IA Participant: Dear Swamiji, in Bhagavadgita chapter 5 verse 11 and Chapter 5 verse 12, the sacred secret is – ‘Constantly perform responsible intense action with no clinging to the reward of performance.’ My question is – I typically prioritise my business tasks by revenue; the higher the revenue, the higher the priority of the task. Is this verse 11 and 12 of chapter 5 applicable in the planning, execution, or both phases. Please clarify. Thank you, Swamiji.

Swamiji: Please understand, you doing the business tasks by the revenue, higher the revenue, higher the priority is perfect. Nothing wrong. But when you start calculating your whole life just based on the money or the revenue, that is where something is seriously wrong. At some points you may have to perform many actions which does not bring direct revenue but which brings fulfillment. For example, all the actions in your relationship, family; you may have to get a toy and give it to your child, you may have to give a smile to your spouse, you may have to give a hug to your friend,  don’t lose those dimensions.

Unfortunately if you put everything in the revenue sheet; toy is not a revenue, it is only an expense, a smile is not going to give you revenue, those things only I am saying, even when you need to do something which is related to your relationship which does not bring revenue, be responsible for it, be total in it. Otherwise you performing your actions, based on higher the revenue, higher the priority of task, perfect. Forget about you, even I perform like that only. That is the way life happens. That is the way life is. But you will see in me the same totality, and intensity when I perform all the actions which are not related to revenue, which are related to seva / service. When I conduct a medical camp or when I conduct some satsang or the mass programs, annadhan or any other social activities, social service activities which are no way related to revenue, you will see the same intensity in me. The prioritization may happen based on the revenue but the smile cannot happen based on the revenue.

See, after prioritizing when you start working, then forget about everything. It should be a complete total being.  You prioritizing, see.. if you are not prioritizing based on revenue you can be a complete fool. I have seen.. I have seen penny wise pound foolish fellows. They will save few pennies and lose not just pounds, millions of pounds.

In planning, do prioritize based on the revenue but when you execute forget about the revenue. Be total. Complete. Even planning as per revenue has to be done responsibly, intensely. When you execute perform intensely without bothering about the reward. See.. when I plan, I plan this, this, this, this, this. When I execute even if the reward does not come, I don’t bother. I go ahead, execute. Do it. Over.

In planning, do responsibly. In execution do responsibly without clinging to the reward of performance.