Work’s Ultimate Spiritual Truth: Do It For Love, Not For Results (Money, Appreciation, Reciprocity)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 23 Sep 2014
• views: 732

Join the discussion: http://j.mp/1mLcHNQ “The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” ~Pearl S. Buck. “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. Khalil Gibran "On Work" http://j.mp/1msGmLm Episode Notes: What do we learn about Work from the foundational spiritual traditions of our society? Both Jewish and Christian scripture urges us to work to serve God primarily; to work for a higher purpose. "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." I’m more familiar with the Christian teachings so I’ll share what I find in the New Testament of the Bible: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving God, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.” ~Ephesians 6:7-8 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for God, not for men. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from God as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” -Colossians 3:23-24 “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ~Matthew 6:20-21 Buddhist thoughts about work -- right livelihood -- primarily to do no harm to others and to yourself; to be mindful about being honest, taking only what is rightfully yours. It’s seeing work primarily as practice, not as profit. Hinduism -- Karma Yoga: Nishkam Karma / Sakam Karma in the Bhagavad Gita - one of the most important scriptures in Hinduism, Krishna advocates for ‘Nishkam Karma Yoga' (the Yoga of Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind… --Wikipedia about Nishkam Karma “To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction.” -Verse 47, Chapter 2 Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme. ~Krishna, from Bhagavad Gita Continued reading suggests that one should surrender or dedicate one’s works to God. Liberation from the ups & downs of life after life - until we reach bliss Sakam Karma is being calculating - “what’s in it for me?” My thoughts on Affiliate Marketing: https://plus.google.com/118121948255990802474/posts/A63zhJhTCVq Ends never justifies the means: https://medium.com/@georgekao/do-the-ends-ever-justify-the-means-60ada7472485 It’s counterintuitive in our modern society. We are so individualized that we believe our actions should have a visible return. What looks like “being taken advantage of” is actually the perpetrator gaining a positive result in the short term, but creating a profound karmic debt in the longer term. It’s beyond what’s visible now, and that’s the hard part. This is why Faith is so important. Faith in what has been tested through time in spiritual scriptures, saints, and humanity’s conscience. Nishkam Karma -- doing work only for Love / Personal Excellence -- an ideal - I don’t personally know anyone who does it perfectly - I’m not there yet, though I seek to be. Know these truths, and simply work towards it. You don’t need to jump from level 1 to level 1,000. Just take it step by step. “There is an unknown factor between the karma [action] and the result. The same karma [action] does not produce the same result a second time even for the same person. For a different person the result of the same karma [action] can be totally different. If you change the time and space for the same karma results can be dramatically different. This means that the results of any karma [action] is unpredictable and there is no reproducibility.” ~ http://www.krishnauniverse.com/eBooks/journey-from-life-to-life/Sakam-Karma.html Striving for loving your work -- whatever it may be right now -- creates personal excellence -- and that in turn (though we don’t focus on the results) usually creates great results in this life: http://goo.gl/UPf9p0 ...and most importantly, it gives us profound benefits for the longest term. Carol Dweck's "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" - Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets. Free articles: https://www.google.com/search?q=fixed%20vs%20growth%20mindset “Work hard in silence… let success make the noise!”