Tattva

Bhagavad-Geeta, seed scripture for mankind, is the only scripture which is noncontrovercial till date and this has been the main source of real and totally accomplished spiritual knowledge recognized by entire world. This is celestial song sung by Sri Krishn to elevate entire mankind from bondage of mortal worldly affairs and to traverse on the path of spiritualism to get liberated from pathetic cycle of birth and death. The central and key thought in this scripture is to know the real concept of “Karm” i.e. “Ordained Action” and to execute the same for total emancipations.

Very difficult to believe that great majority in this universe has never heard about this seed scripture and if some one has ever heard, does not know about the verse forty seven from chapter two of Bhagavad-Geeta which is :

karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani

We have always tried to define the term “Karm” i.e. “Ordained Action” preached in above verse on our own without linking the total central approach and key thoughts which has been delivered by Sri Krishn for our guidance and psychotherapy of our mind and senses. Let us have a glance on real concept of “Karm” which has been exceptionally and excellently expounded in “Yatharth Geeta.”

All the verses of Geeta have impact of its own. It depends upon which verse is being taken up with which references. Every verse is back up of another verse and thus this nectar flows like life stream. The only important thing is that it should be expounded with its metaphysical depth. The verse which we have to discuss has a very intensive depth of its own. What that “Karm” is for which Sri Krishn has preached to Arjun? We often get misguided to understand the metaphysical depth of this term. I will like to explore the exposition of above quoted verse as mentioned below:

“Since you are entitled only to the performance of action but never to the fruits thereof, you should neither desire rewards of action nor be drawn to inaction.”

Arjun, Sri Krishn says, has the right to action but not to its results. So Arjun should persuade himself that fruits of action simply do not exist. He should not covet these fruits and neither should he grow disillusioned with action.So far Sri Krishn has first used the term “action” (karm: meaning both action and its consequence) in the thirty-ninth verse of the Chapter two, but he has not indicated what this ”karm” is and how to perform it? He has, however, described its characteristic traits.

(a) He has told Arjun that by the performance of action he will be freed from the bonds of action.

(b) He has then said that the seed or initial impulse of action is indestructible. Once it is initiated, nature has no means to destroy it.

(c) There is, Arjun has been told, not even the slightest flaw in this action, for it never abandons us while we are stranded amidst the temptations of celestial pleasures and worldly affluence.

(d) Performance of this action, even in small proportions, can emancipate us from the great fear of birth and death.

But, as it is evident from the summary above, Sri Krishn has not so far defined action. As for the way of doing it, he has said in the forty-first verse of Chapter two:

(e) The mind which is resolved to do this action is only one and the way of doing it is also only one. Does it mean, then, that people engaged in other multifarious activities are not really engaged in the worship of God? According to Sri Krishn, the activities of such people are not action.

Explaining why it is so, he adds that the minds of men without discernment are riven by endless divisions, because of which they tend to invent and elaborate an unlimited number of rites and ceremonies. So they are not true worshippers. They use pretentious and ornate language to describe these rites and ceremonies. So that man’s mind is also poisoned who is lured by the charm of their words. The ordained action is, therefore, only one, although we have not yet been told what precisely it is?

In the forty-seventh verse of Chapter two, Sri Krishn has told Arjun that he has a right to action, but not to its fruits. So Arjun should not desire these fruits. At the same time he ought not to lose faith in the performance of action. In other words, he should be constantly and devotedly engaged in its performance. But Sri Krishn has not yet said what this action is? The verse is usually interpreted as meaning, “Do whatever you wish, only do not desire its fruits.” That is, say those who interpret the verse thus, what selfless action is all about? In fact, however, Sri Krishn has not so far told us what this action is that men are required to do? He has so far elaborated only its characteristics, what the gains from it are, and the precautions that have to be observed in the course of its performance. Yet the question of what exactly selfless action is has so far remained unanswered. It is, in fact, answered only in Chapters 3 and 4 of Bhagavad Geeta. Sri Krishn again reverts to what he has already said in the very next verse in Chapter two:

yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate

‘The equipoise of mind that arises from profound absorption in the performance of action after renouncing attachment and being even-minded in respect of success and failure is, O Dhananjay (Arjun), given the name of yog.”

Resting in yog, renouncing infatuation for worldly ties, and looking at success and failure with an equal mind, Arjun should undertake action. But what action? Sri Krishn’s pronouncement is that men should do selfless action. Equipoise of mind is what is called yog. The mind in which there is no unevenness is full of equanimity. Greed destroys its evenness, attachments make it unequal, and desires for the fruits of action destroy its serenity. That is why there should be no hankering after the fruits of action. At the same time, however, there should also be no diminishing of faith in the performance of action. Renouncing attachment to all things, seen as well as unseen, and giving up all concern about achievement and non-achievement, we should only keep our eyes fixed on yog, the discipline that joins the individual Soul with the Supreme Spirit, and lead a life of strenuous action. Yog is thus the state of culmination. But it is also the initial stage. At the outset our eyes should be fixed on the goal. It is for this reason that we should act keeping our eyes on yog. Equanimity of mind is also named yog. When the mind cannot be shaken by failure and success, and nothing can destroy its evenness, it is said to be in the state of yog. It cannot then be moved by passion. Such a state of mind enables the Soul to identify himself with God. This is another reason why this state is called Samattwa Yog, the discipline that makes the mind filled with equanimity. Since there is, in such a state of mind, complete renunciation of desire, it is also called the Way of Selfless Action (Nishkam Karm Yog). Since it requires us to perform action, it is also known as the way of Action (Karm Yog). Since it unites the Self with the Supreme Spirit, it is called yog. It is necessary to keep in mind that both success and failure should be viewed with equanimity, that there should be no sense of attachment, and that there is no desire for the rewards of action. It is thus that the Way of Selfless Action and the Way of Knowledge are the same.

Now let us move to chapter three so that this may be discussed with some details. In chapter three, verse seven, Sri Krishn preaches:

yas tv indriyani manasa
niyamyarabhate ‘rjuna
karmendriyaih karma-yogam
asaktah sa visisyate

“And, O Arjun, that man is meritorious who restrains his senses with his mind and employs his organs of action to do selfless work in a spirit of complete detachment.’’

He is a superior man who exerts inner (rather than external) control over his senses, so that his mind is freed from passions, and who does his duty in a state of total desirelessness. Now, although we have known that work has to be done, the difficulty is that we do not yet understand the precise nature of this work. That is also Arjun’s problem and Sri Krishn now proceeds to resolve it. In verse eight of the same Chapter, he tells:

niyatam kuru karma tvam
karma jyayo hy akarmanah
sarira-yatrapi ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmanah

“You ought to do your prescribed action as enjoined by scripture, for doing work is better than not doing any, and in the absence of it even the journey of your body may not be completed.’’

Arjun is prompted to do the prescribed action-the ordained task-which is distinct from all other kinds of work. Performance of this action is preferable to inaction, because if we do it and traverse even a small part of our way, it can rescue us from the great fear of birth and death. Performance of one’s spiritual duty - the ordained action- is, therefore, the better course. By not doing it we cannot even complete the journey of our Soul through different bodies. This journey is usually interpreted as “sustenance of the physical body.” But what kind of sustenance is this? Are we a physical body? This Soul, the embodied Self, that we know by the name of Purush-what else has he been doing except making his physical journey through endless lives? When clothes are worn out, we change them and put on new ones. Just so, this whole world, from the lowest creatures to the most highly evolved, from Brahma to its most distant limits, is mutable.

Through births, low and high, this Soul has been making his physical journey since an unknown beginning. Action is something that completes this journey. If there is yet to be another birth, the journey is still incomplete. The seeker is still on his way, traveling through bodies. A journey is complete only when the destination is reached. After being dissolved in God, the Self does not have to travel any further through physical births. The chain of the Self’s rejection of old bodies and assumption of new ones is now broken. So action is something that frees the Self, the Purush, from the necessity of journeying through bodies.Sri Krishn tells Arjun in the sixteenth verse of Chapter 4: “By this action you shall be freed from the evil that binds the world.” So action, as used in the Geeta, is something that liberates from the bondage of world. However, the question of what this ordained action is still remains unresolved.

Sri Krishn now begins to answer the question. In verse nine, he preaches:

yajnarthat karmano ‘nyatra
loko ‘yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samacara

“Since the conduct of yagya is the only action and all other business in which people are engaged are only forms of worldly bondage, O son of Kunti, be unattached and do your duly to God well.’’

Contemplation of God is the only real action. That conduct is action which enables the mind to concentrate on God. It is a prescribed act and, according to Sri Krishn, tasks other than this are only forms of worldly bondage. Anything other than the performance of this yagya is a form of slavery rather than action. It is important to remind ourselves once more of Sri Krishn’s injunction to Arjun that he shall be freed from the evils of this world only by doing the one real work. The accomplishment of this work, of yagya, is action; and Arjun is urged to do it well in a spirit of detachment. It cannot be performed without disinterest in the world and its objects.

So the conduct of yagya is action. But another question that now arises is what this worthwhile act of yagya is? Before answering this question, however, Sri Krishn first gives a brief account of the origin of yagya, as also of what it has to offer. It is only in Chapter 4 that it is clarified what that yagya is-the doing of which is action. It is evident from this that it is Sri Krishn’s way that he first describes the characteristic features of the subject he has to elucidate in order to create a respectful attitude towards it, then points out the precautions that have to be observed in the course of its performance, and only finally expounds the main principle.

Before we proceed, let us recall what Sri Krishn has said of another aspect of action: that it is a prescribed ordained conduct and that what is usually done in its name is not true action.

The term “action” was first used in Chapter 2. Its characteristic traits as well as the precautions needed for it were pointed out. But the nature of this action has remained unspecified. In Chapter 3, Sri Krishn has so far said that no one can live without action. Since man lives in nature, he must act. Nevertheless there are people who restrain their sense organs by use of force, but whose minds are still occupied with objects of the senses. Such people are arrogant and their efforts are vain. So Arjun is told to restrain his senses to perform the ordained action. But the question yet remains: what action should he perform? He is told that the accomplishment of yagya is action. But that is not really answering the question. True that yagya is action; but what is yagya? In the present chapter Sri Krishn only points out the origin and special features of yagya, and it is only in Chapter 4 that he will elaborate the concept of the action which is fit to be done.

A proper understanding of this definition of action is the key to our comprehension of the Geeta. All men are engaged in some work or the other, but that is different from true action. Some of them do farming, while others are engaged in trade and commerce. Some hold positions of power, while others; are just servants. Some profess that they are intellectuals, while others earn their living by manual labour. Some take up social service, while others serve the country. And for all these activities people have also invented contexts of selfishness and selflessness. But according to Sri Krishn, they simply are not what he means by action. Whatever other than yagya is done is only a form of worldly bondage, not true action. The performance of yagya is the only real action.

Now question comes, what is Yagya, performing of which is real action or Karm? This is a separate issue and needs further discussions. Yagya is the special ordained mode that helps the worshipper to traverse the path that leads to God. That by which this yagya is accomplished, regulation and serenity of breath, is action. The true meaning of “action” is therefore “worship”.Sri Krishn has said categorically that the ordained action is only one, and he has told Arjun to do it. The performance of yagya is action. And yagya is sacrifice of breath, restraint of the senses, contemplation of the Supreme Spirit-the accomplished teacher-who symbolizes yagya, and finally, regulation and serenity of breath. This is the stage of mind’s conquest. The world is nothing but an extension of mind. In Sri Krishn’s words the transient world is conquered right here, “upon this bank and shoal of time,” by men who have achieved even-mindedness. But what is the relation between such equanimity of mind and subjugation of the world? If the world itself is conquered, where does one halt? According to Sri Krishn God is flawless and impartial, and unaffected by passion; and so is the mind of the man who has secured knowledge. So the two become one. In brief, the world is an expanded form of the mind. So the mutable world is the object that has to be offered as a sacrifice. When the mind is perfectly controlled, there is also perfect control over the world. The outcome of yagya appears clearly when the mind is fully restrained. The nectar of knowledge that is generated by yagya takes the man who has tasted it to the immortal God. This is witnessed by all sages who have realized God. It is not that worshippers of different schools perform yagya in different ways. The different forms cited in the Geeta are only the higher and lower states of the same worship. That by which this yagya begins to be done is action. There is not a single verse in the entire Geeta which defends or approves of worldly enterprise as a way to the realization of God.

(For more details, kindly refer to “Yatharth Geeta” the world famous exposition on Bhagavad-Geeta by Paramhans Swami Shri Adgadanand ji who is an accomplished and totally enlightened sage from India.This exposition is available at www.yatharthgeeta.com for ready reference in almost all the major languages of the world.)
Shri Mrityunjayanand is a disciple of most revered Swami Adgadanand ji and is fully committed to the universal promotion of the message of Bhagavad-Geeta. You can contact him at sinhamk26@yahoo.com

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