Profit Motive-Part I

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, August 27, 2009, 12:05

Today man, in our material world everywhere, is propelled into activities, under the low, base motive of making profits. It has become so rampant that to question it has in itself become queerl Nobody wants to work for the pleasure of doing the job - the motive of modern man is not Karma-siddhi. but merely Dhana-siddhi. Yet. he all the time craves for peace and joy in his life.

Profit-motivated activities are always result-oriented. Result of an action can come only later in the future, after the work has been accomplished. If an immature person starts worrying about the profit,the result of his actions, he will be bringing an exhausted, weary. fatigued mind to deal with his present action. Naturally, the action performed will become weak, slip-shod and lacking in his application of his full mental dynamism. Such weak actions producing incompetent work should never expect a glorious success or profit.

Thus profit-motive is indeed a self-defeating work-style. Its suicidal. Profit motive cramps managerial style and harbours bad business ethics. Even accepted principles get sacrificed for some immediate success or quick profit.

Then what motivates man to undertake, pursue, heroically face all obstacles enroute and finally achieve what he sets out to win or gain?

The Rishis have classified the human motives in all great undertakings roughly under six heads. These are even today true. Let us examine them one by one. They are :

1. Achievement of a motivating factor.

2. Problems can often motivate.

3. Excellence becomes motivation for some.

4. Doing good to others often happens as a motivation fora few.

5. Spectacular results and consequent recognition can motivate; and 6. The work can itself be its own motivation.

When achievement is the motivation, the vigour with which you function flags, the moment one achieves what one had set himself to gain. Once problems are solved there is a dull despair. So are the excellence and doing good to others, or even results and recognition in the organization. These are motivating forces that can fizzle out at one time or the other; these motivating forces dry up in time.

"But", says the great subjective scientists, the Rishis. "if one works discovering a powerful motivation in the very work undertaken. The inspired enthusiasm is steady, undying, and therefore, the excellence of the accomplishment gained becomes permanent and undiminishing. It can constantly inspire us to conceive greater and greater undertakings, and in joyful efforts fulfill them all.

It is in this mood all our Saints and Sages, all Prophets, worked. Even ordinary people make stupendous achievements in Arts and Science, and had scored a mark in human history - by impossible-looking tasks accomplished in their short life.

About the author

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Chinmayananda the great master's lectures were an outpour of wisdom. He introduced the Geetha Gnana Yagna. He wrote a lot of books on spirituality, commentaries to Vedantic texts, children books etc. He then started spreading His teachings globally.....