Aasakti, Nirasakti

Anything that is natural does not require effort.... Like when you are smiling naturally, that smile is effortless. But if you are asked to smile, then that becomes a difficult task. Doing an action that requires effort is 'Aasakti'. However, doing work that comes naturally and gives you inner peace is done in 'Nirasakti'.

If you ask those who prepare food every day, they would be able to prepare it without much effort. However, if the same task is handed to a person who never cooks, he will flip through the pages of a recipe book again and again, to prepare the same food. He will keep tasting the food to check the balance of spices. So, wherever effort is applied, the job is done with 'Aasakti', and this leads to feverishness. You being feverish about, say, going to Mysore is 'Aasakti'; and effortlessly driving your car to Mysore is 'Nirasakti'- which is not disinterestedness or depression, just effortless attitude.

The next effortless thing is meditation. If you put effort into meditation, you will not be able to do it. It happens effortlessly. All other things need effort - memorising, learning skills, etc....


Life is a mix of effort and effortlessness, and they are complementary. If you work dynamically, you sleep well. If you have memorised well, you remember automatically. If you can see beauty everywhere, you can appreciate beauty. When you do this, things become effortless; even jobs requiring effort will not be strenuous.