What cricket can teach us about karma yoga
Swami Vivekananda famously said, "You will be nearer to heaven through football than through the study of the Gita." Of course, he doesn't mean to say that one should not read the Gita but rather suggests that instead of blindly reading a text, playing a game is so much better to experience bliss.
Cricket is a sport that has become the very lifeline of our country. What makes it better or more attractive than, say football or tennis, I don't know. But what I do know is that one can learn a lot about karma yoga from this popular sport. One of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism is that of karma yoga. To break it down, let's say that karma yoga has three basic parts:
1. Work hard
"Work hard and seek to live a hundred years!" - Isha Upanishad 2
I can't think of a cricketer who didn't work hard to reach the level he has reached. One might define success in many ways - maximum runs scored, best bowling strike rate, highest impact on the game, maximum number of catches, or the classiest strokes - but at the core of it all is hard work. Any kind of work, however humble, leads to reward but laziness and empty talk leads nowhere. Some of the greatest talents never made it to the top because they didn't back their innate talent with persistent hard work. This constant striving of body and mind leads to sustained happiness. After all, the joy of winning a match after a strong fight is much more than the joy of winning a match by Duckworth-Lewis.
2. Focus on the work, not on the result
"The wise are unattached to rewards, so they're always satisfied." - Bhagavad Gita 4.20
Krishna's celebrated dictum "karmani eva adhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana" basically means: "you can control only your actions but cannot control the result." A batsman cannot say that he will face a delivery only if he is sure of hitting the ball out of the park. A bowler cannot say that he will bowl a ball only if he is sure of getting a wicket. But surely they can say that they will give it their best shot. And even that does not guarantee success. The bowler might be excellent but the fielders may not be up to the mark (Wahab Riaz-Shane Watson being a case in point.) The batsman might be one of the finest but he can do little if the wickets are falling at the other end (Richie Richardson in the 1996 World Cup semis, for example). Focusing on the task at hand ensures that all our cognitive energies are directed at what is most important. Even a small distraction in thinking about the possible result may harm the execution of the task at hand.
3. Work because you like the work not because you expect a reward
"Your work shouldn't be motivated by the expected results." - Bhagavad Gita 2.47
It is possible that you lose a match in spite of brilliant batting, economical bowling and splendid fielding. You put all the effort you could and yet could not come out victorious. When you know that failure is a possibility, what motivates you to play? What keeps you going in the face of imminent doom? It is the love for the game.
Thousands of children in India play cricket on the streets and in their backyards - who keeps counts of the runs scored or the wickets taken? They play it because it's fun. They play all day, unconcerned about insults, injuries, or losses. When the process is something you enjoy, the result (and everything else) becomes incidental.
A corollary to the aspect of doing what you love is doing what is in line with your natural abilities. This is what the Gita calls "svadharma". When what you are good at and what you love come together, then one is detached from an end result. There is so much joy in the very act that no external, material reward really matters. However, if you pursue something just because it's glamorous and not because you care for it, then even a small failure will put you on the back foot.
Krishna gives us a simple equation in the Gita (18.13-15) to understand the nature of an action and its outcome. He says that there are five factors that determine the outcome of an action: the situation, the person, the tools available, the way in which s/he uses tools, and unknown forces. Whatever a person does, the same five factors determine the result. Given two different situations, the same person with the same tools and same skill-set will behave differently. Given a particular situation, two different people with the same tools and skill-set will behave differently. And after you've considered all the permutations and combinations, there is still the unknown element - call it luck or destiny or change in entropy - which affects the result in ways beyond our imagination.
Once we understand this, we realise that it's pointless worrying about something we can't control. At the same time, we strive to better ourselves at the things that we can control. Then we will truly focus on work without fear of failure or greed for success. True cricket is not played against the opponents or against the ground; it is not a game of victory and defeat; it is not a war that is waged. It is a game that you play for yourself, with yourself, and against yourself because in the end, all you can do is play.