ARGUMENTS AGAINST DOING ONE’S DUTY
Hansaji Yogendra
Can we believe that carrying on one's allotted duty can really bring us all that we want? In fact, then our fear is that someone will take advantage of us if we just remained immersed in our duty. The standard argument is that even if we do our duties, others are not going to do theirs.
Sometimes we want to know what is our duty. Even more we insist on having a say in allocation of duties. We would insist on who should do what. Only if things are all nicely arranged, we would plunge whole-heartedly in our duties.
Many also feel that they need not pour out their heart into their work. Much work gets done with just superficial attention. In fact, this has become into a routine attitude with many. They are hardly in what they do. "Ninety per cent of my actor is not present in front of my camera," bemoans a great Indian Film Producer. "The actor is either lost in the past or is dreaming about the future."
Now what is happening is that because of not creating a sense of duty, one gets into a habit of doing things slipshod and with poor concentration. In the end, we hurt ourselves only by not generating a sense of duty. We remain unrelated to our environment, feel lonely and lack belongingness.
There is no joy of eating your food-cooked so lovingly by your family member if you are just gulping it down talking and giving yourself to anger while eating. It is we who have to instill joy and meaning into what we are doing. As the great Visvesvaraya said "If a thing is worth doing it is worth doing well."