This is part two of the adventures in Advaita Vedanta... will you travel with me a while?


Saturday Satsang

Hari OM


There should be concentration on the work undertaken. If you cannot execute the work because your mind is clogged, your effort will be wasted. The clogging dissipates the dynamism. There are three causes for the dissipation of mental energy – 
(1) Regrets of the past 
(2) anxieties for the future 
(3) excitements in the present.

The mind can be liberated from these clutches by surrendering itself at an altar, a goal or an ideal. Once having surrendered the results of an action to the altar of your dedication – be it God or the nation or a profession – the results no longer belong to you. The action becomes an act of worship.

In this surrender, you have surrendered your anxieties and fears, so the work will come out efficiently. Your work will have quality, beauty, fragrance and perfection. You, too, will become a genius. This is called karma-yoga.

Self-effacement is the secret of inspiration. A genius at work is he who has established a perfect identity of his own mind and intellect with the work in hand. The best can come out of an orator or a painter or a sculptor or a musician or a writer, only when he forgets himself and gets lost in the work at hand.

Everyone with knowledge exerts, sweats and toils. But only a few succeed in life. They generally forget that the mind is the doer in us, and the body is but our tool.

Learn to bring your mind where your hands are working. Then see the results! Actions become excellent, and success is the tribute life pays to excellence.



2 comments:

  1. Like drops of amrit are your words. Every sentence resonates.
    Thank you for "The best can come out of an orator or a painter or a sculptor or a musician or a writer, only when he forgets himself and gets lost in the work at hand."

    Recently, I joined Clubhouse: a digital platform for two reasons: 1. To listen to Hindi/Urdu literature/poetry and 2. To practise my recital skills.

    During the first few weeks, every time I would speak in a room, I'd get so excited/enamoured/ overwhelmed that I'd rush through my pieces and later feel bad about missed opportunities.

    Then one day, I stood in front of my altar and looked at little Krishna and surrendered to him: bowed my head, my ego, my worries, and handed over everything to him. "Be with me" I told him "I'll do my best. Rest is up to you." From then on, it's been such a joy to speak/perform and even when I mess up, it doesn't bother me as much.

    It's such a great place to be -- like a mother's lap--where one feels protected and held.

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    Replies
    1. Hari OM
      Brava! Of course, ultimately, what this is about is the dropping of the ego-sensitivity, the small self-awareness, and allowing the higher personality to shine! Yxx

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