In Chapter six of the Gita, Lord Krishna points to the importance of the combination of the karma yoga and the jnana yoga, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse.
He who performs actions without attachment to the fruits of the actions is referred to here. But then one may begin to wonder, of what use is doing any action if one is not going to be the beneficiary of that action. Is it even possible to do anything without thought of the benefits?
It is. Let us take an ordinary example from everyday life. You tell a child a story because the act of telling a child a story is itself pleasing, not because it brings you any benefits. So the action itself is the result here. Or take a mother feeding her child. The act of preparing food for her child and feeding it are actions that are in themselves fulfilling.
When Andal calls upon her friends to join her in her worship, it is not with a view to reaping any rewards. The act of worship itself is both action and result. When Akrura was sent to fetch Lord Krishna, he just thought, “I am going to see Krishna, and that is enough for me.”
So doing an act is itself the result of the act. When Periyazvar sang his ‘Pallandu’ verses to ward off evil eyes from the Lord, he did not seek any result for himself. The reward lay in singing of the Lord.
In the Gita (chapter 6, verse 1), the Lord uses the word ‘anaasrithah,’ to refer to the performance of actions in this spirit. In the Visishtadvaitic tradition, it is emphasised that when we perform our duties in the right spirit, He is pleased and gives us the result of our actions at the appropriate time.
