Action and Intention

Dearest Swami, I pray that you be by my side and guide me all through.
Respected teachers and all my dear brothers, Sairam.

The foyer talk coordinators were approaching me from quite some time saying, “Brother, here’s an opportunity waiting for you. Why don’t you grab it?” I had absolutely nothing in my mind which I think I could share with you all. Initially I managed to run away but when I found they were not going to give it up, I started asking myself, “Why do I need to stand here and speak at all? Is it not enough if I sit down there as an audience?” Then I started looking for the answer to my question. But, before I had realized, if not the answer for the question bothering me, I had already found the topic for my talk today. So, my topic for the day is Action and Intention.

Let me start by posing this — probably the most confusing question ever, yet one which needs to be answered by each and every one of us at each step of our life. The question is: What is good and what is bad? It’s the question we need to ask ourselves every day so that we can segregate them, accept the good and reject the bad. But sometimes it gets tougher when the same thing becomes good at times and bad at other times. In such moments, how do we know whether something is good or bad?

Let us analyze this question with the help of a few examples. A soldier kills and so does a murderer. But a soldier is conferred the most prestigious awards for killing his enemy. Even if he happens to lose his life during combat, his mortal remains will be covered with the national flag. On the other hand, a murderer is caught and thrown into prison for his act. As an award, he receives the punishment of death. If he dies in the process of killing, he is not sure even of getting an ordinary coffin to cover his mortal remains. What is it that makes the seemingly same action so vastly different?

Let us go a bit deeper. All of us firmly believe that Krishna was the incarnation of the Supreme Himself. Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, had maintained that he would never speak a lie in any form, at any situation, ever. Then why is it that Krishna, the Lord, had to ask Yudhisthira — the embodiment of truth — to tell a lie, which is considered to be the greatest of sins, and whose consequences Yudhisthira anyway had to face later?

I think the answer to these questions is quite plain and simple. The intention behind an action matters as much as the action itself — maybe, even more. It is the intention behind the action that makes a seemingly undesirable action meritorious, and a seemingly virtuous action hollow. In fact, it is intention that defines and gives meaning to an action.

Let us now see what our beloved Lord has in store for this topic. For Bhagavan, nothing else mattered more than the intention behind an action. Illustrating how intention gives different meaning and value to the same action, Swami says:

“You can clap your hands to keep in tune with the bhajans; you can also clap your hands to swat mosquitoes. A patient is forced to fast because of the illness that is afflicting him, but a devotee fasts with the purpose of penitence. Which action gives merit, which action does not?”

Nothing else could please our dear Lord more than an action done with good intention. This He has demonstrated probably a million times over. I will mention here two of those demonstrations.

For one convocation ceremony of our Institute, the late President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, was the chief guest. During the interval between the morning proceedings of the convocation and the convocation drama in the evening, there was a heavy downpour. Bhagavan sent word to the chief guest saying, “Since it is raining, you may choose not to come — it is all right.” But Bhagavan would not miss the drama at any cost. Knowing this, and being an ardent devotee of Bhagavan, the President followed Him to Mandir. In the car, he asked Swami, “Bhagavan, why are you choosing to go even when it is raining?” The ever-loving Lord replied:

“For the last twenty days my boys have been struggling — giving up their food, giving up their sleep — with the sole intention to make me happy, with the sole intention of getting one word out of my mouth: ‘Chaala Bagundi.’ When they have worked so hard for me, how can I let them down? Rain or no rain, I am going.”

Another incident shows how similar actions with different intentions were rewarded differently. The Chennai Water Project was in full swing and there were many people who wanted to help Swami by contributing to this historic undertaking. But the intention behind their contributions varied greatly. One day, one such willing contributor — a wealthy man — was sitting in the Mandir with an envelope containing a cheque worth ₹1,00,000 (one lakh rupees). Swami came for darshan, passed by him without even casting a glance, and went straight to a small boy who held a similar envelope. Swami received the boy’s envelope and blessed him profusely. Later it was found that the envelope contained a single currency note of ₹100.

What made Swami receive a small sum of ₹100 and ignore quite a huge sum of ₹1,00,000? It was the intention behind the contribution. The rich man knew that Swami needed money for the project — which he had — and expected his contribution to be received warmly and his generosity to be recognized. But the little boy was different. He had earned that amount with great effort and wanted to give it to Swami out of sheer love. Who, other than Swami, could understand the innermost intention behind each action?

I would like to illustrate further how different people give different meaning to the same action — even when they are doing it together in the same setting — using a story compiled by Paulo Coelho. It is told about events immediately after the bombing of Dresden. A man was walking past a plot of land covered in rubble when he saw three workmen.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

The first workman turned round and said: “Can’t you see? I’m shifting these stones!”

“Can’t you see? I’m earning a wage!” said the second workman.

“Can’t you see?” said the third workman. “I’m rebuilding the cathedral.”

Although those three workmen were all engaged on the same task, only one had a sense of the real meaning of his work — and his life.

Now, having understood the importance of intention in shaping our actions, we can begin to cultivate right intention behind every action we undertake. Be it a routine task or something we are doing for the first time, it can be elevated by refining the intention behind it.

I would like to close with a prayer written by Paulo Coelho — one I found quite different from any prayer I had come across before, for its straightforwardness. I request all of you to join me as I read it:

Lord, protect our doubts, because Doubt is a way of praying. It is Doubt that makes us grow because it forces us to look fearlessly at the many answers that exist to one question. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our decisions, because making Decisions is a way of praying. Give us the courage, after our doubts, to be able to choose between one road and another. May our YES always be a YES and our NO always be a NO. Once we have chosen our road, may we never look back, nor allow our soul to be eaten away by remorse. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our actions, because Action is a way of praying. May our daily bread be the result of the very best that we carry within us. May we, through Action, share a little of the love we receive. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect our dreams, because to Dream is a way of praying. Make sure that, regardless of our age or our circumstances, we are capable of keeping alight in our heart the sacred flame of hope and perseverance. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, give us enthusiasm, because Enthusiasm is a way of praying. It is what binds us to the Heavens and to Earth, to grown-ups and to children; it is what tells us that our desires are important and deserve our best efforts. It is Enthusiasm that reaffirms to us that everything is possible, as long as we are totally committed to what we are doing. And in order for this to be possible…

Lord, protect us, because Life is the only way we have of making manifest your miracle. May the earth continue to transform seeds into wheat, may we continue to transmute wheat into bread. And this is only possible if we have love; therefore, do not leave us in solitude. Always give us your company, and the company of men and women who have doubts, who act and dream and feel enthusiasm, and who live each day as if it were totally dedicated to your glory.

Amen.