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THE YOGA OF ACTION (Karma Yoga)
Arjuna said, If it be thought by you that knowledge is
superior to action, why then O
Krishna, do you engage me in this terrible action? You
confuse my understanding. Tell me that one way for certain by which I may
attain eternal bliss?
Lord Krishna replies, In this world there is a twofold path,
the path of knowledge of the Sankhya for Sanyasins and the path of action
(Karma) of the Yogis. Man cannot remain even for a moment without performing
some kind of action.
Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom
from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection. All men are
forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of
material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even
for a moment.
One who restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose
mind dwells on sense objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a
pretender. On the other hand, he who controls the senses by the mind and
engages his active organs in works of devotion, without attachment, is by far
superior. Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A
man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.
Work done as a sacrifice for Lord Vishnu has to be
performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of
Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you
will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
Do sacrifice to the Gods. They will in turn give you plenty
of food and wealth. The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of
sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who
prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin. Constantly
perform your duty without attachment. You will attain the Supreme. King Janaka
attained perfection by action. The great man should set an example to the
world.
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced
from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna
is born of prescribed duties. Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas,
and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of
sacrifice.
My dear Arjuna, a man who does not follow this prescribed
Vedic system of sacrifice certainly leads a life of sin, for a person
delighting only in the senses lives in vain.
One who is, however, taking pleasure in the self, who is
illuminated in the self, who rejoices in and is satisfied with the self only,
fully satiated--for him there is no duty. A self-realized man has no purpose to
fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason not to
perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living being.
Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of
activities, one should act as a matter of duty; for by working without
attachment, one attains the Supreme. Even kings like Janaka and others attained
the perfectional stage by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for
the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.
Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men
follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all
the world pursues.
O son of Prtha, there is no work prescribed for Me within
all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I need
to obtain anything--and yet I am engaged in work. For, if I did not engage in
work, O Partha, certainly all men would follow My path.
If I should cease to work, then all these worlds would come
to an end. I would also be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I
would thereby destroy the peace of all beings. As the ignorant perform their
duties with attachment to results, similarly the learned may also act, but
without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path. Let not
the wise disrupt the minds of the ignorant who are attached to fruitive action,
they should not be encouraged to refrain from work, but to engage in work in
the spirit of devotion.
The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three
modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which
are in actuality carried out by nature. One who is in knowledge of the Absolute
Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense
gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work
for results.
Bewildered by the modes of material nature, the ignorant
fully engage themselves in material activities and become attached. But the
wise should not unsettle them, although these duties are inferior due to the
performers' lack of knowledge. Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works
unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from
egoism and lethargy, fight.
One who executes his duties according to My injunctions and
who follows this teaching faithfully, without envy, becomes free from the
bondage of fruitive actions. But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings
and do not practice them regularly, are to be considered bereft of all
knowledge, befooled, and doomed to ignorance and bondage.
Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature,
for everyone follows his nature. What can repression accomplish? Attraction and
repulsion for sense objects are felt by embodied beings, but one should not
fall under the control of senses and sense objects because they are stumbling
blocks on the path of self-realization.
It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even
though they may be faultily, than another's duties. Destruction in the course
of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for
to follow another's path is dangerous.
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, by what is one impelled
to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
The Blessed Lord said: It is desires only, Arjuna, which is
born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into
wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. As fire is
covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered
by the womb, similarly, the living entity is covered by different degrees of
desires.
Thus, a man's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal
enemy in the form of desires, which is never satisfied and which burns like
fire. The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this
lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very
beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and
slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization. The working senses are
superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still
higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material
senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher
self and thus--by spiritual strength--conquer this insatiable enemy known as
lust.
Greatest Verses from Bhagawad Gita
Chapter 3, Verse 8
niyatam kuru karma tvam
karma jyayo hy akarmanah
sarira-yatrapi ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmanah
Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than
inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.
Lord Krishna did not want Arjuna to become a pretender, but
that he perform his prescribed duties as set forth for kshatriyas. Arjuna was a
householder and a military general, and therefore it was better for him to
remain as such and perform his religious duties as prescribed for the
householder kshatriya. Such activities gradually purify the heart of a worldly
man and free him from material contamination.
Chapter 3, Verse 10
saha-yajnah prajah srstva
purovaca prajapatih
anena prasavisyadhvam
esa vo 'stv ista-kama-dhuk
In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent
forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Visnu, and
blessed them by saying, "Be happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its
performance will bestow upon you all desirable things."
Chapter 3, Verse 11
devan bhavayatanena
te deva bhavayantu vah
parasparam bhavayantah
sreyah param avapsyatha
The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please
you; thus nourishing one another, there will be general prosperity for all.
Chapter 3, Verse 13
yajna-sistasinah santo
mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tv agham papa
ye pacanty atma-karanat
The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins
because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare
food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Krishna consciousness, are called santas, and they are
always in love with the Lord.
Chapter 3, Verse 14
annad bhavanti bhutani
parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo
yajnah karma-samudbhavah
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced
from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna
is born of prescribed duties.
The Supreme Lord, who is known as the Adi Yagna, the
personal beneficiary of all sacrifices, is the master of all demigods, who
serve Him as the different limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like
Indra, Candra, Varuna, etc., are appointed officers who manage material
affairs, and the Vedas direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods so that they
may be pleased to supply air, light and water sufficiently to produce food
grains.
When Lord Krishna is worshiped, the demigods, who are
different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore there
is no separate need to worship the demigods. For this reason, the devotees of
the Lord, who are in God consciousness, offer food to Lord Krishna
and then eat--a process which nourishes the body spiritually.
Therefore, a person in God consciousness, who eats only food
offered to Lord Krishna , can counteract all
reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of
self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to
increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to
resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins. The
material world is full of contaminations, and one who is immunized by accepting
prasadam of the Lord (food offered to Visnu) is saved from the attack, whereas
one who does not do so becomes subjected to contamination.
The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who
cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity--that is the law of nature.
Yajna, specifically the devotional service and Songs (bhajans) singing about
the glories of the Lord, must be performed to save us from scarcity of food
supply.
Chapter 3, Verse 20
karmanaiva hi samsiddhim
asthita janakadayah
loka-sangraham evapi
sampasyan kartum arhasi
Even kings like Janaka and others attained the perfectional
stage by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of
educating the people in general, you should perform your work.
Kings like Janaka and others were all self-realized souls;
consequently they had no obligation to perform the prescribed duties in the
Vedas. Nonetheless they performed all prescribed activities just to set
examples for the people in general. Janaka was the father of Sita, and
father-in-law of Lord Sri Rama. Being a great devotee of the Lord, he was
transcendentally situated, but because he was the king of Mithila (a subdivision
of Bihar province in India
Story about King Janaka
Once upon a time, king Janaka sent a message to the people
in his kingdom: "If there be amongst you a great scholar, a Pundit, a
Mahatma, a Yogi, a Maharishi, a Sage, whoever he may be, let him come and teach
me the knowledge of Atma (Soul)." In his message he said that he expected
to attain Atma Jnana, Self-knowledge, within a matter of a few moments of being
properly instructed. Even while climbing onto his horse, before he was
completely settled on to it, he should have attained Atma Jnana. He said: "If
the person offering to teach me Atma Jnana is not able to accomplish this task
of providing me an experience of instant illumination, then I don't want to see
him, even if he is the greatest scholar, or the most learned person, or the
highly educated person in the land." Well, all the Pundits and Rishis were
a little frightened by this requirement. They saw that this would be a severe
test on their scholarship and learning, and so no one dared to come forth and
offer himself to instruct the king and meet the conditions that had been posed.
It was at this point that the boy Astavakra entered the
kingdom. While he was going on the road towards the capital city of Mithilapuram
So saying he directly entered the court of Janaka. He
addressed the king: "My dear King, I am ready to enable you to experience
the knowledge of Atma as you desire. But this sacred knowledge cannot be taught
so easily. This palace is full of Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna. We must leave this
place and enter an area of pure Satva." So, they left the palace and went
along the road leading out of the city towards the forest. As was the custom
whenever the emperor went outside his palace walls, the army followed behind;
but Janaka had them remain outside the forest.
Astavakra and Janaka entered the forest. Astavakra told King
Janaka: "I am not going to fulfil your wish unless you accept my
conditions. I may be only a boy, but I am in the position of a preceptor; and
you may be an all-powerful emperor, you are in the position of a disciple. Are
you prepared to accept this relationship? If you agree then you will have to
offer the traditional gift to the Guru, the Gurudakshina that is given by the
Sishya to the Guru. Only after you give your offering to me will I start my
instruction to you." King Janaka told Astavakra: "The attainment of
God is the most important thing to me, so I am prepared to give you absolutely
anything you want." But Astavakra replied: "I don't want any material
things from you, all I want is your mind. You must give me your mind." The
king answered: "Alright, I offer my mind to you. Up to now I thought that
this was my mind, but from now onwards it will be yours."
Astavakra told Janaka to dismount from his horse and made
the horse stand in front of the king and then he told the king to sit down in
the middle of the road. Astavakra walked into the forest and sat quietly under
a tree. The soldiers waited for a long time. Neither the king nor Astavakra
returned from the forest. The soldiers wanted to find out what had happened to
them, so one by one, they proceeded to look for them. When they went along the
road leading into the forest, they found the king seated there, in the middle
of the road. The horse was standing in front of the king. The king had his eyes
closed and sat still almost immobile. Astavakra was not to be seen. The
officers were afraid that Astavakra might have exercised some magic spell over
the king and had made him lose consciousness. The went to look for the Prime
Minister.
The Prime Minister came and addressed Janaka: "O King!
O King! O King!" But King Janaka did not open his eyes; he did not move at
all. The Prime Minister became frightened. Not only the Prime Minister but all
the officials were now getting frightened, because the time when the King
usually took his food and drink had passed and the king still had not stirred.
In this way the day went on and evening came, but the king did not move from
his position, sitting there immobile on the road. Left with no alternative, the
Prime Minister sent the chariot back to the city to bring the queen thinking
that if the queen spoke to the king, he would surely respond. The queen came
and addressed the king: "Rajah, Rajah, Rajah!" The king did not stir;
there was absolutely no response from the king. Meanwhile the soldiers searched
throughout the whole forest for Astavakra. There, under a tree, Astavakra was
seated peacefully, in absolute calm and serenity.
The soldiers caught hold of him and brought him towards the
place where the king was. Astavakra told them: "Why are you all so
worried? The king is safe and everything is alright." But still they
insisted and brought him before the King seated on the road with his eyes
closed, his body completely still. The soldier said: "Here, look for
yourself! See what has happened to the king!". Until that time, whether
the Prime Minister, or the ministers, or the queen or any of the other court
officials or common people, had called out and addressed the king, he neither
opened his mouth in answer nor opened his eyes in acknowledgment. But now
Astavakra came and spoke to the king.
King Janaka immediately opened his eyes and replied,
"Swami!" Astavakra questioned the king: "Well, the ministers
have come, and the soldiers have come, and also many others have come, why did
you not reply to their entreaties?" Janaka answered: "Thoughts, words
and deeds are associated with the mind, and I offered my mind entirely to you.
Therefore before I can use the mind for anything, I need your permission. What
authority do I have to speak to anyone or use this mind in any way without your
permission and command." Then Astavakra said: "You have attained the
state of God-realization."
Astavakra told Janaka to put one foot in the stirrup and get
up on the horse. By the time he had climbed up and seated himself on the horse
and put his other foot in the stirrup, he had attained the experience of Atma.
Once a person has offered his mind, and with it all his words, deeds and
thoughts, then he will not have the authority or the power to perform any
actions without the permission of the one to whom he has surrendered his mind.
Chapter 3, Verse 21
yad yad acarati sresthas
tat tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men
follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all
the world pursues.
Chapter 3, Verse 22
na me parthasti kartavyam
trisu lokesu kincana
nanavaptam avaptavyam
varta eva ca karmani
There is no work prescribed for Me within all the three
planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I need to obtain
anything--and yet I am engaged in work.
Chapter 3, Verse 27
prakrteh kriyamanani
gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma
kartaham iti manyate
The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three
modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which
are carried out by nature following the instructions of the Supreme Lord.
Chapter 3, Verse 28
tattva-vit tu maha-baho
guna-karma-vibhagayoh
guna gunesu vartanta
iti matva na sajjate
One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O
mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification,
knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive
results.
The knower of the Absolute Truth is convinced of his awkward
position in material association. He knows that he is part and parcel of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna ,
and that his position should not be in the material creation. He knows his real
identity as part and parcel of the Supreme, who is eternal bliss and knowledge,
and he realizes that somehow or other he is entrapped in the material
conception of life. In his pure state of existence he is meant to dovetail his
activities in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
He therefore engages himself in the activities of God
consciousness and becomes naturally unattached to the activities of the
material senses, which are all circumstantial and temporary.
Chapter 3, Verse 30
mayi sarvani karmani
sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva
yudhyasva vigata-jvarah
Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me,
with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and
lethargy, fight.
One has to sacrifice everything for the good will of the
Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming
proprietorship. Arjuna did not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had
only to execute His order. The Supreme Lord is the soul of all souls;
therefore, one who depends solely and wholly on the Supreme Soul without
personal consideration, or in other words, one who is fully Krishna
conscious, is called adhyatma-cetasa.
One has to act on the order of the master. One should never
ever expect fruitive results. The cashier may count millions of dollars for his
employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to
realize that nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that
everything belongs to the Supreme Lord.
When one acts in such God consciousness, certainly he does
not claim proprietorship over anything. This consciousness is called nirmama,
or nothing is mine. And, if there is any reluctance to execute such a stern
order which is without consideration of so-called kinsmen in the bodily
relationship, that reluctance should be thrown off; in this way one may become
without laziness. Everyone, according to his quality and position, has a
particular type of work to discharge, and all such duties may be discharged in
God consciousness, as described above. That will lead one to the path of
liberation.
Chapter 3, Verse 35
sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah
para-dharmat svanusthitat
sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah
para-dharmo bhayavahah
It is far better to discharge one's prescribed duties, even
though they may be faultily, than another's duties. Destruction in the course
of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for
to follow another's path is dangerous.
One should therefore discharge his prescribed duties in full
God consciousness rather than those prescribed for others. Prescribed duties
complement one's psychophysical condition, under the spell of the modes of
material nature. Spiritual duties are as ordered by the spiritual master, for
the transcendental service of Lord Krishna .
For example, a brahmana, who is in the mode of goodness, is
nonviolent, whereas a Kshatriya, who is in the mode of passion, is allowed to be
violent. As such, for a Kshatriya it is better to be vanquished following the
rules of violence than to imitate a brahmana who follows the principles of
nonviolence. Everyone has to cleanse his heart by a gradual process, not
abruptly.
However, when one transcends the modes of material nature
and is fully situated in God consciousness, he can perform anything and
everything under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master. In that
complete stage of Krishna consciousness, the Kshatriya
may act as a brahmana, or a brahmana may act as a Kshatriya. In the
transcendental stage, the distinctions of the material world do not apply.
For example, Visvamitra was originally a Kshatriya, but
later on he acted as a brahmana, whereas Parasurama was a brahmana, but later
on he acted as a Kshatriya. Being transcendentally situated, they could do so;
but as long as one is on the material platform, he must perform his duties
according to the modes of material nature. At the same time, he must have a
full sense of Krishna consciousness.
Chapter 3, Verse 36
arjuna uvaca
atha kena prayukto 'yam
papam carati purusah
anicchann api varsneya
balad iva niyojitah
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, by what is one impelled
to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
Chapter 3, Verse 37
sri-bhagavan uvaca
kama esa krodha esa
rajo-guna-samudbhavah
mahasano maha-papma
viddhy enam iha vairinam
The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is
born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into
wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world.
When a living entity comes in contact with the material
creation, his eternal love for Krsna is transformed into desires, in
association with the mode of passion. Or, in other words, the sense of love of
God becomes transformed into desires, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is
transformed into yogurt. Then again, when desire is unsatisfied, it turns into anger;
anger is transformed into illusion, and illusion continues the material
existence. Therefore, desires is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and
it is desires only which induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in
the material world.
Chapter 3, Verse 42
indriyani parany ahur
indriyebhyah param manah
manasas tu para buddhir
yo buddheh paratas tu sah
The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is
higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the
soul] is even higher than the intelligence.
Chapter 3, Verse 43
evam buddheh param buddhva
samstabhyatmanam atmana
jahi satrum maha-baho
kama-rupam durasadam
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material
senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher
self and thus--by spiritual strength--conquer this insatiable enemy known as
lust.
In the material existence of life, one is certainly
influenced by propensities for lust and desire for dominating the resources of
material nature. By the strength of God consciousness, one can control the
material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may not give up work and
prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually developing Krishna consciousness, one can be situated in a
transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses and the
mind--by steady intelligence directed toward one's pure identity.
Aum Namo Narayanaya
Aum Namo Narayanaya
Aum Namo Narayanaya
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