The Secret Of Work
Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. And alas! we are also traders in love.
If you come to trade, if it is a question of give-and-take, if it is a question of buy-and-sell, abide by the laws of buying and selling. There is a bad time and there is a good time; there is a rise and a fall in prices: always expect the blow to come. It is like looking at the mirror. Your face is reflected: you make a grimace — there is one in the mirror; if you laugh, the mirror laughs. This is buying and selling, giving and taking.
We get caught. How? Not by what we give, but by what we expect. We get misery in return for our love; not from the fact that we love, but from the fact that we want love in return. There is no misery where there is no want. Desire, want, is the father of all misery. Desires are bound by the laws of success and failure. Desires must bring misery.
The great secret of true success, of true happiness, then, is this: the man who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish man, is the most successful. It seems to be a paradox. Do we not know that every man who is unselfish in life gets cheated, gets hurt? Apparently, yes. "Christ was unselfish, and yet he was crucified." True, but we know that his unselfishness is the reason, the cause of a great victory — the crowning of millions upon millions of lives with the blessings of true success.
Swami Vivekananda in "Work and Its Secret"
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does loving without expecting love in return bring up for you? What helps you to love without expectations? The author makes the point that it is not the action of trade that is problematic, but the expectation that comes along with that action - how can we live in this world, engage in its rituals and yet be without expectations? Have you had experiences when you have been able to act without expecting anything in return?
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19 Past Reflections
On Jun 4, 2019 Binod wrote :
1 reply: Singhu | Post Your Reply
On Jun 18, 2014 swetha wrote :
what are two ways in which we can work without excepting anything in return
2 replies: Devaraj, Ganoba | Post Your Reply
On Mar 1, 2012 Dinesh wrote :
Yuka Saionji joined us this week to share her personal journey, learnings from her remarkable work around the power of prayer, and offer some uplifting stories in response to 3/11's tsunami in Japan. Below are the audio clips from the gathering ...
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On Feb 29, 2012 renu wrote :
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On Feb 28, 2012 Ganoba wrote :
On the other hand when I do something because " that is the way I am"I am always happy and stress free. The results take care of themselves. They are dependent anyway on many factors other than my effort.
I don't know whether this is selfish or unselfish. That would depend on how one defines self.
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On Feb 28, 2012 Yolanda de Zuloaga wrote :
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On Feb 28, 2012 Subrata wrote :
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On Feb 27, 2012 Matthew wrote :
- J. Krishnamurti
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On Feb 27, 2012 Anamicah wrote :
Today I received this in my inbox as an answer to the questions I've been asking myself. Fortunately, it came when I was about to do something that would be very hurtful to someone I love. am going to attempt to put aside expectation this time and next time and the next... constant consciousness is the only way it will work. I thank you for bringing this to me today!
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On Feb 24, 2012 David Doane wrote :
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On Feb 24, 2012 Conrad P. Pritscher wrote :
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On Feb 24, 2012 Thierry wrote :
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On Feb 24, 2012 Ricky wrote :
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