We need not predict outcomes; all we are required to do is to deliver our best and leave the rest to God
Have you ever wondered why lord Krishna, chose to use a singular number for action, that is, ‘karma’ and a plural number for ‘phala’, that is, the fruit in the verse 2.47 of the Bhagavad GitaIJ Isn’t this simply logicalIJ let us see with some examples. A student appears in an exam. He can either pass or fail. At the same time, he can secure the first, second, third (and so on) positions. Therefore, whatever we do can bring many different results. let us take another example, this time of a business. This business can be profitable or it can incur losses. But it can also be highly profitable in the long-term.
Thus we realise that we ought to always remember that for any action there can be generally many results. However, even if we are aware of this fact, we go wrong when we get attached to a particular result. For example, many couples set their hearts on having a boy. As luck would have it, they get girls. They should stop, but many don’t and some couples get even seven or eight daughters. There is nothing wrong in having daughters but when you have so many of them, who have come unsought, there could be problems in loving them and raising them well. In spite of that, we don’t learn. We are forever developing a strong attachment to a specific result.
Can’t we see that we have hardly a little or no control over most resultsIJ And such attachments only bring a lot of pain and cause many fears. For example, a relative has gone to a hill-station for a vacation. Torrential rains fall in this area and landslides take place. All communication with the outside world is disrupted. Obviously, there is no word from the relative. What do many of us imagine in such circumstances when the break in communication is longIJ We fear the worst. Yes, this is a possibility, but is it a certaintyIJ No, then, why should we be so fearfulIJ We panic because we do not have an open mind about results, a fact that lord Krishna has warned about in this educative verse. Isn’t such suffering unnecessaryIJ Even if the relative has come to some harm, why predict or propone the miseryIJ Why not have an open mind till the facts become clearIJ
This lesson should be always remembered in life, if we desire to have a peaceful existence. We must always trust God’s justice. Nothing happens by chance. If the relative of our example is destined to be safe, nothing can happen to him or her, no matter how bad the conditions may get in the hill station. And if he or she is destined to come to harm, that would have happened irrespective of his location.
Therefore, a spiritually wise person does what he or she can to achieve a particular result but then leaves the rest to God. He or she never gets attached to the chosen result. He or she accepts in good grace whatever happens. For example, a good person has applied for a job. He does not get it He is better off because this job involved many personal risks of injury and harm.
What did we learnIJ That we should always do our duties well and leave the results to God; He does take care.