Bhagwat Gita (Free Sample)

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Contents OF fREE sAMPLE bOOK

1. Why the Bhagvad Gita? 1–3

2. What led to the Great War we 5–13
know as The Mahabharata that led to the epic
conversation we know as The Gita?

3. When the Warrior Became the Worrier 14–17

4. 21 Lessons from the Bhagvad Gita 18–149

Lesson 1 :- Do your work without worrying about the
Results (FRUITS)

This sample book is prepared from the book
"Bhagvad Gita–The Story Way for students and
parents".

ISBN - 9789355642325
MRP- 299/-

The book & e-book are available on all leading online stores.

Contents OF Complete bOOK

1. Why the Bhagvad Gita? 1–3

2. What led to the Great War we 5–13
know as The Mahabharata that
led to the epic conversation we
know as The Gita?

3. When the Warrior Became the Worrier 14–17

4. 21 Lessons from the Bhagvad Gita 18–149

Lesson 1 :- Do your work without worrying about the
Results (FRUITS)

Lesson 2 :- Try to be unattached to the events of life, the
one key to peace/success

Lesson 3 :- Path of Knowledge v/s Path of Action: which
one is better!

Lesson 4 :- Conscience is superior to intellect and mind

Lesson 5 :- Good will always triumph over evil!

Lesson 6 :- Do not give up trying, due to fear of failure

Lesson 7 :- All are Equal

Lesson 8 :- God is Everywhere!

Lesson 9 :- What is Yoga? Who is true Yogi?

Lesson 10 :- Constant parallel thoughts of God

Lesson 11 :- Whether you are good or bad, what matters
is your hard work.

Lesson 12 :- Change is the only constant! Everything has a
beginning and an end. Whoever is born, has
to die

Lesson 13 :- No action is good or evil, but the intent behind
it is.

Lesson 14 :- Just be a good person. That is what God
wants.

Lesson 15 :- God resides in all of us.

Lesson 16 :- Three States of Being: Sattvik, Rajasik and
Tamasik!

Lesson 17 :- Desire, Anger and Greed lead to Hell.

Lesson 18 :- You are what you consume.

Lesson 19 :- Your actions should not be motivated by
desire.

Lesson 20 :- Our True nature can determine our path!

Lesson 21 :- Wisdom combined with action is the key to
success.

5. God Leaves The Choice to You 151–151

6. What happened after the war? 152–157

7. Lessons from Life of Arjuna 159–177

1. Lesson of Deep Focus

2. Lesson on Clarity

3. Lesson on Commitment.

4. Lesson on need of a Purpose

5. The Power of Right Mentor

8. Lessons from other characters 178–210
of Mahabhararta

1. Duryodhana :- Greed leads to downfall

2. Karna :- The Danveer

3. Shakuni :- Evil never pays

4. Abhimanyu :- Ha lf-baked knowledge is
dangerous

5. Draupadi :- We should think before we speak

6. Yudhisthira :- The virtue of being just

7. Bhishma :- The Virtue of determination

8. Ashwathama :- The Hamartia of anger

9. Eklavya :- The virtue of sacrifice: What Guru
Dakshina means

10. Krishna :- What a true mentor means

9. Writer's End Note 211–211

10. Annexure 212–213



1

Why the Bhagvad Gita?

A common memory of the Bhagvad Gita that everyone of us
would have, is seeing it in old Bollywood movies; when the
accused stands in the witness box in court and rests his or her
right hand on a big fat book swearing to speak the truth and
only the truth and nothing else but the truth. That big fat book
is the Bhagvad Gita, a Sanskrit poem written in India some
2,500 years ago. Its title literally means, ‘Song of the Lord’
and it’s the holy book of the Hindus.

But why is it so revered? What makes it so special?

At the heart of it, the Gita is a conversation between two
friends, Krishna and Arjuna. While riding out on the eve of
battle, Arjuna had this sudden emotional conflict between
fulfilling his duty as a warrior and of earning bad karma by
going to war against his family members. Overwhelmed with
a hundred different thoughts, he went on his knees, put down
the Gandiva (his bow) on the floor of the chariot and broke
down saying he could not proceed any further. Krishna, like
the good friend he is, tells Arjuna to fight instead of putting
down arms; and, that in a nutshell is the entire conversation
of the Gita.

However, the Gita is special because Krishna also tells Arjuna
why he should fight instead of just telling him to go to war
against his closest family. The entire story as played out in the

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Gita contains hidden truths and lessons that we can all learn
from. The Gita is really one of the greatest conversations in the
world to listen to because Krishna, through Arjuna, is telling
us all how to live our lives in the best possible way. Through
the battle on the field of Kurukshetra, he is enlightening us all
on fighting the battle within as well; the fight between the heart
and the mind, between what is right and difficult vs. what is
easy and not that beneficial.

You would think that it is easy to differentiate between what
is right and wrong for us, correct? Yes. But are we easily able
to choose what’s better for us? Not always. In fact, it might
surprise you how often we let the bad guys win. Think about
it. Deep down all of us know what is the right choice but how
many of us really make the right choice? For example, all of
us know blue light from our phones interrupts our sleep cycle
but does that stop us from using it every night before sleeping?
You know how important it is to get a good night’s sleep and
wake up early, so that you feel fresh but how many times have
you stayed up late watching a movie that was ‘too good to stop
in between’ or chatting with friends? We understand what is
good for us inherently because the ability to see the best is in
all of us. Despite this, we all give in to our temptations from
time to time.

Every day, many of us make excuses like Arjuna on the
battlefield. We may find reasons to avoid responsibility, or take
accountability for being weak willed to take the right action.
The right choices might seem too hard, too lonely or too scary
to attempt, and in the end we become confused about what
the right thing to do is. In doing so, we shut out the Krishna
inside us, that tiny little voice in the back of our head telling

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us what is right and what is wrong. And after being ignored
for too long, that voice stops speaking altogether.

You must be wondering by now, what does all of this have
to do with The Gita? Does it have all the answers? In short,
Yes! This is the reason why millions of us Indians and many
people abroad have gone back to it again and again whenever
they find themselves troubled, distressed and confused about
what to do in their lives. Through the narrative of Krishna, the
book explains to us in a no-nonsense but gentle way how to
live our life in the best, most fulfilling way.

That’s the power of The Gita.

4

5

What led to the Great War we know as
The Mahabharata that led to the epic
conversation we know as The Gita?

6

Let me give you a bit of the background first. The Mahabharata
is one of the greatest Epics the Hindus have and it would not
do to dive into the Gita, without understanding the context
first. So, read carefully.

A long time ago, thousands of years in the past, the king Bharata
ruled the land that we now know as India from his capital
city of Hastinapura (somewhere around present-day Meerut
district). This king had two sons, the elder son Dhritarashtra
and the younger son Pandu. Dhritarashtra being blind had to
give up his claim to the throne, even though he was the rightful
heir and Pandu being next in line, got the throne for himself.
Now, Pandu was not a strong king; he was weak and sickly.
To add to his misfortune, a venerable sage cursed him that
he would not be able to have any children. What was a king
to do if he could not produce any heir? Feeling helpless, he
gave up the throne and left for the forest along with his two
wives, Kunti and Madri. In his stead, Dhritarashtra became
the caretaker king ruling in his brother’s name. He was quite
happy and planned to keep the kingdom safe for his own sons
so that they could become the future rulers of Bharata.

Little did Dhritarashtra know, that his machinations were not
exactly going to go according to the plan. The elder wife of
Pandu, Kunti had been taught a mantra by a sage. All she had
to do was speak that mantra aloud and pray with intense focus
to a god of her choice, to be granted any boon she desired.
And so she did. She first prayed to Dharma or Yama, the god
of death; next, Pavan or Vayu, the god of wind; and third, to

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Indra, king of the gods and lord of the heavens. And thus she
received in boons, three sons, whom she named Yudhishthira,
Bhima and Arjuna.

Kunti was quite happy with her boys, but Madri, Pandu’s
second wife, was getting jealous. So, after her wishes had
been granted, Kunti taught the mantra to Madri. She prayed to
the Ashwini Twins, gods of medicine and got her two lovely
twin boys whom she named Nakula and Sahadeva. From the
king who could not produce any heir, Pandu now had five
sons of his own.

These five were known as the Pandavas.

Happiness was all around but it did not last long. Soon after
the boys were born, Pandu died and Madri, unable to bear
the pain of his passing, flung herself into the funeral pyre in
grief. That left elder wife Kunti, to take care of all five sons,
which proved to be a bit too much for her to handle alone.
So she went back to Hastinapura to request Dhritarashtra to
take them in.

In the meantime, a lot had happened in Hastinapura. Dhritarashtra
had gotten married to a princess named Gandhari and the two
of them together had one hundred and one children, 100 sons
and one beautiful daughter (one hundred and one embryos
were incubated in clay pots over several months until the
babies had grown. Such things were common as the ancient
people were highly knowledgeable about the sciences). Those
hundred boys were known as the Kauravas or descendants of
the Kuru clan.

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So, when the five Pandavas and their mother Kunti, arrived
at the doorsteps of Dhritarashtra, he was a bit worried; yet,
he took them in. After all, he couldn’t possibly turn away the
sons and wife of his late brother. And so, in the household of
101 kids running around, five more were added to the lot. All
100 Kauravas and the five Pandavas attended lessons together,
practised together and lived together. Everything was going
well except for one thing, the Pandavas were ridiculously
good at everything and outclassed the Kauravas by a pretty
huge margin. Among the 105 princes, Yudhishthira was the
most honest and upright, Bhima the strongest, Arjuna the best
archer, and Nakula and Sahadeva the best horsemen. This
created some jealousy against the Pandavas and particularly
did not sit right with one person, the eldest of the Kauravas,
Duryodhana. Not particularly a nice person, Duryodhana
wanted to be the next king and hated his cousins.

As the years rolled by, he was becoming increasingly afraid
that the elders would name Yudhishthira as the next king.
So, Duryodhana hatched a plan. He invited all of them to a
distant palace to stay the night. But that palace was constructed
out of a highly flammable material and this fact was known
to very few people. Fortunately, one of the very few people
was Yudhishthira. As the palace caught fire, he and the other
Pandavas were able to escape though an alternate exit and
head out into the forest. In order to make Duryodhana believe
that they were indeed dead, they decided to lie low for a while.

Soon after, they heard about an archery competition being held
by the king of Panchala. The winner was to win the hand of
the kingdom’s princess, Draupadi. The Pandavas decided to go

9

ahead and try their luck. Archers from around the kingdom had
tried and failed. So, it naturally captured everyone’s attention
when Arjuna shot the arrow straight into the target—a wooden
bird spinning on top of a tall post. By looking at the reflection
of the bird in the water, Arjuna hit the targeted bird in the
eye and the people were awestruck. Duryodhana, who was
present in the competition, immediately knew who that archer
was. Nobody else in the kingdom had such unerring aim. The
Pandavas were alive!

Meanwhile the Pandavas happily returned to the forest with
Draupadi, who was to be Arjuna’s wife. They went up to their
mother and said, “Mother, look what we have brought with
us today!” Kunti, busy in her prayers, told them, “Whatever
it is my children, make sure you divide it equally among
yourselves”, without turning around.

Once the mother had spoken, it was gospel for the Pandavas.
Thus, Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandavas.

In the meantime, word had spread that the Pandavas were alive
and the pressure was growing on Dhritarashtra to give them
half the kingdom as was their right. Unable to shake it off any
longer, he did finally give them their share, but only the most
barren part of the land.

For the Pandavas, that was not an issue. Through hard work
and ingenuity, they made the land fertile by digging irrigation
channels and their part of the kingdom grew to be lush and
plentiful. Of course, this made Duryodhana even more jealous;
and in desperation, he sought the help of his maternal uncle
Shakuni. Together, they plotted the Pandavas’ downfall by
striking first at the eldest, Yudhishthira. Shakuni knew that

10

Yudhishthira loved a good game of dice and he planned to
exploit that love to the fullest. The game of dice was based on
pure chance and there was no other way of winning apart from
luck. However, there was one thing that Yudhishthira was not
aware of, that Shakuni was the master of Cheating.

Yudhishthira could not resist the invite and went ahead to play
the game. He kept losing at every turn but kept on playing,
convinced that his luck would turn around soon. Both sides
staked their palaces, their kingdoms and territories. It came
to a point that Yudhishthira staked his four brothers and their
common wife as slaves and finally himself, only to lose it all.
Fortunately for the Pandavas, King Dhritarashtra did the right
thing. He knew his sons had won by cheating and dismissed
the entire game, sending the Pandavas back to their kingdom,
embarrassed, but free.

Barely a few months after, Duryodhana again invited
Yudhishthira for a game of dice. This time, whoever lost the
game would have to go in exile into the forest for 13 years. They
would have to remain in hiding and if found out, would have
their sentence extended for another 13 years. The Pandavas
lost the game again and managed to successfully remain in
hiding for the allotted period of time; and then, returned to
Hastinapura to ask for their kingdom back. Except that this
time, Duryodhana refused to do so. Yudhishthira offered to
settle for just five villages for the five brothers, which too was
refused by Duryodhana.

In the end, Yudhishthira, backed into a corner, saw no other
option. He declared war against Hastinapura and the Kauravas.
And that is how the great war of Mahabharata came into being.

11

But wait! Where was Krishna all this time? Didn’t he play a
major role in the great epic as well?

Yes he did. In fact, the Pandavas first met Krishna when
they went to Panchala to win Draupadi’s hand. Right after
Yudhishthira declared war against his cousins, the elders in
the family became worried. They knew that the war would
bring terrible destruction and chaos. They consulted Krishna.
Krishna was a good friend to the Pandavas, was similar in
age to both Kauravas and Pandavas and was a powerful king
himself. The elders believed both sides would listen to his
counsel. He got both sides together to hold peace talks but his
efforts failed. Duryodhana was hungry for blood and refused
to call off the war. In the end, Krishna had to accept that the
war was inevitable. He offered both sides an option; one side
could have his armies while the other side could have him.
He also added that he wouldn’t be doing any fighting himself.
Duryodhana immediately called dibs on Krishna’s armies and
the Pandavas went off with Krishna on their side.

On one chilly day in November, dawn was breaking across
the field of Kurukshetra. The sky was bathed in a golden light
awash with crimson edges that hinted at the coming of a new
day. This day was a very important one for the people standing
on the field below. There were men of all sorts down there,
young and old, brave and weak, leaders and their followers all
gathered together in two distinct groups.

This was the day they were going to fight a war.

Now, let us have a look at the players down on the field. On
one side were the Kauravas. They were led by Bhishma the

12

Invincible, the oldest man on the field and grand uncle to both
the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Eleven Kaurava battalions
stood in perfect order with chariots, elephants and foot soldiers
in shining armor. The great warriors of the Kaurava side stood
proud and strong. The supreme commander of their forces,
Bhishma Pitamaha, Duryodhana, the great teacher Dronacharya,
warriors like Karna, Kripa, Vikarna and Dronacharya’s son
Ashwatthama, all stood in full glory keeping up the morale
of their forces.

On the opposite side of field, stood the Pandava army. They
had only seven battalions on their side, against the might of the
Kaurava army, but that did not scare them one bit. Each and
every soldier on the Pandava side believed and knew in their
hearts that they were fighting on the side of justice and good.

In fact, it was the warriors on the other side who were looking
a bit tense despite having a larger army. Remember how
Yudhishthira declared war on Hastinapura because Duryodhana
cheated the Pandavas of their kingdom and position in society
and refused to give it back? Well, after the war was declared,
people began to choose sides. Most of the leaders and soldiers
in Duryodhana’s army joined him because of some who owned
King Dhritarashtra a debt or were coerced to defend Hastinapura
for other reasons. Nobody believed the Kauravas were in the
right. Even Bhishma Pitamaha, the supreme commander had
only agreed to fight for them under the condition that he would
not be required to kill any of the Pandava brothers.

When morality is not on your side, the size of the enemy’s
army hardly matters. If a soldier does not believe in the cause,
then he tends to lose his spirit anytime in the middle of a

13

battle. They are not good men to have by your side in a war. In
such a case, defeat is almost guaranteed. This was the general
consensus in the Kaurava army.

Sitting far away in the throne room in the kingdom of
Hastinapura, King Dhritarashtra was worrying about the same
thing. Beside him was his charioteer, Sanjaya, who was blessed
by the gods with divine sight and hearing. It meant he could
see people and listen to conversations happening hundreds of
kilometers away. He would keep track of events unfolding at
the battlefield and keep the king updated on the details of the
war, at all times.

Here’s an interesting fact to note. King Dhritarashtra’s question
to Sanjaya is the first verse that begins the Bhagvad Gita; and
only time the king speaks throughout the entire Gita.

Answering the King's question, Sanjaya begins narrating
what he can see in the far off battlefield of Kurushetra; and
thus comes into existence as one of the most enlightening
conversations in the world.

But before the first arrow was released, before the first drop
of blood was shed, Arjuna came to Krishna and had the
Conversation.

Before we begin, let us read the prayer. According to
tradition, before reading the Gita we are supposed pray to the
Mahabharata, to Vyasa for dictating it, to the Gita itself and
to Supreme Lord Krishna, to ask for their blessings and their
wisdom to help us understand this wondrous text. Gita prayer
is a nine verse prayer, but in lieu of that, we can pray with
these three shlokas:-

14

Prayer to Vyasa:- Namostute vyaasa vissala-buddhe phullaravin-
dayata-patra-netra, yene twayaa bhaarata-taila poornah pra-
jwaalito jnaana-mayah pradeepah.

Meaning:- Oh Vyasa muni, you who have wide eyes like the
petals of a lotus in full bloom, you who are of broad wisdom,
my prostration to you. Because of you, this light of jnaana
(knowledge) filled with the oil of mahabhaarata, is lit.

Prayer to the Guru:- Gurur brahmaa gurur vishnur gurur
devo maheshwarah, Guru saakshat parambrahma tasmaee
shree gurave namah.

Meaning:- Guru is verily the representative of Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva. He creates, sustains knowledge and destroys the
weeds of ignorance. I salute such a Guru.

Prayer to Lord:- Krshnaaya vasudevaaya devakee nandanaaya
cha; nanda-gopa kumaaraya govindaaya namoh namah.

Meaning:- Salutation again and again to Krishna, Vaasudeva,
Devaki’s darling too, Nandagopa’s son and Govinda.

OTHER BOOKS BY AVINASH AGARWAL

15

When the Warrior
Became the Worrier

16

As Arjuna stood atop his chariot, steered by his trusted friend
and confidant, Krishna, he was feeling excited and confident.
The sounds of war weapons and conch shells, made his blood
pump harder and he couldn’t wait to get out onto the field. He
knew his own strength and capabilities to be above the other
99 percent of the men gathered on the field today. ‘The greatest
archer in the world’ they called him. And they were right!
After all, who could shoot an arrow better than the ‘Jewel of
Bharata’? In fact he was feeling so good, he wanted to march
right up to the enemy ranks and stare them down before the
war officially began!

Feeling smug, he looked out over the horizon, over the
seemingly endless rows of soldiers and leaders standing tall
in eleven uniform battalions. Looking a bit closer, he could
make out familiar faces amongst the commanders, uncles
and grandfathers and well-wishers whom he knew since his
childhood. There was grandfather Bhishma, who was more
than a father to him; and his beloved Guru Dronacharya, who
had taught him everything he knew today. He could make
out the cousins and friends and distant relatives, people with
whom he had spent many joyful and memorable moments.
And he was about to engage them all in war and rain down a
hail of arrows to cut them down.

Suddenly, the reality of what he was about to do, struck him
like a thousand lightning bolts. He was about to go to war
against his own family and kill them. The truth took hold of
him in a vice-like grip and he sank to his knees, horrified at
the prospect of what he was about to do. Never before had
such fear taken control of his mind. His bow Gandiva, fell
from his grasp as he sank further onto the floor of the chariot,
helpless and confused.

17

No, he could not. He could not go to war against his own
kinsmen. After all, those were the people who gave his life
meaning, joy and fulfillment. They were his brothers, his
uncles, his teachers and friends. Was it worth killing them in
the name of war? And for what? A piece of land? No...he no
longer believed it was. And it did not matter that the other side
was going to commit the sin of fratricide regardless of whether
he wanted to or not. For what would be the difference between
the Pandavas and the Kauravs? All that this war would result
in was a kingdom without brothers, uncles, grandfathers,
friends and soldiers of any kind, helpless against the horde of
thieves and looters who wanted to capture it. And thus, he told
Krishna, that he could not shoot an arrow on his own kinsmen.

“Shame on you, O Son of Bharata”, comes the reply from
Krishna.

“How can you call yourself the greatest of warriors? Running
away from the battlefield in the middle of a fight? You have
had enough time to think about the right or the wrong of your
actions and this is not the time to dwell on these matters when
the entire army is expecting you to lead them into the laps of
victory. So, stop this disgraceful behavior, stand up and give
them a fight worthy of a Pandava prince!”

However, Arjuna was not convinced. His doubts continued to
plague him until his mind was a foggy mess. Utterly confused
about what to do, he turned to his trusted friend for help. He
begged Krishna to help him see the right path and made it
clear that until he was convinced by his point of view, he
would not fight. Krishna proceeded to explain to him why
his fear of killing his kin with his own hands was unfounded.

18

Krishna spoke about the eternal nature of the soul or Atman;
the inevitability of death; and when nothing else worked, he put
the fear of dishonor and banishment from heaven after death.
Unfortunately, his words were not having any effect so far. So,
Krishna decided to change tactics. He told Arjuna, “There is
only one trick you need to learn. When you understand it, all
your doubts will disappear and you will be able to live without
worry”. Arjuna’s ears perked up and he looked towards Krishna
with hope in his eyes. “However it will not be the easiest of
things to do. So, listen carefully Partha!”

19

21 Lessons from the
Bhagvad Gita

In the following chapters, we have tried to incorporate the
essence of Mahabharata into 21 lessons.

20

Lesson 1: Do your work without
worrying about the Results (FRUITS)

“You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you
are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider
yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor
be attached to inaction”. (Chapter 2, Verse 47)

Krishna wants Arjuna to get a grip over his confusing and
crippling fear of fratricide. Arjuna had refused to pick up arms
against his own kin and wanted to leave the battlefield. This
wasn’t an act of cowardice, but of extreme bravery. He was
overcome with love and emotions for his extended family,
that he wanted to either beg for morsels of food, or die in the
battlefield, than to be at war with his own kinsmen. Krishna
conveys to Arjuna how his duty as a warrior and as a son of
Pandu, is about performing his actions and his duties, without
concerning himself with the results of those actions. Krishna
here is introducing the concept of “Spiritual consciousness”,
which is characterized by thoughts such as, “God is the owner
and enjoyer of this entire world. I am merely his selfless
servant. I must use all that I have in the service of God”.
Accordingly, Shree Krishna instructs Arjuna not to think of
himself as the enjoyer of the fruits of his actions. Even while
working, give up the pride of doer-ship. Shree Krishna wants
Arjuna to give up “kartritwābhimān”, or the ego of being the
doer. He instructs Arjuna never to chase preconceived motives
attached to his actions nor consider himself as the cause of the
results of his actions.

“The best way for a person to be happy is to do their duty
with the utmost of devotion and without worrying about the
results of that action. Do not think about success or failure,

21

happiness or sadness as thinking about the results distracts you
from the work itself”.

This is an extremely popular verse of Bhagvad Gita. Most
school children in India are familiar with it. It offers an insight
into the proper spirit of work being discussed. The verse gives
certain instructions regarding the idea behind work: Do your
duty, but do not concern yourself with the results. The fruits
of your actions are not for your enjoyment and even while
working, give up the pride of doer-ship.We have the right to do
our duty, but the results are not dependent just upon our efforts.
A number of factors come into play in determining the results of
our actions—our efforts, destiny, the will of God, the efforts of
others etc. If we become anxious for results, we will experience
anxiety whenever they are not according to our expectations.

When I was in the 12th standard in my Physics tuition class, I
gave my Physics book to my tuition teacher. Happy and elated
about the good deed that I had done. On several occasions,
I had even announced the same to the tuition class and to
the teacher himself. One day, the teacher got annoyed over
this, he called me after class and said, “Here! Take your book
back. Repeating the good deed so many times negates the
effect of it!” His words touched my heart and I vowed to
change my ways. Many times we keep on singing self praise
about what we have done for others and we want repeated
acknowledgement and appreciation of the same, This isn’t a
good practice. We all have heard the quote, “Neki kar dariya
me daal!”. The quote stands the test of time and rings true
even today.

So, Shree Krishna advises Arjuna to give up concern for the
results and instead focus solely on doing a good job. The fact

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is that when we are unconcerned about the results, we are able
to focus entirely on our efforts, and the results are even better
than we had expected.

Stress develops when we are attached to a particular outcome
and worried that things may not turn out as we desire.

As I am a mentor, I coach many students of all ages and one
student came to me particularly and said, ‘Sir, I have my board
exams of Class 10th in three months, and it is stressing me
out’.

I asked him, ‘Are you experiencing stress because of the
intense study that you are doing?’

He responded, ‘Yes’.

‘Think again.’ I explained to him, ‘It is not the studies that
are the cause of your anxiety. You are attached to a particular
outcome. And that is what is harassing you mentally. When
you attempt a test in the tuition centre, you study equally hard
for it, but do not feel any tension. That is because you know
the outcome is of little consequence. While appearing for a
test whose marks are not going to be counted in finals, you
are not stressed. Every year I see many students who are SAD
(Stressed, Anxious and Depressed) because of exam tension
and pressure. But in the case of the Board exam, you have
become emotionally invested in the outcome, which is the
cause of your stress’.

People often ask me, ‘Sir, you work twelve hours a day, for
365 days a year. You interact with thousands of students and
manage various programmes; yet, we never see you stressed.’
Well, the reason is, that while working hard and trying my
best, I leave the results in the hands of God. Since I am not

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attached to outcomes, it enables me to stay stress-free. I enjoy
the process of hard work that goes behind my work. Every
evening, I eagerly wait for the morning, so that I can go to
office and do the work I love so much. I don’t worry about the
results. I just enjoy the journey so much that, at times, that I
forget about the destination.

In conclusion, what stresses us is not hard work but attachment
to the results.

A perfect example of doing action without expecting any
results, is that of 2021 Padma Shri winner Tulasi Gowda, a
72-year-old tribal woman from Karnataka. She won the award
for her contribution towards protection of our environment.
Gowda belongs to the Halakki indigenous tribe in Karnataka.
She grew up in a poor and disadvantaged family. She never
received a formal education, and yet, today she is known as
the ‘Encyclopaedia of the Forest’. This is because of her vast
knowledge of diverse species of plants and herbs.

Since the age of 12, she has planted and nurtured thousands
of trees. She has planted forests to conserve nature, without
expecting any formal recognition or awards. Her immense
dedication to save the environment motivated her actions.

Another inspiring story is that of Mother Teresa (1910-1997).
A Roman Catholic nun, who devoted her life to serving the
poor and destitute around the world. She spent many years
in Calcutta, India where she founded the Missionaries of
Charity, a religious congregation devoted to helping those in
great need. Her pure hearted intentions to serve the poor and
outcaste has inspired many to come forward and do the same.
Her life of selfless devotion has been a revelation to many.

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Student Takeaways:-
‘‘ Students most often than not, study to get good results. The

equation inside their minds is, hard work brings good results
and thus they should work hard, not because studying is
their duty as a student, but because they care more about
the fruits of the labour.

‘‘ The amount of labour to be invested in is calculated on
the basis of amount of fruit required and needed. All their
hard work is then invested in worrying about the end result,
rather than the actual hard work. Utilization of this wasted
energy into putting more work, will yield better results.

‘‘ One of the key differences between Toppers and Average
students is that Toppers work on Roots whereas Average
students are always worried about FRUITS.

‘‘ The toppers follow this interesting concept of BDH model
that differs from DHB that is followed by the average
students. DHB is Do-Have-Be concept, which means Do
the Work, Have results and Be Happy. Here the student’s
happiness depends on the result that comes in the end.
This approach produces a lot of stress as you are chasing
the end goal. The more successful model is BDH. Be-Do-
Have concept which on the contrary says Be Happy, Do the
work and Have the results; and works the best for academic
success. Being Happy boosts your work productivity and
end results. Focus on the journey, not the end results!

Point to Ponder:- You can make a list of actions you did
in the past week without expecting any results, and see for
yourself what you need to do in your path of righteousness.
Fun fact:- This shloka is perhaps the whole essence of The
Gita! If you think about it, the whole book revolves around
the same message. Pretty interesting?