Bhagavad Gita

An ancient Hindu scripture in the form of a conversation between the warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna the night before a battle. Arjuna laments that doing his duty as a warrior will just lead to more death, suffering, and retaliation. Krishna argues that what matters is to do the right thing, no matter the immediate consequences:

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of the work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established in himself–without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. (per Avdi Grimm)

While Krishna appears to advocate an extreme form of deontological ethics—to do one’s duty above all else—it matters that one’s duty is aligned with the good. Arjuna’s cause is righteous, and to avoid the battle and all it entails could lead to even worse consequences that fighting it.

T.S. Eliot echoes the idea that “you have the right to work, but never to the fruit of the work”:

For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business. (T.S. Eliot)

Further Reading

• the Bhagavad Gita on the Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy with a focus on the philosophical arguments
• Alan Watts and Ram Dass on the Bhagavad Gita
• background on Wikipedia