Nishkama karma

[Guest guest]

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.

 

Nishkama karma – a short story from the life of Sri Ramana: Sri

Ramana's life was a saga of nishkama karma. Padma Bhushan awardee

Professor K. Swaminathan, Professor of English, Presidency College,

Madras, and an ardent devotee of Sri Ramana records the following

anecdote: Once Rangachari, a Telugu teacher in a Vellore college,

asked Maharshi to explain nishkama karma (desireless action). There

was no reply. After a time, Maharshi went up the hill followed by a

few devotees and Rangachari. There was a thick, strong, thorny

branch lying on the way, which Maharshi picked up and began working

on. The spikes were cut off, the knots made smooth and the surface

polished with a rough leaf. Hours of hard and careful work resulted

in a nice stick that Maharshi presented to a passing shepherd boy who

appeared dejected because he had lost his stick. Rangachari

confessed that he had learnt a new lesson in the art of teaching, for

this silent practical demonstration was the Sage's perfect answer to

his earnest question.