The quote heading Chapter 8 is an excellent illustration of the paradox of intention. It is not a means of fooling God, nor primarily a means of accomplishing some material goal, although using paradox can be a useful technique in healing some conditions. Instead, it seems to reflect a deeper understanding both of our inner desires and the means to allow them to be fulfilled. According to Shaw, the reversal of effort is a solution to the problem of being a self at all, and as such separate, isolated, and seeking. It is a redefinition of the goal completely. The goal becomes letting go itself, rather than freedom or immortality or perfection. The focus of this paper is on a theory of activity in the world and its bases. Why, when, and how do we act in the world?
Within Hinduism, the focus is on non attachment to the outcomes of our efforts. It is not that we are supposed to wait in passivity, in non action, but that we are to let go of the desired results of our actions. Thus, for Gandhi, the point was to act toward the truth that he perceived, without regard to the outcomes of a particular action.
Hinduism and Buddhism are both often popularly confused as passive, as Asian expressions of a lack of value in human life, and a disregard for taking action to improve the human condition. This is a misunderstanding, however.
There is passivity within all religions. Passivity is not acceptance, however, but a form of despair, and it is likely to arise from the struggle to be secure, or perfect, or loved, rather than from acceptance of finitude and imperfectability. It is more likely to result from the perception of impossibility that is not followed by the recognition that letting go is the answer to the problem that has been perceived.
In other words, when the individual faces the impossibility of attaining perfect security from death, for example, he or she is faced with almost overwhelming anxiety. The usual respo...