Joey Tribbiani the philosopher?

Ok, I am guilty. The headline was click-bait. However, this post does build on what the character Joey says in an episode of the massively famous sitcom, Friends. I am not sure who was the writer of those lines. But s/he unveiled a profound philosophical thought.

I am adding Telugu transliteration in deference to a request I received in a comment earlier. I apologize for having missed seeing that.

Paraphrasing, in an episode, Joey tells Phoebe, another character that there is no selfless action in this world as ultimately anything one thinks is selfless actually makes one happy. This may seem a very simple thing to say. But reflect on it. It is true.This is not to say that altruism is bad or useless. No, that is not the intention of this post.

Normally people think of rishis as men. Yes, true. However, Hinduism mentions numerous women as well who were of that stature. Hinduism does not deny liberation or for that matter knowledge to anybody based on gender, class etc. All are capable of attaining liberation, mukti (mind you, I am not talking about being saved and going to heaven), if they prove themselves worthy of it. There was one such lady named Gargi (गार्गी గార్గి). There was a debate between her and Yaagnyavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य  యాజ్ఞవల్క్య) on what it is, that is dearest to us.Yaagnyavalkya says it is the Self. Please note that Self here does not refer to the body, or to the I-ness (identification). It refers to the soul that is within all of us.

Say, you disagree. No, you love your husband or wife the most. Let us restate that. Your spouse is the one that is most dear TO YOU. Hence, says Yaagnyavalkya, the self is that which is dearest to us in the entire creation. Hence, self-realization is the ultimate aim of a Hindu, not heaven. You can apply this logic to anything in this wide world. Everything boils down to you liking that.

Now, does this mean we should stop doing "selfless" acts? An emphatic no! We should always be available to serve as needed. However, what must go is the ego, that I helped someone. This is what Lord Krishna refers to as nishkaama karma. Action without the anticipation of result. Action that is submitted to the Lord. Action where the doer is identified as the Lord, and where the own self is only seen as an instrument. The self is the flute through which the divine wind must flow to produce beautiful music. Hindu rituals also end with the phrase "om tat sat, sarvam sree parabrahmaarpaNam astu" (ॐ तत् सत् सर्वं श्रीपरब्रह्मार्पणं अस्तु ఓం తత్ సత్ సర్వం శ్రీపరబ్రహ్మార్పణం అస్తు). Everything done as part of the ritual, including the result/merit gained via it is offered to the Lord.

Let me close this post with the famous sloka from the Gita

karmaNyevaadhikaaraste maa phaleShu kadaachana

maa karmaphalaheturbhooh maa te sangostvakarmaNi

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन​
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूः मा ते सनगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि

కర్మణ్యేవాధికారస్తే మా ఫలేషు కదాచన 

మా కర్మఫలహేతుర్భూర్మా  తే సంగోऽస్త్వకర్మణి

Your right is only to act, not attaining the result. Do not be motivated by the results of your action. (But) do not find interest in not acting at all.

The last portion is a warning that being idle is also an action, and not a good one.

References: 

1. Sri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma's discourses

2. http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-02-46.html