hands. But the act of digging? That is in my hands.”

Arjun realized his mistake. He had not failed because he lacked strength; he had failed because he was attached to a specific result. His anxiety over the future had paralyzed him in the present. bhagavad gita quotes on karma

When the next dry season came, Arjun did not calculate or wait. He simply picked up his shovel and dug. He did not know if a spring would appear or if rain would fall. He only knew that digging was his dharma —his right action.

Arjun rushed to his own shovel, but it was too late. The spring had found its path through Vikram’s canal. Arjun’s field, which he had refused to work on without a guarantee, remained dry. Arjun picked up his shovel, but his mind

Vikram smiled gently. “Brother, I did not dig for the spring. I dug because it was the right action to take. The Gita teaches us: ‘Karmanye vadhikaraste, ma phaleshu kadachana’ — You have a right to your action, but never to its fruits.”

So, dear reader, when you face your own dry season—your own uncertain river—remember the two farmers. Pick up your shovel. Do the work in front of you. Leave the rest to life itself. I will only dig if I am certain my field will be saved

He continued, “Look at your thinking. You wanted to control the result—the rain, the flood, the harvest. But those things belong to the river, to the sky, to time itself. By refusing to act without a guarantee, you lost the only thing that was truly yours: the chance to do the work. My hands are sore, but my heart is light. Because I gave my best to the action, and let go of the outcome.”