Is selfness concept in Gita is aplicable in Kaliyug ? Yes/No

Question

In Gita its said that u should become selflessness and statement is given below

“Through selfless service, you will always be fruitful and find the fulfillment of your desires”

― Bhagavad Gita

I thinks selflessness concept in Gita is not applicable in Kaliyuga..

Because if we become selfless we will become poor and poor

Suppose u have a-lot of money and u donate to all needy people , then u will have nothing

suppose u help other then ur time will be wasted and u will ruin own life because time is money

In carrer also , suppose if u r preparing for civil service exam ( UPSC exam) , u have to very selfish and selfish then only u become topper .

Suppose u are selflessness person and u are helping other by giving some knowledge to needy aspirant of UPSC candidate , then u r wasting ur own time and u will not qualify even civil service exam

So we have to think only about self.Then only we become successful person.If we think about other then we will not become successful.

Answer 1

Yes, it applies even in Kali yuga. We have to remember, however, that nishkama karma is an yoga and most probably cannot be practiced by an ordinary person.

If you are attached to the result of your Karma, then you will get easily discouraged if you do not attain your goal. If you attain success then there is of course no problem! All philosophy is about failure.

You are asking about the practicality of nishkama Karma which is part of Karma Yoga. A person practices Karma Yoga when his work benefits other people and the work is done without caring about the result or name, fame, promotion, wealth etc. This type of work is called nishkama karma. Nishkama Karma is not about the ordinary karma like professional work done by us. The idea behind nishkama karma is that God dwelling in the other person is giving us a chance to serve God and thus help ourselves. Whether the other person is helped will depend on God.

Does detachment from results mean we should not plan at all to get good results when performing karma ? Should we not focus on efficiency of work because we do not care about results ?

You should of course plan to the best of your ability. You also should focus on efficiency of work. You should, however, always remember that it is hubris to think that one human can help another human.

Only Ishvara can help

Therefore, O dear one! Give up your infatuation born of ignorance, which makes you feel worried, thinking – how will these helpless people get without me? To think that one can save or protect another while one’s own body, subject to the power of time, karma and Guna, is decaying, is like a person in the grip of a python thinking of saving another.

Srimad Bhagavata Purana I.13.44-45

An example of nishkama karma is the Sun. I am posting a poem by Hafiz, the 13th century Persian poet, that captures the essence of Karma Yoga.

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says to the earth,

"You owe

Me"

Look

what happens With a love like that,

It lights the

Whole Sky.

The Gift, Poems of Hafiz, The Great Sufi Master, translated by Daniel Ladinsky.

The sun does not care what man does with the energy of the sun that makes life possible on earth. The sun just keeps on pouring energy. It doesn't matter what field you are in. If you can help even one person without caring about the result of your help then you are doing Karma Yoga.

It is not possible to do karma Yoga in a job setting. You will most likely get fired if you are unattached to the result of your work. Karma Yoga is after all a Yoga and unattached work can only be done as part of divine work.

A householder will find it difficult to do nishkama karma. He will hanker after the fruits of his work. He will certainly lose motivation if he doesn't have the expectation of good things of life and if his effort fails. It takes a great deal of effort to work with passion and yet remain detached from all expectations. Most persons only do karma. Only spiritual seekers try to do karma Yoga. There is no doubt that Karma Yoga is very hard.

Answer 2

In this question Jasmine is looking for a yes or no answer. My answer is YES. The philosophy/science of Gita is timeless or it is permanent and is not limited by place or time. This is why even after its first narration some thousands of years back, it guides people to a better or meaning full life. कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि।।2.47।। ….meaning… Thy right is to work only, but never with its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction. Action to which any desire is attached causes complications in life (and also in the next incarnation, if one believes in it). As Jasmine has expressed further in her question, all the affinity toward action is selfish, which is the root cause of evils in our world. We are not alone in this universe. We are a part of the great continuum which surrounds us in both living and non-living forms. One needs to develop this sense of all inclusiveness to eliminate the misery from our existence.