Do Your Duty - Karmanye Vadhikaraste - A Story of Maya

“कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन…”

You have the right to perform your duty, but not to the results of your actions.

Maya was twelve years old, curious about the world, thoughtful beyond her years, and sometimes a little too hard on herself. She lived in a cozy house in New York City with her mother Rita, her father Rohan, and her six-year-old sister Dia. Their home carried the gentle rhythm of two cultures blended into one: the comforting aroma of cardamom and ginger chai drifting through the kitchen each morning, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama music was playing softly while homework was being done, and the sweet scent of cinnamon cookies baking in the evenings. On the walls hung family photos from both Delhi and Manhattan, reminders that their roots stretched across oceans. It was a home filled with warmth, laughter, and quiet expectations... especially the ones Maya placed on herself.

One Friday afternoon, Maya walked into the kitchen with heavy footsteps and tired eyes. Rita looked up from the stove, immediately sensing something was wrong. “What happened, beta?” she asked softly. Maya dropped her backpack onto the chair. “I didn’t get selected for the science fair finals.” Rita slowly turned off the stove. “Oh.” Maya swallowed hard. “I worked so hard, Mom. I stayed up late. I double-checked everything. And still…” Her voice cracked. “What’s the point of working hard if it doesn’t matter?” Rohan, who had just stepped in, paused at the doorway. He asked gently, “Did your work matter only because of the result?” Maya frowned. “Isn’t that the point? You work to win.” Rita exchanged a quiet glance with Rohan before saying softly, “Come sit. Let me tell you something your Nani used to tell me.”

Rita pulled out a small, worn book from the shelf... the Bhagavad Gita. Maya had seen it many times but never paid much attention. Rita opened it carefully. “Chapter 2, Verse 47,” she said. “कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन…” Maya rolled her eyes slightly. “Mom, I don’t understand Sanskrit.” Rohan smiled. “It means… You have the right to perform your duty, but not to the results of your actions.” Maya blinked. “What does that even mean?” Dia, who was coloring at the table, looked up. “Does that mean I can clean my toys and not care if Mama says good job?” Rita laughed softly. “Something like that.” Maya crossed her arms. “So we shouldn’t care about results? That sounds unrealistic.” Rohan sat beside her. “It doesn’t say don’t care. It says don’t be attached. There’s a difference.” “Is there?” Maya asked.

The next morning, Rohan took Maya to the small garden in their backyard. He handed her a packet of seeds. “Plant these.” Maya sighed. “Why?” “Just do it.” She knelt and placed the seeds in the soil. “What now?” she asked. “Now we water them.” She did. “Now what?” “Now we wait.” Maya frowned. “But what if they don’t grow?” Rohan shrugged gently. “You can control planting and watering. You cannot control the sun, the rain, or the timing.” Maya paused. “So my job is just to plant and water?” “Yes,” he said. “That is your duty. The result is not fully in your hands.” She stared at the soil quietly.

The following week, Maya had a math test. All her friends were talking about getting perfect scores. “If I don’t get 100,” Maya whispered to herself, “I’ll feel like a failure.” At dinner, she asked, “Papa, what if I try my best and still don’t get 100?” Rohan responded with a question. “Did you prepare sincerely?” “Yes.” “Did you understand the concepts?” “Yes.” “Then what else can you control?” Maya hesitated. “Nothing.” “Then why punish yourself for what you cannot control?” Maya thought about it. Was she measuring her worth only by numbers?

On test day, Maya felt her heart racing. Before entering the classroom, she closed her eyes. “What is my duty?” she whispered to herself. “To focus. To try sincerely. To stay calm.” After the test, her friend Emma said, “I’m sure I got 100!” Maya felt a familiar twist in her stomach. But then she remembered the verse. “Even if I don’t,” she told herself, “I did my duty.” For the first time, she walked home without overthinking every answer.

One afternoon, Dia came home crying. “My teacher didn’t put my drawing on the wall!” Maya looked at her little sister. “Did you try your best?” Maya asked. Dia nodded. “Did you enjoy drawing it?” “Yes.” “Then why are you sad?” Dia sniffled. “Because she didn’t choose it.” Maya paused. Wasn’t this exactly how she felt about the science fair? She knelt down. “Maybe sometimes we just draw because we love drawing.” Dia blinked. “Even if no one claps?” Maya smiled softly. “Especially then.” That evening, Rita shared something she rarely spoke about. “When I moved to America,” she began, “I wanted to continue teaching. But there were visa issues. Then you girls were small. Years passed.” “Were you sad?” Maya asked. “Yes,” Rita admitted. “I questioned God. I asked, ‘Why did I study so much if I cannot teach?’” “What did you do?” “I remembered this verse. My duty was to care for my family sincerely. Teaching would come later…  or not. But my effort should not depend on the result.” “Did it come?” Maya asked quietly. Rita smiled. “In different ways. I teach you. I volunteer. Life gives results differently than we expect.” Maya felt something shift inside her.

A month later, Maya tried out for the school soccer team. She practiced every evening. The day of selection arrived. Her heart pounded as the coach read names. “Maya…” Her breath stopped. “…Alternate.” Not a full team member. Her friends cheered loudly for themselves. Maya felt tears forming. That night, she sat alone. “Why does this keep happening?” she whispered. Rohan sat beside her quietly. “Are you disappointed?” “Yes.” “Are you proud of your effort?” Maya thought carefully. “Yes.” “Then you have succeeded.” “How?” “Because your character grew, even if the result did not.”

One evening, Maya asked, “Papa, if we shouldn’t be attached to results, does that mean we shouldn’t have dreams?” Rohan smiled. “Dreams are beautiful. Attachment is different.” “What’s the difference?” “If you say, ‘I will work toward becoming a doctor,’ that’s a dream. But if you say, ‘If I don’t become a doctor, I am worthless,’ that’s attachment.” Maya stared at him. “So attachment ties our happiness to outcomes?” “Yes,” Rita added. “And outcomes are uncertain.”

Two weeks later, Maya received her math test back. She got 96. Not 100. Her old self would have cried. Instead, she smiled. She looked at her teacher and said, “Thank you for your feedback.” That night, she told her parents. “Aren’t you upset?” Dia asked. Maya shook her head. “I did my duty.”

At the end of the school year, something unexpected happened. Her science teacher called her. “Maya, your project showed excellent research skills. I’d like you to join an advanced science club next year.” Maya’s eyes widened. “But I didn’t win,” she said. “Winning isn’t everything,” the teacher replied. “Consistency matters.” Maya walked home smiling… but differently this time. She didn’t feel proud because of the opportunity. She felt peaceful because she had learned something deeper.

One Sunday evening, the family sat together. Rita read again: “कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते…” Maya finished it softly. Rohan asked, “What does it mean to you now?” Maya thought carefully. “It means… I control my effort. I don’t control the universe.” Dia added proudly, “It means clean toys even if Mama doesn’t clap!” Everyone laughed. Maya continued, “It also means… don’t stop trying just because you’re scared of losing.” Rita’s eyes glistened. “That is the second part,” she said. “Do not give in to inaction.” Maya whispered, “So we must act…  but without fear.”

Later that night, Maya wrote in her journal: If I plant a seed, I must water it sincerely. Whether it grows fast, slow, or differently is not fully in my hands. My job is to show up. To try. To care. To act. She paused and added: Results may come. Or they may not. But effort always shapes who I become. She closed her journal and looked out the window at the moon. For the first time, she understood. Success was not a trophy. It was inner peace.

Before sleeping, Dia asked, “Didi, will I always get what I want?” Maya smiled gently. “No.” “Then what should I do?” “Try your best. And smile anyway.” Dia hugged her. “Like Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita?” Maya nodded softly. “Yes. Like that.”

Weeks later, Maya checked the garden. Tiny green sprouts had emerged from the soil. She gasped. “Papa! They grew!” Rohan walked over. “What did you do to make them grow?” “I planted and watered.” “And?” “And I waited.” He looked at her knowingly. “And what did you learn?” Maya smiled. “That my job is to plant and water.” She looked at the small plants again. “And trust.”

Maya did not become perfect overnight. She still felt disappointed sometimes. She still had dreams. But now, when fear whispered, “What if you fail?” she answered calmly: “My duty is effort. The result is not mine alone.” And slowly, she grew… just like the seeds she planted.

Moral

When we act sincerely without attachment to outcomes, we free ourselves from fear. We grow stronger in character. And peace becomes our true reward.

Questions to Grow Thinking for Young Readers

Understanding the Story

1. Why was Maya upset at the beginning of the story?

2. What lesson did Rita read from the Bhagavad Gita?

3. What did planting the seeds teach Maya?

4. How did Maya feel when she got 96 instead of 100?

5. What happened at the end of the story with her science teacher?

Thinking Deeper

6. What does “doing your duty” mean in your own words?

7. Why is it not healthy to think we are “worthless” if we don’t win?

8. What is the difference between having a dream and being attached to the result?

9. Have you ever tried your best but didn’t win? How did you feel?

10. Why do you think peace is more important than a trophy?

Life Lessons

11. What can you control… your effort or the result?

12. How can this lesson help you in school or sports?

13. Why did Maya tell Dia to “try your best and smile anyway”?

14. What do the growing seeds symbolize in the story?

15. How can we practice this lesson in our daily life?