Dr. Robert Svoboda shares teachings from the Bhagavad Gita that explore the role of karma in our life’s path.
The Dream of the Creator
Even Brahma, the creator himself, does not know what the results will be as he is dreaming up his creation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that it is a fault to spend time worrying what the results of an action will be. He tells Brahma that instead he should be focused on effectively fulfilling his role– being the creator. It seems that Dr. Svobada is pointing out that as we live our karma and fulfill our duties in life, we can not be focused on the results. We can not expect anything besides to perform our karmic duties, because grasping onto results takes our mind and energy away from the task at hand.
“We’re creating karmas, and those karmas are creating for us our future, and they are creating for us not only our future in this lifetime, but our future in our next incarnations.” —Dr. Robert Svoboda
The Impossibility of Guessing Results (9:30)
No result is guaranteed in life, there are too many variables. Expecting to enjoy a positive result of performing an action blurs one’s karmic intention to simply do the action. Sometimes, you may do the work and someone else may enjoy the results. Dr. Svoboda says that this may be just what is necessary. It could be healing the bondage of karmic debt, as long as you don’t harp on the fact that you aren’t getting to enjoy the fruit of your action.
Tune into Ep. 376 of MindRolling to hear more about karma: The Karma of the Moment w/ Dr. Robert Svoboda and Noah Markus
Offer It All To God (17:38)
Rather than spending your time identifying yourself as the doer of tasks, feeling pride in your actions, or engaging in negative self-talk about the action, it is best to offer your work to God. Dr. Svoboda tells us that it is always better to keep God on our lips. We can do this by chanting or by simply repeating God’s name. If you struggle with letting go of over-identifying as the doer of your performance, another tip is to ask God to act through you.
“God will come in a very small voice, but it will be a very clear voice. It will be a very penetrating and profound voice. And that is the voice you should be listening to.” — Dr. Robert Svoboda
Inaction (21:16)
We can not avoid our karma by not taking action. Dr. Svoboda says that no matter what, we are a part of the reality in this world and we can not escape from acting. We need to face our karma, not identify with it, and not attach ourselves to the results. Like Krishna instructs Brahma in the Bhagavad Gita, we must dedicate our deeds to God and fulfill our karma. Good things will automatically follow from this without us having to focus on the result. If we shift into process thinking versus outcome thinking, we will live a more peaceful and productive life.
“You do not need to worry about outcomes if you know what it is you need to do…you’re not focusing on the outcome you’re focusing just on putting one foot in front of the other, and actively doing what you need to do in order to keep moving forward and to create a momentum of doing everything that you do effectively.” —Dr. Robert Svoboda