In Hindu mythology, Arjuna is a warrior who refuses to fight his cousins in a great battle. Then, Lord Krishna, who was his charioteer speaks to him about why he should fight, the result is the cornerstone of Hindu religious thinking, called Bhagavadgita.

I usually procrastinate because I am too bothered with the result of my actions. This is what Neil Fiore calls “fear of success” or “fear of failure” in his book I mentioned in a previous post. Arjuna refuses to fight his relatives and friends because he thinks that if he wins the war, there will be no one to enjoy the wealth with, if he loses, there is no point of killing many people anyway (see the analogy between this and the fear of success and failure mentioned in Neil Fiore’s book). Then Lord Krishna tells him that it is his duty to do his dharma and leave the rest to God. He clearly mentions that human beings have the right to enjoy the fruits of their work. It is in giving this fruit up to God lies the secret of bliss. This makes us free from thinking about the results of our actions. I think that it is a good way to think about procrastination. Work for work’s sake and nothing more. Fiore asks his readers to think of a safety net that one can fall back to in case things go wrong. While I still believe in working for work’s sake, I think that it is one’s duty (dharma) to consider “what if this goes wrong?”

Another, a little higher thought is also from Bhagavad Gita. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna :

“2.12 But certainly (it is) not (a fact) that I did not exist at any time; nor you, nor these rulers of men. And surely it is not that we all shall cease to exist after this.” This sentence struck me as being very relevant to my problem.

(Translations of Bhagavad Gita from the gita supersite.)