Episode 01 - Essential Gita - Chapter 6 - Karma Yoga.
Chapter 6. KARMA YOGA
The word ‘Karma’ in Sanskrit means both action (active voice) and fruits/results/consequences/effect of action (passive voice). ‘Yoga’ etymologically relates to the root ‘yuj’ meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. ‘Karma Yoga’, in the spiritual context, means ‘actions conditioned to unite (with the divine)’.
“Karma Yoga” could be stated as the central piece of Srimad Bhagavad Gita. The messages are spread over several chapters, though one chapter (Chapter 3) is accredited with this headline.
The core objective of the Gita – the momentary context - was to shake Arjuna out of his confusion and despair and let him see what he needs to do, in a crystal clear perspective. This could have been accomplished by Sri Krishna in just a few words of command. But the Lord thought of inscribing for all of humanity for all times to come, a precious mine of analysis, reasoning, conclusions, and instructions in order that humanity could aspire – with a clear-set goal – for perennial happiness, while still involved with life and its material world attractions and distractions (as against ‘sanyasa’ renunciation). As we mentioned in the foreword, the central purpose of the Gita is to try and banish human misery, suffering and pain and help it find eternal bliss.
The Gita’s coverage of ‘Karma Yoga’ could be seen in two perspectives – one that would relate with the material world, granting its innate inclinations, its incessant and unavertable interaction with every pulse of life; analyse, reason and prescribe ways out of the problems and challenges that man is confronted with in handling life and its inescapable interface with the material world. In this perspective, I would venture the suggestion that ‘karma yoga’ would mean action united with the purpose of the material world, averting, however, the implicit flow of ‘sukha’ and ‘dukha’ from that interface.
The other perspective would elevate the discussion to the spiritual level, focus on the inherent true purpose of life and spell out the fallacy of ‘pleasure’ and ‘suffering’, and light up the path for deliverance from this fallacy, right in the midst of an active, action-filled, energetic, purposive life, worsting the challenges posed by the material world. “Karma Yoga” in this perspective, would represent the spiritual denomination of ‘action uniting with God’.
Classical, conventional commentaries tend to dwell on the second perspective predominantly. For instance, these would speak of ‘selfless action’, doing one’s ‘dharma’, doing one’s duty, etc. If one should expand the Gita’s messages to relate with the whole universe of action, this perspective would be falling short. To illustrate, an act done with an intense focus and passion, inevitably looking to its desired fruition – like the lifetime of research spent by Marie Curie, by Einstein, by Edison or the globally impacting movements started and energized by personalities like Gandhiji, Martin Luther King, Mandela, Swami Vivekananda, Ram Mohan Roy, Vinoba or self-effacing but passionate workers of humaneness like Florence Nightingale or Mother Theresa: Would these be accepted as ‘Karma Yogis’ or wouldn’t these be? Would their life’s work be accepted as ‘karma yoga’ or wouldn’t they be?
“Dharma” and “Duty” are pre-defined, prescribed and imposed. In the above cases, these entities took their lives’ dedication far, far beyond any such limitations and accomplished for humanity, for posterity, fruits that they all ought to have dreamed about and set out in search of – with passion.
Let us see if the Bhagavad Gita accommodates the first perspective:
In chapter 2, Verse 47, Sri Krishna lucidly paraphrases the action chosen by man of his free will, of his desire, of his dream, of his aspiration and what the ‘prakriti’-determined fruits will be and where and when these would fall. This, in my view, is a key proclamation by Sri Krishna, lifting free will of man and freedom of his actions to a pedestal - karmaṇy-evādhikāras te. Freedom which could be said to produce all the magnificent achievements of humanity – in realms of science, technology, industry, social reforms, or universal peace - beyond the fettering limitations of ‘dharma’ or ‘duty’. And, Sastras, our scriptures, would accommodatively call these actions ‘kamya karma’ – ‘action propelled by desire/aspiration’. Vedhic rituals like yagnas are predominantly in this category.
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
Purport: You have unhindered sanction/empowerment (“adhikaaraste”) to choose and perform your actions (including those that are prescribed for you by the scriptures). But do not believe, do not presume, that the fruits of those actions are the direct result of your actions. Never, therefore, consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities. Nor, shall you choose inaction. (Inaction is not an option to resolve the complexity-burden- of actions.) “Karma” here is action chosen of one’s free will. ‘adhikaareaste’ underscores that. If it were to be ‘duty’ as some commentators would have us understand, the command would have been ‘niyatam kuru karma’ – as indeed the Gita commands – niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ; śharīra-yātrāpi cha te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ - Chapter 3, Verse 8.
(This instruction is often misunderstood to mean that we do not need to be aspirational, ambitious, pursuing our dream, be proactive; that we need only to be doing our duties – those prescribed for us by the scriptures; and not think about the results of those performed ‘karmas’.
(I think this is a very underwhelming understanding of what Sri Bhagavan tells us here. Put to the test of a scientific scrutiny, given the fact that this universe is an ever changing one, a rapidly changing one – changes that one could hardly perceive or predict – and the added fact that an action of ours is just a tiny component of the forces released by that initiative – in different directions – the net result of that action would be the sum result also of that fast changing dynamics and the countless coordinate energies that both support and militate against that action.
(This could be illustrated by a crude allegory – someone who is an expert swimmer, thrown into a torrential rapid, would find his swimming skills pathetically unmatched with the energies of that swift current. If he swims along with the flow, he does remarkably well; if he swims against it, he could hardly move, indeed he may be pushed back. The force of the water flow is not a constant either; depending on the mass of the water flow and its velocity, it keeps changing. Therefore, the swimmer and his skills are but a pathetic small component of this event, with its contribution to the result also being pathetically small.
(Man has ceaselessly and relentlessly tried to take on Nature; tried to outwit it, outsmart it and aspiring to get ahead of it as well. But amazing as his achievements are in this process, through all of human history, he has always fallen short, tantalizingly close sometimes, but still falling short.
(The current decade in the planet’s history, would seem to have in store events that would illustrate this chasm more dramatically than ever.)
This very same message is found in the celebrated first mantra of IsOpanishad –
īśā vāsyamidaṁ sarvaṁ yatkiñca jagatyāṁ jagat |
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasyasviddhanam
Inhabited/pervaded/possessed by the Lord is this all, in whatever
is moving (or) non-moving. You should enjoy through renunciation (‘renunciation’ here means the perception that ‘you are the doer’; do not covet the riches of anyone else.
“Enjoy through renunciation” - asserts the Upanishad. In the material world’s understanding, ‘pleasure’ and ‘sacrifice’ are opposites, aren’t they? A renunciant does not crave for pleasure, and a pleasure seeker cannot even entertain thoughts of sacrifice! How does one derive pleasure from renouncing? When you perform actions without ego and when you experience the world without a sense of possession - because it is possessed by someone else – the Supreme Being - no distinction remains between pleasure and renunciation.
Concluding, the message in this sloka is this: by all means go out and do what you wish, dream aloft, aspire; you have unfettered freedom to imagine and choose that action. However, be aware that you are not the lord of the result – ‘maa phaleshu’. The lord is elsewhere, someone else. If you make that mental discrimination, you shall not suffer – either from the vanity of ‘achieving’ something that did not belong to your action, or from the despair, should the fruit be falling short of what you had designed it to be – or elude you altogether. The cultivation of the mindset – ‘I have given this my best. I shall accept what comes out of it with the thought that it comes out from the Universal Will or, Iswavara Prasad if you are so spiritually inclined - and least from what I have given it.’ That mindset is what Sri Krishna commends here for humans to continue to strive without inviting the deleterious effects of misplaced ownership of fruits.
‘KARMA’ – BEING ENGAGED, BEING AT WORK, IS AN INSEPARABLE PART OF OUR BEING’
Chapter 3, Verse 4
na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣhkarmyaṁ puruṣho ’śhnute
na cha sannyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigachchhati
One cannot achieve freedom from karmic reactions by merely abstaining from work, nor can one attain perfection of knowledge by mere physical/external renunciation.
The first line underscores the nature of humans: we have to be doing something or the other – even for looking after our body. But even if one forces himself into inaction: I sit tight on my karmendriyas. I do not stir. Have I overcome karmic reactions? No. The mind is still roving, wildly. The thoughts it generates reach out to sense objects. The thoughts create karmic reactions for me. Out of ingrained past experiences, the materially contaminated mind keeps running in the direction of pleasure, anxiety, stress, fear, hatred, envy, attachment, and the whole gamut of material emotions. So, a physical renunciation would not grant us deliverance. The Gita calls those who sit in a posture of physical renunciation while their minds till wander wildly, as vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ - the deluded, the hypocrites. (Chapter 3, verse 6).
Even as devotion without philosophical understanding is mere sentimentality and philosophical knowledge without devotion would be intellectual speculation, karma yoga without achieving atma njana - or knowledge without the mind conditioned and devoted to the Supreme Being - would be futile.
Chapter 3, Verse 9
yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samāchara
Work done for the enjoyment of one’s senses, or the gratification of one’s ego or pride, work done with the mind invested in the fruits, cause bondage and moral / cosmic effects to be expended through continuous births and suffering. The same work, if done as a ‘yajna’ offering to the Supreme Being, without any attachment or material goals, would be energies liberating one from the same distress.
‘ATTACHMENT’ – THE SOLE ENEMY
“ATTACHMENT” is the chief enemy if one wishes to accomplish ‘yoga’ (union with God) through ‘karma’. This would be thunderously demonstrated by the very context of the Mahabharata war. Arjuna flounders as he sees the Kauravas in war-ready formations in front of him. He blabbers:
dṛiṣhṭvemaṁ sva-janaṁ kṛiṣhṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṁ cha pariśhuṣhyati
vepathuśh cha śharīre me roma-harṣhaśh cha jāyate
gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt tvak chaiva paridahyate
na cha śhaknomy avasthātuṁ bhramatīva cha me manaḥ
nimittāni cha paśhyāmi viparītāni keśhava
na cha śhreyo ’nupaśhyāmi hatvā sva-janam āhave
“Seeing my own kinsmen arrayed against me, intent on killing each other, my limbs are flopping and quivering; my mouth is drying up. My whole body shudders: my hair is standing on end. My bow, the Gāṇḍīva, is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning all over. My mind is in a quandary and whirling in confusion; I am unable to hold myself steady any longer. O Krishna, slayer of Keshi, I only see omens of misfortune. I do not foresee how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle.”
Question: Is Arjuna made of that kind of jelly-stuff, who flounders and panics when confronted with adversaries? Is that his nature? No. He is known – in all time history – as a quintessential, unconquerable warrior capable of taking on even his father Indra in battle. Just prior to the Mahabharata war emanating from the failure of peace talks that Sri Krishna undertook to see if the war could be averted, Arjuna bested these very forces he now sees in front of him and redeemed the herds of cattle for Virata King in whose patronage the Pandavas spent the last year of their abdication:.
Then, what was it that made the very same warrior melt like wax, squirm like a spineless worm and lament like a coward? The differing factor was ‘attachment’. In the earlier Virata episode he took on the same Kauravas and bested them without any remorse or hesitation. He was then fighting for someone who had given him and the other Pandavas shelter and succour during the difficult ‘anjatha vasam’ (incognito) year of their abdication. He was repaying a debt. Here, however, he was going to fight for himself, for his regaining his and the Pandavas’ due claim to Hastinapura, denied rudely by Duryodhana. And, with that selfish goal troubling him, his self-enlightenment and mental stability are both plundered by his attachment for those he saw in front of him – his favourite Guru Drona, his most loved grand sire Bhishma, Kripachariar and a lot of others who were kin and close friends.
“Attachment” is the fount of each one of the evil attributes of a man – kama, lobha, krodha, madha, mascharya. Here, in Arjuna’s case, it causes ‘moha’ – confusion, bewilderment, mental turbulence.
Sri Krishna therefore focusses on that core problem – ‘attachment’ – in much of his discourse in the Gita, not only in the Karma Yoga chapter, but throughout this divine treatise.
Chapter 2, Verse 48
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
Purport: Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga.
We saw earlier the amazing message in the Isopanishad – ‘tyena tyaktena bhunjita’ – Give up your sense of possession / ownership; and enjoy the world.
Here, this verse is the follow-through advice from the preceding verse where Sri Krishna expounds this tenet in a direct, thunderous term: ‘maa phaleshu’. ‘You have no domain over the results (of your actions).’
Here, the Lord says: ‘Give up attachment ‘saṅgaṁ tyaktvā’. The mind is tranquil when one puts past stress and future (expectant) tensions out of it. More easily said than done. But when one ingrains ‘detachment’ – the antidote for ‘attachment’ – meaning not renunciation but keeping oneself above – well above – the consequences/fruits/results of one’s actions, both the past stress (from the ‘ownership’ of actions) and the future tensions (again, from deeming oneself to be the owner of the consequences/fruits/results, the expectant tensions) are eradicated. Tranquility is accomplished. That, the Lord promises, is Yoga.
Chapter 2 – Verse 62
dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate
When the mind is constantly engaged in worldly things, it grows fond of them and develops attachments. From attachment arises desire, and from desire, anger
The five evil attributes, all of them, Kama, Lobha, Moha, Madha, Matscarya are traced to attachment. In this verse, it is explained how one evil attribute generates another: attachment generates desire, desire generates anger (when desire is not fulfilled). Is it OK if the attachment-led desire is fulfilled? Would we be happy? When a desire is fulfilled, at that very moment, the fear of that fruit leaving us, us being dispossessed, arises. Because, subconsciously, the mind is aware that we are connected to a material world that changes every moment and those changes are all beyond our will and power. And that underlying consciousness leads to the fear of being deprived of what we might have momentarily gained.
Chapter 3 – Verse 7
yas tvindriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna
karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśhiṣhyate
Those karma yogis who control their senses with their mind and engage the sense organs in working without attachment, are exceptional and superior.
‘RID YOURSELF OF ATTACHMENT, ATTAIN GOD’
Chapter 3, Verse 19
tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samāchara
asakto hyācharan karma param āpnoti pūruṣhaḥ
Therefore, give up attachment. Constantly be engaged (in work), without attachment. Because, in so doing – working, being engaged constantly, without attachment to the fruits of action, one attains the Supreme Self.
(This instruction follows Sri Krishna describing the situation of those who have attained realization - yas tvātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛiptaśh cha mānavaḥ - those who rejoice in their communion with the soul within – they have no duties or work commitment in this world. (But they do keep working for the larger good of the world). Such realized souls have nothing to gain or lose in this world, they are independent of the material world. – That is ‘sanyasa yoga’. But, considering the difficult path laid out for getting there, Sri Krishna commends ‘Karma Yoga’ - Do your work, but give up attachment to its fruits, you can get there – without striving as hard as those choosing ‘sanyasa yoga’ have to.)
Chapter 3, Verse 25
saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvānso yathā kurvanti bhārata
kuryād vidvāns tathāsaktaśh chikīrṣhur loka-saṅgraham
The ignorant perform their religious rituals with attachment – though diligently, without indolence or lack of faith. They have complete faith in the efficacy of the rituals in delivering the material results desired. (But such karma is still inferior as it is done with attachment and the fruits are temporary, material.) The wise, the ones who had gained spiritual knowledge, should also perform such karma, not for themselves nor for their material gain, but for the good of the world.
And they would, in the process, set an example, provide a role model for the ignorant, encouraging them to do karma with detachment (Verse 26.)
How, wherefrom does one get ‘attachment’?
Chapter 3, Verse 34
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣhau vyavasthitau
tayor na vaśham āgachchhet tau hyasya paripanthinau
The senses naturally experience attachment and aversion to the sense objects, but do not be controlled by them, for they are waylayers and foes.
The senses are, in nature’s architecture, meant to be servient, not the master. When the senses are not controlled and conditioned on the divine path, they would run riot like wild horses. Sri Krishna instructs: ‘Do never let the senses run your mind/intellect. Always be in full control of them. Be steadfast in your goal.’
yadā sarve pramucyante kāmā ye'sya hṛdi śritāḥ |
atha martyo'mṛto bhavatyatra brahma samaśnute |
… Kathopanishad 2.3.14
When all desires clinging to the heart of one fall off, then the mortal becomes immortal and here attains Brahman.
When of the person sees the truth, all desires, which were clinging to the intellect of the knower before he attained the knowledge, fall off from want of anything else to be desired (for, it is the intellect and not the atman is the seat of desires,), then the mortal, consequent to the acquisition of knowledge, becomes immortal, death (consisting of ignorance, desire and karma having been destroyed), and becomes Brahman even here. There is no neceessity of going. Death, implicit with ‘a going’ or leaving here, having been destroyed.
The purport is this: Of course, the mortal remains would be consigned to the elements. But the soul, having found union with the Supreme Being has gained immortality – in the sense that it shall not be born again.
At the elevated state of consciousness, the only desire that still prevails is the desire to see the Truth – the Brahman. When that desire is fulfilled, there is absolutely no desire left.
yathā sarve prabhidyante hṛdayasyeha granthayaḥ |
atha martyo'mṛto bhavatyetāvaddhyanuśāsanam ||
Kathopanishad 2.3.15
When here all the knots of the heart are sundered, (all worldly attachments severed), then the mortal becomes immortal.
When and how the uprooting of all desires takes place is explained. When all the ties of the heart of one, while yet alive, are destroyed; when the ties of the heart, i.e., such as the beliefs ‘I am this body,’ ‘this is my wealth,’ ‘I am happy or miserable,’ etc., are destroyed by the rise of the contrary belief in the identity of the Brahman and the atman, in the form ‘I am certainly Brahman not subject to Samsara’ the desires which originate in those ties are destroyed to their very root; then the mortal becomes immortal. This much alone—the doubt that there is more should not be raised—is the instruction.
The mantra concludes with the assertion: etāvat hi = this in its entirely; anuśāsanam - is the teaching of the Scriptures. In other words, we are told that there is no scope for any doubt or argument or discussion on this.
‘ASPARSA YOGA – BE IN IT, DON’T BE IT’
Chapter 5, verse 10
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā
Those who dedicate their actions to God, abandoning all attachment, remain untouched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.
“padma-patram ivaambhasaa” – Like water (drop) on a lotus leaf.
The lotus leaf’s upper surface is a waxed one. Though it is lashed by water all the time, water does not stick to the surface of the leaf. This allegory is a great yoga message – ‘Asparsa Yoga’.
asparśayogo vai nāma durdarśaḥ sarvayogiṇām ।
yogino bibhyati hyasmādabhaye bhayadarśinaḥ
… Mandukya Karika 3.39
This Yoga, which is ‘not in touch with (not attached to)anything’, is hard to be attained by all Yogis . The Yogis are afraid of it, for they (in their flawed mind) see fear in it where – in truth - there is only fearlessness. Even Yogis shrink from it, which in truth is free from all fear, for, they think (in ignorance) that this Yoga brings about the annihilation of their soul.
asparśayogo vai nāma sarvasattvasukho hitaḥ |
avivādo'viruddhaśca deśitastaṃ namāmyaham |
Mandukya Karika 4.2
I salute this Yoga known as the Asparśa (i.e., free from all touch which implies duality), taught through the scripture, —the Yoga which promotes the happiness of all beings and conducive to the well-being of all; which is free from strife and contradictions.
Evidently, this is a highly evolved yoga state which even advanced sadhaks of yoga feared; fear out of the still clutching attachment to one’s own individual ego – identity?
This yoga represents ‘detachment’ in its absolute terms.
(Back to the Gita) - Chapter 5, Verse 21
bāhya-sparśheṣhvasaktātmā vindatyātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham akṣhayam aśhnute
Those who are not attached to external sense pleasures realize divine bliss in the Atma being united with the Supreme Being through Yoga; they experience unending happiness – the bliss.
ānando brahmeti vyajānāt
“Know God to be bliss.”
(Taittirīya Upaniṣhad – Ananavalli 3.6)
‘WHY ARE WE REPEATEDLY SLIPPING INTO LETTING SENSES BE OUR MASTER?’
Chapter 3, Verse 36:
Arjuna asked Sri Krishna:
atha kena prayukto ’yaṁ pāpaṁ charati pūruṣhaḥ
anichchhann api vārṣhṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ
Why is a person impelled to commit sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if by force?
The Supreme Lord replied:
Chapter 3, Verse 37
kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ
mahāśhano mahā-pāpmā viddhyenam iha vairiṇam
It is lust – lust alone, which is born of contact with the mode of passion (rajo Guna), and lust transitions to anger. Know this as the sinful, all-devouring enemy of man in the world.
When a desire is fulfilled, we want more; ‘greed’ (intensified desire) is generated. When greed is not fulfilled, anger (desire or greed frustrated) is generated. Each one of these – desire, greed and anger – are compulsive generators of sin.
The severity of the devastation that ‘desire’ – never fully satiated – could cause is likened to a wildfire that is difficult to extinguish –
Chapter 3, Verse 39
āvṛitaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā
kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣhpūreṇānalena cha
Even the most discerning wise man gets afflicted by this perpetual enemy in the form of insatiable desire, which is never satisfied and burns like fire
Chapter 3, Verse 41
tasmāt tvam indriyāṇyādau niyamya bharatarṣhabha
pāpmānaṁ prajahi hyenaṁ jñāna-vijñāna-nāśhanam
Therefore, right at the very beginning bring the senses under control and slay this enemy called desire, which is the embodiment of sin and destroyer of knowledge and realization.
How does one ‘slay’ that ‘desire’ – the principal enemy?
Chapter 3, Verse 42
indriyāṇi parāṇyāhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ
The senses are superior to the gross body, and superior to the senses is the mind. Beyond the mind is the intellect, and even beyond the intellect is the soul.
The njanendriyas (eyes – sight, ears – hearing, nose – smell, speech – tongue, and skin – touch) are superior to the karmendriyas (motor organs – hands, feet, mouth, anus and sex organ). And, mind is superior to the njanedriyas. Beyond the mind is the intellect. And, even beyond the intellect is the soul.
Sri Krishna sets out the hierarchical architecture of man in this verse. And then proceeds to tell us what one should do – given this architecture – to ‘slay lust’.
Chapter 3, Verse 43
evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā sanstabhyātmānam ātmanā
jahi śhatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam
Thus knowing the soul to be superior to the material intellect, subdue the lower self (senses, mind, and intellect) by the higher self (strength of the soul), and kill this formidable enemy called lust.
The Kathopanishad uses a horse-led chariot as an allegory to explain what could go wrong if the soul is not alert enough – losing control:
Chapter 1. Section 3. Mantra 3 –
ātmānam̐ rathitaṃ viddhi śarīram̐ rathameva tu |
buddhiṃ tu sārathiṃ viddhi manaḥ pragrahameva ca
Know the atman as the lord of the chariot, the body as only the chariot, know also intelligence as the driver; know the mind as the reins.
Mantra 4
indriyāṇi hayānāhurviṣayām̐ steṣu gocarān ।
ātmendriyamanoyuktaṃ bhoktetyāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ
The senses, they say, are the horses; the objects which they perceive, the way; the atman, the senses and the mind combined, the intelligent call the enjoyer.
Mantra 5
yastvavijñānavānbhavatyayuktena manasā sadā |
tasyendriyāṇyavaśyāni duṣṭāśvā iva sāratheḥ
But of him who is not possessed of discrimination, and whose mind is not in control, the senses are out of control - like vicious, wild horses (left unbridled) – with the driver not in control.
Mantra 6
yastu vijñānavānbhavati yuktena manasā sadā |
tasyendriyāṇi vaśyāni sadaśvā iva sāratheḥ ||
But of him who knows and has a mind always controlled, the senses are always controllable as the good, well-trained horses of the driver.
As we go along, we would see Sri Krishna laying the road for us to attempt and accomplish that equanimity, that control – infuse godliness in all our actions. It is only natural for us to do that because the Upanishad avers ‘Isavasyam idham sarvam’. Everything is His. Pervaded by Him. It is all His domain. Any action – or its intended result – if dedicated to Him, elevates the doer to the yogic position of equanimity and liberates him from the dual perils of ‘sukha’ and ‘dukha’. Why is ‘sukha’ a peril? Because, pleasure generates simultaneously, instantly, a fear over its inevitable impermanence. We begin to despair – ahead of that peril eventuating, thus quashing the ‘pleasure’ out of the ’pleasure’.
And, here is another worldly instruction: yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi - ‘be steadfast in your actions’. This is a fundamental management lesson, isn’t it? One’s actions should be backed by unwavering steadfastness for it to be true to its intent and purpose.
‘EXCEL IN WHATEVER YOU DO’ – ‘YOGA KARMASU KAUSHALAM’ **
**(Inscribed in the emblem of the Indian Administrative Service)
Chapter 2, Verse 50:
buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛita-duṣhkṛite
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśhalam
Purport: One who prudently, with the best of his skills, practices the science of work without attachment, can get rid of both good and bad reactions in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Yoga, which is the art of working skillfully (in proper consciousness).
if one gives up attachment to results, would’nt the quality of performance suffer? Wouldn’t it be work bereft of passionate commitment which we usually understand as the motivational energy - from a self-interest, a self-aspiration? Shree Krishna explains that working without personal motivation should not reduce the quality of our work; instead, we become even more skillful than before, as ‘self-interest’ is supplanted by two things: one selflessness; two infusing the spiritual thought – ‘Isvararpanam’ – or the ‘universal good’. Indeed, the fear of a result that we do not wish is a discharger of our passion and commitment to a piece of work. Consider the example of an infantry soldier at the warfront. His thoughts are not on himself, his family or his personal pride or reputation. His thoughts are on his duty to the sovereignty of his country. That is enough motivation and energy for him to do his job with such amazing bravery and selflessness.
Or, a sincere surgeon who operates on a patient. He is focussed on his professional commitment – the Hippocratic oath he had taken while entering the profession ** and performs that procedure with equanimity and ethically upright consciousness, is undisturbed irrespective of whether the patient survives or dies. This is because he is merely doing his duty unselfishly, to the best of his ability, and is not attached to, affected by the fear of, the results. Hence, even if the patient dies while being operated upon, the surgeon does not feel guilty of murder. However, if the same surgeon’s only child needs to be operated, he does not have the courage to do so. Because of attachment to the results, he fears he will not be able to perform the operation skillfully, and so he seeks the help of another surgeon. This shows that attachment to results does not make us more skillful; rather, the attachment affects our performance adversely. Instead, if we work without attachment, we can do so at our maximum skill level, without feeling nervous, jittery, scared, tense, or excited.
** Excerpts from the Hippocratic oath – modern version:
“ I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
“I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
“Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
“If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.”
“Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” are familiar words in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). These appear inscribed in the emblem of the IAS.
செய்வன திருந்தச் செய் – whatever you do, do it very well/to the best of your ebilities – goes the ancient Thamizh maxim.
“RITUALISTIC KARMA”
The Gita now breaks into a high-octane topic – evaluating the ritualistic component of the vedhas – a topic that only the Supreme Lord, as the Vedha-karta Himself, could broach.
The vedhic corpus evolved, over time, into two distinct components: the first part, concerning the rituals, known as ‘karma khanda’ or ‘poorva meemamsa’. The second one, which obviously evolved later, is known as ‘njana khanda’ or ‘uttara meemamsa’ or ‘vedanta’ i.e. the ending of the vedhas. (Meemamsa = to enquire, reflecting, to investigate).
As sages found that the rituals prescribed in the vedhas were mostly addressing worldly good or heavenly good, they thought two broader ultimate issues were not adequately addressed: what is the purpose of life, was it all about only material pleasures, well-being and heavenly prizes, which were all, by nature, impermanent and transient, or was there a more enduring, a more fulfilling purpose to life; two, as the rituals were all addressed to different godheads with discriminate functional authority and power, was there a supervening power that was the cause of all these godheads, the one Supreme Being.
These inner questions of sages led them to seek, from within them through intense meditation and focusing, the Truth, the reality, the indivisible One - the answer to all the questions. They retired from the habitations to forests where they would not be disturbed in this intense introspection and inner search. The corpus of what they realized in these inner journeys were therefore called – Aranyakam – of the forests. Whey they thought of propagating what they realized, they had fervent and intensely committed students to live with them and join in these inner journeys through great, incisive, and sometimes even audacious teacher-student exchanges. As the students sat at the feet of the teachers in this quiet and elevating natural ambience, what turned out in these interactions were termed the ‘Upanishads’ – Upanishad meaning ‘sitting by the side of’ or ‘sitting at the feet of. ‘The Upanishadic wealth of Indian philosophy is hailed as ‘Vedanta’ the ultimate of the Vedhas.
As we noted in the foreword, the Bhagavad Gita is called the essence of the Upanishads - sarvopanishado gavo dogdha gopalanandana:
parthovatsa: sudheerbhoktha dugdham gitamrutam mahat – in the invocation for reciting the Gita.
Therefore, the inescapable interconnection between the Gita and the Upanishads could be seen right through this divine verse collection.
Now, to the point we began this backgrounder with: the vedantic corpus – i.e. the Upanishads – concluded that the ritual part of the vedhic corpus had but limited rewards to offer – good in the material world and good in the heavenly abodes, both impermanent. And the eternal good, eternal bliss, eternal truth lay beyond – and within oneself as well.
While demonstrating this, it was natural for the vedantic proclamations to express due apprehensions about the ritual vedhic component. The Upanishadic style of expression is very bold and strato-emphatic, so much so that some commentators would refer to such proclamations vis-à-vis the ritual component of the vedhas, as in conflict with the latter. This impression is, though, disabused by the Poorva Meemamsa itself -: "sarvaśaktau pravṛttiḥ syāt tathābhūtopadeśāt" The term upadeśa here means instructions of the śāstras as taught. i.e. We should tend towards the omnipotent Supreme Being. The two are elucidations of the vital but composite parts of Hindu theism and support and endorse each other. Jaimini, to whom the Poorva MimAmsa is attributed, is found to cite Badarayana (Veda Vyasa) who codified Uttara MimAmsa, and vice versa in several places of these two codifying works that consolidated and strengthened the Hindu religion during the onslaught from Buddhism and Sankhya-like challenges.
Here are the Upanishadic texts that flag the limitations implicit in the Karma Khanda part of the vedhas:
Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.7
plavaa hyEthE adhrutaa yagnaroopaa ashtaadaSadhOktham avaram yEshu karma;EdhacrEyO yEbinandhanthi mootaah jaraa mrithyum thE punarEvaapi yawthi.
The yagna performed with the efforts and dedication of 18 people (ashtAdaSathOktham) is like a boat with a very crumbly bottom.
The eighteen people mentioned here for performing the agnihOthrA represent the yagna karta or yajamaanan, his patni (wife) and sixteen Brahmins well-versed in the Vedas and the prescription for rituals. Because these yagnas are anchored in material wishes and welfare, the ignorant, brainless people (moodhAh) who think very highly of these and perform them - however much with application and dedication - become subject to ageing and death repeatedly. They induce the man to seek such transient pleasures repeatedly.
(As the yagna was alluded to a boat with a crumbly bottom, the metaphor is that those who choose to set forth on this boat would sink and drown in the bhava saagara - the very deep and swirling sea of karma – or samsara).
1. 2-8
AvidhyaayaamantharE varthamaanaah: Swayam dheeraah paNditham manyamaanaah:janganyamaanaah pariyanthi mootaah andhEnaiva neeyamaanaa yadhaanthaah.
These misguided people who live in the midst of material pain and pleasure (this is described as avidhyaayaamantharE varthamaanaah) ignorantly think they are both learned and brave. With this ignorance they fall into the trap of ageing and death repeatedly. This is like a blind person leading another blind person. (andhEnaiva)
1. 2-9
avidhyaayaam bahuthaa varthamaanaah vayam krudhaarthaa ithyabhimanyanthi bhaalaah:
yath karmiNO wa pravEdhayanthi raagaath thEnaadhuraah ksheeNa lOkaath SyavanthE.
These ignorant people (who think they are learned and brave) swim and sink in the material world. They think (misguidedly) that they have attained their goals. But they do not realise the Truth. They engage in these karmas (yagnas, etc.) with desire and self-centric goals and objectives. Though they reap the prescribed rewards like swarga, they spend these merits pretty soon and plunge back into this earth.
1.2-10
ishtaa poortham manyamaana varishtam; naanyacSrEyO vEdhayanthE pramootaa:
naakaSya brishtE thE sukruthEnu bhoothvaa; imam lOkam heenathaam vaa visanthi.
These distilled fools (pramootaah) think that these rituals (like yagnas) are the end-all of everything. They don't know or think about anything beyond these. After enjoying the fruits of these karmas (yagnas, etc.) in the upper worlds like Swarga, they fall back to this earth or even lower worlds (for going through life, ageing and death, again and again.).
1.2-11
(The Upanishad now proceeds, after deprecating and condemning the selfish, self-centric, materialistic engagement with rituals, to spell out what is the true alternative).
thapah srEththE yE hyubhavaSandhyaraNyE, caanthaa vidwamsO bhaikshacaryaam caranthah:
SuryadwaarENa thE virajaa prayaanthi: yathraamrutha: ca purushO hi avyayaAthmA.
(On the other hand), sages who have conquered their indriyas (the five sensual organs including the mind), who glow with jnaana, live ascetic lives in the forests, doing penance and surviving on very meagre alms (bhaikShAcharyam). These elevated souls completely shed their karmas. They, at the end, journey through the uttharAyaNa route and attain unity with the Brahmam, not to be born again.
1.2-12
pareekshya lOkaan karmacithaan braahmaNO: nirvEdamaayaath naaSyakritha: krithEna;
thath vignaanaartham Sa gurumEvaabikachchEth SamithpaaNi SrOthriyam brahmarishtam.
A sincere seeker therefore, should examine, scrutinise and deeply think about the pleasures and experiences he secured through his good karmas. Due to this mindful and deep scrutiny, he should realise that he would not be able to attain the Truth (Brahmam, paramAthmA) through such karmas but only through sacrificing (vanquishing) his attachment to those karmas. After that realisation, he should, in order to attain that state and realise the Truth, seek out, with samith (the sacrificial twig) in hand, a guru who is well-learned in the Vedas but, more importantly, one who himself has realised the True Brahmam.
Let us see what Sri Krishna’s instructions are, on this:
Chapter 2, verses 42, 43
yāmimāṁ puṣhpitāṁ vāchaṁ pravadanty-avipaśhchitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ
kāmātmānaḥ swarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśheṣha-bahulāṁ bhogaiśhwarya-gatiṁ prati
Those with limited scriptural understanding, get attracted to the flowery words of the Vedhas, which advocate ostentatious rituals for elevation to the celestial abodes, and presume no higher principle is described in them (nānyad astīt)i. They glorify only those portions of the Vedhas that please their senses, and perform pompous ritualistic ceremonies for attaining high birth, opulence, sensual enjoyment, and elevation to the heavenly abodes. (The celestial abodes contain a higher order of luxuries and offer greater facility for sensual enjoyment. But elevation to the heavenly abodes does not imply a concurrent spiritual elevation because these celestial planes are also within the material universe, and having gone there, when one’s account of good karmas gets spent, once again returns to this world.)
Chapter 2, verse 45:
trai-guṇya-viṣhayā vedā nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣhema ātmavān
The vedhas (He refers to the karma khanda (ritualistic) part here.) are about life around the three gunas – i.e. material goals. You (Arjuna!) shall strive, aspire to rise above the three Gunas (Therefore, the vedhas are of limited purpose for you.) You shall strive to rise clear of the duality of ‘sukha’ and ‘dukha’ – ‘pleasure’ and ‘pain’; strive to be firmly established in the ‘satva’ guna; strive not to seek material comfort and security; and strive to be established in your own Soul – Atman.
Chapter 2, verse 46:
yāvān artha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvānsarveṣhu vedeṣhu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ
Of what use, is a small well? When there is a flood of water everywhere? Likewise, one who has realized the Absolute, the Supreme Being, has also accomplished what the Vedhas prescribed, ipso facto.
The allegory is that the smaller unit of sadhana viz. studying and adherence to the prescriptions of the vedhas – the smaller unit, - the small well or water hole - is subsumed when Brahma Njana, the ultimate knowledge, - the all-engulfing flood, happens.
Chapter 9, Verses 20
trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā
yajñair iṣhṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante
te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśhnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān
Those who are inclined to ‘kaamya karma’ - the fruitive activity described in the Vedhas worship Me through ritualistic sacrifices. Being purified from sin by drinking the Soma juice, which is the remnant of the yajñas, they seek to go to heaven. By virtue of their good merits (through such ritualistic sacrifices), they go to the abode of Indra, the king of heaven, and enjoy the pleasures of the celestial gods –
Verse 21
te taṁ bhuktvā swarga-lokaṁ viśhālaṁ
kṣhīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśhanti
evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
When they have enjoyed the vast pleasures of heaven, as the stock of their merits gets exhausted, they shall return to this earthly plane. Thus, those who follow the Vedhic rituals, with intent on material good and heavenly good, are caught in the vice of cycle of births. (gatāgataṁ - repeatedly come and go in this world.)
Chapter 4, Verse 32
evaṁ bahu-vidhā yajñā vitatā brahmaṇo mukhe
karma-jān viddhi tān sarvān evaṁ jñātvā vimokṣhyase
All these different kinds of sacrifice have been described in the Vedhas. Know them as originating from different types of fruitive work; this understanding cuts the knots of material bondage.
Verse 33
śhreyān dravya-mayād yajñāj jñāna-yajñaḥ parantapa
sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate
The dedication through knowledge (njana) is far superior to rituals with material offerings. All of karmic rituals should lead to knowledge (njanam).
Chapter 2, Verses 53,
śhruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niśhchalā
samādhāv-achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi
When your intellect is conditioned not to be allured by the fruitive sections of the Vedhas and is stilled, firmly established, remains steadfa