Vinoba Bhave in conversation with Satish Kumar, as chronicled in the book, "You Are, Therefore I Am."
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that work itself is beautiful but the desire to impress others is what makes it ugly? Can you share a personal experience of a time you felt that work was love made visible? What helps you avoid attachment to outcomes without giving up work?
Expectations from our actions in all areas of our lives always results in failure . One performs the action required and moves on .
As an artist, when I create oil paintings, I am working from love. My work is love manifest. As for impressing others, I am older woman artist so that is not a problem. People aren't impressed by our life's work, many times, because an older woman created it. That's ok with me because creating the art is the important part of my life.
Thanks so much for posting this reminder! Timely for me -- it’s so easy to focus on various projects and causes, then become frustrated when progress or a hoped for outcome seems a long way off. Yet it is helpful to think that, ideally, we all come into life with a unique mission. So long as we are carrying out our mission and applying our particular talents, life can feel meaningful and fulfilling, whatever the external circumstances. The task is to work with one’s abilities and circumstances the best one can - not to control the outcome.
In BhagwadGeeta Lord Krishna says "Na Me Karma Fale Spruha" -- i.e, may fruit of thy action be not thy motive. Vinobaji was a gret follower of this and he is right in saying that moment you focus on the outcome, you do not give 100% of your attention, energy to whatever you are doing. This is a distraction from action. Work is worship can be exmplified automatically when results are truly wonderful.
The desire to impress others is a problem and can be ugly because it's a desire to do something that I don't have the power to do. I can't make anyone be impressed or unimpressed. I can't make anyone do or feel anything. I can perform right action, which is my responsibility. Right action is constructive expression of my experience in the moment. Right action does not involve trying to control outcome. Right action is love. Work is action, and work that is the right action is love made visible. When I trust my truth and put it into right action without being goal directed and without trying to control outcome, I am trusting the process and I am loving and my love is made visible. I can give up trying to control outcome without giving up right action, and knowing that helps me avoid attachment to outcome without giving up work.