The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 5/Notes from Lectures and Discourses/Work Without Motive
WORK WITHOUT MOTIVE
At the forty-second meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission held at the premises
No. 57 Râmkânta Bose Street, Baghbazar, Calcutta, on the 20th March, 1898,
Swami Vivekananda gave an address on "Work without Motive", and spoke to the
following effect:
When the Gita was first preached, there was then going on a great
controversy between two sects. One party considered the Vedic Yajnas and
animal sacrifices and such like Karmas to constitute the whole of religion.
The other preached that the killing of numberless horses and cattle cannot
be called religion. The people belonging to the latter party were mostly
Sannyâsins and followers of Jnâna. They believed that the giving up of all
work and the gaining of the knowledge of the Self was the only path to
Moksha By the preaching of His great doctrine of work without motive, the
Author of the Gita set at rest the disputes of these two antagonistic sects.
Many are of opinion that the Gita was not written at the time of the
Mahâbhârata, but was subsequently added to it. This is not correct. The
special teachings of the Gita are to be found in every part of the
Mahabharata, and if the Gita is to be expunged, as forming no part of it,
every other portion of it which embodies the same teachings should be
similarly treated.
Now, what is the meaning of working without motive? Nowadays many understand
it in the sense that one is to work in such a way that neither pleasure nor
pain touches his mind. If this be its real meaning, then the animals might
be said to work without motive. Some animals devour their own offspring, and
they do not feel any pangs at all in doing so. Robbers ruin other people by
robbing them of their possessions; but if they feel quite callous to
pleasure or pain, then they also would be working without motive. If the
meaning of it be such, then one who has a stony heart, the worst of
criminals, might be considered to be working without motive. The walls have
no feelings of pleasure or pain, neither has a stone, and it cannot be said
that they are working without motive. In the above sense the doctrine is a
potent instrument in the hands of the wicked. They would go on doing wicked
deeds, and would pronounce themselves as working without a motive. If such
be the significance of working without a motive, then a fearful doctrine has
been put forth by the preaching of the Gita. Certainly this is not the
meaning. Furthermore, if we look into the lives of those who were connected
with the preaching of the Gita, we should find them living quite a different
life. Arjuna killed Bhishma and Drona in battle, but withal, he sacrificed
all his self-interest and desires and his lower self millions of times.
Gita teaches Karma-Yoga. We should work through Yoga (concentration). In
such concentration in action (Karma-Yoga), there is no consciousness of the
lower ego present. The consciousness that I am doing this and that is never
present when one works through Yoga. The Western people do not understand
this. They say that if there be no consciousness of ego, if this ego is
gone, how then can a man work? But when one works with concentration, losing
all consciousness of oneself the work that is done will be infinitely
better, and this every one may have experienced in his own life. We perform
many works subconsciously, such as the digestion of food etc., many others
consciously, and others again by becoming immersed in Samâdhi as it were,
when there is no consciousness of the smaller ego. If the painter, losing
the consciousness of his ego, becomes completely immersed in his painting,
he will be able to produce masterpieces. The good cook concentrates his
whole self on the food-material he handles; he loses all other consciousness
for the time being. But they are only able to do perfectly a single work in
this way, to which they are habituated. The Gita teaches that all works
should be done thus. He who is one with the Lord through Yoga performs all
his works by becoming immersed in concentration, and does not seek any
personal benefit. Such a performance of work brings only good to the world,
no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for
themselves.
The result of every work is mixed with good and evil. There is no good work
that has not a touch of evil in it. Like smoke round the fire, some evil
always clings to work. We should engage in such works as bring the largest
amount of good and the smallest measure of evil. Arjuna killed Bhishma and
Drona; if this had not been done Duryodhana could not have been conquered,
the force of evil would have triumphed over the force of good, and thus a
great calamity would have fallen on the country. The government of the
country would have been usurped by a body of proud unrighteous kings, to the
great misfortune of the people. Similarly, Shri Krishna killed Kamsa,
Jarâsandha, and others who were tyrants, but not a single one of his deeds
was done for himself. Every one of them was for the good of others. We are
reading the Gita by candle-light, but numbers of insects are being burnt to
death. Thus it is seen that some evil clings to work. Those who work without
any consciousness of their lower ego are not affected with evil, for they
work for the good of the world. To work without motive, to work unattached,
brings the highest bliss and freedom. This secret of Karma-Yoga is taught by
the Lord Shri Krishna in the Gita.