Where Is The God ? Part IV (Efforts Not Being Rewarded)

In the holy book, “Gita” there is a saying, “One should only do the work, & should not crave for the results.” As results are often are not in our control. Thus, the easiest way for peaceful living is to detach from the results & attach to the processes. But, it is easier to say than to be done. Doing without asking anything in return is the most paradoxical thing one comes across in life, as the first thought of carrying out any action is the results linked to the action. In a world, where the rewards are related to happiness. How is it possible for a human being to detach from rewards?. In the end, we are just living beings & social animals. For us, one of our greatest accomplishments is being remembered by other fellow human beings. As being recognized gives a godly feeling for at least some minutes. For this, we put results above the process & eventually link our happiness with the results.

How often we have seen people working hard as day labor; who spends 8-10 hours (in India) in toiling heat & humid conditions without any safety harness & in return earns a meager salary of Rs 500 per day. Whereas on the other hand, one person who is working for 4-5 hours is earning in lakhs. Obviously, there is a different set of skills that each person owns that he can leverage to get where he or she is. Yet, in terms of absolute efforts, the rewards are entirely different. How would that person feel, who is working as hard as the person sitting on the laptop but is getting significantly low rewards?. So, are the efforts being rewarded fairly?. Many so-called “Successful” individuals, look down on people who are not by saying that they are not working hard or smart enough. But, they merely forget, that an event of randomness allows them to leap one step ahead compared to their peers. The same concept is in the book, “Fooled By Randomness”. Yet, some feel they are smart enough, hard-working enough, tough enough to beat the competition.


Efforts are subjective & the most essential part of rewards. Donkey toil every day & is probably the most hard-working animal in the food chain. On the other hand, Lion only gets up to hunt & spends the rest of the time relaxing & reproducing. Donkey is treated as abuse, while Lion is the king of Jungle. There is a significant difference in the efforts of both. Yet, one is treated entirely differently from the other. So, how can one say that effort gives you desired results. Although, not doing any work will surely fail you. So efforts are necessary to get to your destination without any second thoughts. But, is the efforts worth the result are entirely different.

A person toiling day in & day out for something extra or some rewards often faces the humiliation & pain of getting rejected daily. After getting rejected hundreds of times, the pain of rejection somewhat subsides & the feeling of hatred, agony, anger takes over the mind. Why the person’s hard work is not rewarded with the desired results? Not getting desired results often robs people of happiness & gives wind to sadness. People who have gone through such phases can vouch for the same. Is God being fair for not treating efforts with rewards? & make them wonder if there is God for real or not?

As per Hindu rituals, nobody gets more than the written & before the time. Maybe this is true & is the reason Lord Krishna said, “Just do work & forget about the results.” As seeking results will make you restless & often anxious & will make you mean. If one focuses on just working irrespective of the results, it will make one calmer & peaceful. The ultimate destiny that we pursue. An efficient way to live life; a life fruitful & less miserable. We suffer because of our desires & the desires arise because of our attraction towards the results. A painful journey that we all need to go through. The best way would be to commence the journey & let the action take its own course. Because, “We feel we are in control of the situations & can determine the results, but we are just pawns in the greater scheme of things.