“ How to Motivate Yourself ”

Practical Management Lessons From

The Bhagavad-Gita
 OUTLINE
•What is Motivation?
•Common Causes and Their Shortcomings
•Ideal Motivation
•Influence of Conditioning
•Unconditioned Motivation
•Entities of Action
•Changeless Core
•The Perfect Example
 WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
• A desire to act
•For satisfaction

• What is strong motivation ?

•Intense and Stable desire to act
•Self-driven

•Not Influenced by external conditions

•Association
•Mental States
•Incentives
•Life Events

• Where does strong motivation come from ?

 COMMON CAUSES

•Maslow’s analysis, “Hierarchy of needs”

•Security
•Wealth
•Esteem
•Self-Actualization
•Is Self-Actualization enough ?
Stephen Hawking **
•No guarantee of all-round success
•No guarantee of complete satisfaction
** Read a recent news article about the abuse he suffered from a former nurse
 IDEAL MOTIVATION

• A Natural Act uninfluenced by external conditions and

results and done despite self-satisfaction
• No perfect example in this world, but a few good examples
•Act done as a matter of duty
• Belief system
•Act done as loving service
• Mother serving child
•Act done spontaneously as a sport
•Is there a perfect example ?
We will come back to this at the end of this presentation!!!,
Now what influences our actions??
 INFLUENCE OF CONDITIONING

• Conditioning
• “We think What we see is What is”
• Conditioning influences perception
• Perception Affects Desires
• Desire influences motivation

“Material nature consists of the three modes--goodness,

passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in
contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes.”
- Bhagavad-Gita- 14.5

Based on how we are affected by the modes, we act in certain ways; For example, a
person in ignorance is lazy, intoxicated etc.,; See 14th chapter of the Gita for a more
detailed explanation on the symptoms of the three modes
 UNCONDITIONED MOTIVATION

• What is unconditioned state ?

• Perceive reality as it is
• Act with pure love
• Complete satisfaction at all stages of action
GUARANTEED!!!
• How to remove conditioning ?
Before we answer this question, we need to understand what are the different
unseen entities that influence our actions!
 ENTITIES OF ACTION

Desires Material Krishna/God

Pleasures; Wants to
Enjoy Separately Untouched
from God
Provides for Creates
the desires
Performs an act, suffers
reactions, thinks himself
Jiva/Soul their cause!!
World/Maya/Mat
- erial Nature
Binds the soul - Suffers birth,
death, old age and disease

Is there a way out from this

bondage/conditioning?
 ENTITIES OF ACTION

Krishna
Aligns with
Krishna’s will
Untouched

Reciprocates Creates

Sacrifices Results
Jivatma to Krishna
World
No Reactions

Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krsna

and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With
your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed
on Me, you will attain Me without doubt. – Bhagavad-Gita, 8.7

SOLUTION: PRACTICE YOGA!!!

 CHANGELESS CORE BASED ON ETERNAL
PRINCIPLES – Key to Strong Motivation
SECURITY

Changeless POWER
WISDOM
Core

GUIDANCE
In order to develop a strong motivation, one’s life should be based on a CORE of eternal
principles/values; What are these eternal principles?? Let’s look at the Gita…
 ETERNAL TRUTHS
avinasi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayasyasya
na kascit kartum arhati
Know that which pervades the entire body is
indestructible. No one is able to destroy the
imperishable soul. - Bhagavad-Gita 2.17

antavanta ime deha

nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino 'prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata
Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal
living entity is subject to destruction; therefore, fight, O descendant of
Bharata. – Bhagavad-Gita 2.18
 ETERNAL TRUTHS

mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah-sasthanindriyani
prakrti-sthani karsati

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental

parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the
six senses, which include the mind. - Bhagavad-Gita 15.7

This verse talks about the intrinsic/inherent relation between the part
(soul) and the whole (Krishna); When the soul forgets this relation, he
suffers in this world; As soon as he recognizes this relation, his motivation
to perform an act changes; He now acts solely and spontaneously for the
satisfaction of the Lord, enjoys complete bliss!!!
These acts are uninfluenced by external conditions and results!
 THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE FOR OUR LIFE

karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not
entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause
of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing
your duty.

- Bhagavad-Gita, 2.47

Take-home message: Be Detached from Results!!!

 ARJUNA, THE PERFECT EXAMPLE
iti te jnanam akhyatam
guhyad guhyataram maya
Krishna says, vimrsyaitad asesena
yathecchasi tatha kuru

Thus, I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate
on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

arjuna uvaca
Arjuna replies, nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat-prasadan mayacyuta
sthito 'smi gata-sandehah
karisye vacanam tava

Arjuna said, My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I

have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free
from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.

The above verses appear at the end of the Gita; After understanding the eternal truths
that Krishna explained in the earlier chapters, Arjuna here aligns his will to that of
Krishna’s, and thus, sets a perfect example for others!!
Chant,
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
And Motivate Yourself

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!