Selfless service to others is the yoga of moral endeavor. It brings about union of human being with divine. Work is done as worship to the divine in human beings who is also all pervading in the universe. Selfless service is a life of intense activity and serenity without selfish impulses.
Why selfless service?
- For one’s own salvation and personal growth.
- For the good of the world.
The joy of action is the inner joy of selfless service which helps him to rise above the little individual self by serving and respecting the divine in all beings, seeing his own self in all living souls. The inner joy and the deeper sense of fulfillment, according to Indian ethos is the highest bliss and the goal of life as well as the motivating force.
Gita evolves the moral and ethical theory of human conduct and expounds the art of living the doctrine of duty with discipline and devotion without attachment to work and agency (egoistic pride) and/or its results (fruits of work). One should do duty without ego and without any calculations of gain or loss. To work only we have the right but no rights to the fruits of the work. Let not the fruits of action motivate one. Let not the fruits divert one’s concentration on work. One should pour heart and soul in the performance of assigned duty.
Similarly, one should not attach himself to inaction also. One have no control over future so one should not waste the precious present in useless dreams of future hopes and fears of present actions. One should do his best and actively live every moment of the present with the firm belief that future shall take care of itself. One should concentrate his attention on his present job. Selfless work (karma yoga) is a golden means. It preserves the spirit of renunciation without abandoning activity.
Gita emphases that swadharma should be carried on for the general welfare of society and as a worship of divine. This call to work in the true yajna spirit is an exhortation to support and actively co-operate in the divine’s evolutionary design and to live with the mother earth, safeguarding her grand ecological balance.
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