Attachment to "fruits" - Trying to control outcomes

“You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.

Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.”

Bhagavad Gita (2: 47)

It’s not about the fruits of your actions.

What exactly does this mean?

Ancient Vedic philosophies repeatedly remind us to focus on the journey (“action”) and not end results ("fruit").  As part of spiritual growth, we are told to focus on putting effort into something and letting go of how it turns out.

Why?

When we try to control an outcome, we inevitably put pressure on ourselves, other people, places and things. This disturbs balance and contributes to stress and suffering. For example, have you have been on the receiving end of a micromanager? Definitely some pitta excess showing up.

Falling out of trust.

Trying to control an outcome, means we step out of trust. It also means we are acting from a place of fear. Of course we can have preferences about the way something occurs. We want to focus our energies in a certain direction, hopefully one that supports the greater good. But we feed only suffering in ourselves and the space around us by trying to control how it turns out. Additionally, when we seek to control outcomes we prevent the natural course of things to take place. 

For example: a teenager doing exams. The parent wants them to have the best results to step forward in their next stage of education and life. By micromanaging or getting stressed about their study – the parent is indirectly telling them “I do not trust you do well”, “I do not trust that you can take care of this”. At a subconscious level an impression is created in the teen: “I am not capable of doing this myself”. I therefore don’t want to do this. It is the same with partners, family, work colleges, neighbours, etc.

Thy will not my will.

The more we attach to how it turns out, the less space we give for natural outcomes to occur. Potentially something that could be even more beneficial in the long run than we initially imagined.

Affirmation to let go of control:

I trust the process of life.

I trust that everything is unfolding as it should.

I trust that I am all beings in my life are exactly where we are meant to be at this point in time.

Vedic mantra:

Tat tvam asi

Meaning- “That you are”. I don’t need to control things because they are already part of me.

I am all things, not just this body. It’s a reminder we are connected to a universal intelligence. Yoga and Ayurveda are ways we can remember this and find the natural rhythm of things inside and outside. This will bring the greatest ease and flow through the day and life.