Karma-Yoga
Karma-Yoga Excellency and
Elegance of Action
Arjuna asked,
“Dear Sir, First you praised intensity in action on the line of duty, and then you elaborated the glory of Bramhic experience. If the latter is supreme why am I to involve in this dangerous action?”
Krishna said,
“World’s psychology in all ages is either introvert or extrovert, philosophers or workaholics, and of course combinations of both. Therefore the original approach to Absolute Truth or Supreme one God is always two– jnana yoga, yoga of understanding, for the introverts, and karma yoga, yoga of action, for the extroverts.
“All religions of the world of past, present & future are composed of different ingredients of both. Whatever psychology is predominant in the world’s population, that quality of religion has the largest appeal. But religion would be always a sect, a separatist, fundamentalist, unless it embraces both approaches, and bestows the techniques and guidance according to their different distinct set-ups of levels of consciousness.
“But dear friend, in neither of these two approaches, nor in their compounds and off-shoots, is action to be abandoned. Action has to be transcended, abandonment is detrimental to the transcendence. Because, action’s transcendence is possible only by upgraded series of more responsible, sensitive, serious and risky actions. That is how you evolve. Dropping out is far too lethargic. And adopting outside actions will create extra bondage. And after all, there is no way anyone can exist without action. Even if you are doing nothing, you may be sitting, looking, talking, breathing, thinking– all these are indeed actions. If they are not organized & directed to one’s immediate duty & responsibility, then they go vagrant. Piles of binding influences of useless actions keep your brain dusty and slippery and too thick that words of wisdom do not reach to it. Not only intellectually you go handicapped, but also true love is never born in your heart. You fail to experience the thrill of true love; your heart remains paralyzed love-wise. Only skin-deep superficial emotions you can handle and different whimsical moods dominate your love life.
“If you do not perform action but keep on thinking about things that money can buy then you go on becoming a hypocrite.
“Therefore, O Arjuna, learn to act selflessly Dear, be not svarthy by working just for your belly and little family. Be nisvarthy, the selfless performer of your duty.
“In the beginning of Cosmic day, about1.92 billion years ago, the first being discovered the process of yajna, showing gratefulness and generosity to properly designated beings. These beings are everywhere, all over, and when you begin to share your hard labored earnings with them, then they speed up your progress. So feed them and in turn they will offer through the course of nature all that’s needed for your life and sustenance. But remember they have given you gifls, satisfy them first before use. If you don’t you commit theft and too many of such cases compound the destiny of great robbery and series of burglaries. Robbers can then survive on your theft tendencies. Then even if you buy all weapons of USA & USSR and use them to guard your wealth, some masterminded robber will arise & successfully rob you up or disease will sneak in and rob you of years of your life. Tornado will rob of all your belongings. So don’t be a thief first thing.
“Next, the food you cook through the money of your own selfless labor, share that with celestials and others, then eat with your family. This food is brain cleansing, heart purifying; it is a tonic for your spiritual stamina; best for your psychological health & upliftmcnl of consciousness.
“Those self-centered, selfish, non-sharing people who cook and eat just to feed their own bellies and own little family, eat only dirts which smear-up the intellect making it more workaholic and dull, making simple spiritual progress a million year task…
“All beings are sustained through food. Food is born from rain. Rain comes from yajna. That comes from proper set-up of human duty. This self-course of action comes from the Vedas. The Vedas come from the Supreme Lord, and God is always present when acts of sharing begin. He is the omnipresent. But His manifestation, His presence, His movement is seen and felt in the melting state of heart, of a selfless nisvarthy person.
“Those who do not live by I his process of mutual sharing, called yajna, and live by they’re own concocted self-styled life, live in vain and are only burdens on this earth. Then divine incarnations intervene to eliminate.
“But then again, don’t rush, don’t yoke, don’t force physically or verbally your kind of work on all. Because, right in the heart of the world there are those who have no duties at all. They have transcended through the due process clause. Physical body is too uninformative. The record of all spiritual practices is inside in the chitta in subconscious layer of mind. Now they have arisen and live contented in their Inner Self through Inner Self for the Inner Self. His or her body & senses, mind, intellect & ego are as distinct & separate to him as that tree to you; that hill, this table and this chair to you. These all have become exterior agents, adjuncts, and outer shells in comparison to the Inner Self wherein he resides all the time. He has no selfish ties with anyone. What all he does are actions for the welfare of the world. Therefore never go to bother someone who is like that; like Jadabharata,- King Rahugan yoked him to work– and see what happened? Don’t underestimate wise guys like King Janaka. Don’t punish great beings like Socrates or Lao Tze. Such highly evolved great men may be found working hard on the line of their duty, like Guru Nanak farming, Kabir weaving clothes, Paramesthi tailoring, Manidas gardening, Lahiri Mahasay working in the post office, but they are not duty-bound ones! They arc doing it for the education of the world and training of those who recognize them and create perfect ideals or models for evolving progressive life.
“Me too, O Arjuna, am like this! Sitting on the highest pedestal of evolution of consciousness, I’ve no action, no duty, and no responsibility because I’ve neither samskaras nor vasanas. I’m free! Even if I kill the whole world and create exactly the same all over again, or different from this, I’ve that much power to remain unstained. And I never ever lose it. Wherever I go, whatever form I assume, it is always with Me… Growth of body and age has nothing to do with my power’s growth. Birth & death are my play. Time & space are my toys; elements and gunas too are my instruments to universalize myself.
“But see, I myself too engage in action as anybody else. But it is only to provide an idea and model for progressive life. And one thing more, to offer objects of meditation to all mankind. And it is my humble advice to all those who become enlightened, although free, please, still perform action for lokasiksa, for education of the world. Otherwise, people are going to follow you; because as much as you become spiritually evolved you become more illustrious, charismatic, magnetic, and all arc more likely lo imitate your gestures and performances more than your message. Therefore, let your life be your message. No confusion, no misunderstanding, no conflict should be spread through you in those following the teachings of the scriptures.
“But no matter what and no matter how careful confusion & misunderstanding are going to overtake you O Arjuna, for the simple reason of being hypnotized by ego which remains as long as you impose your doership; and from that none can save you, no one can help you.
“There is one way. Just like that girl, when and when her hair covers her forehead, then, again and again she shakes her head and lo the hair flies back; the same way, do like this…
tatva vitlu mahabaho
guna karma vibhaga yon
gunagunesu vartanta
iti matva na sajjate
“Through Prcm meditation dive deep in & through Mystica transcensia experience to your true Self. Then come out retaining the impacts, and thus perform actions.
“When and when object identification overshadows your experience, shrug and shake it off saying it is only
Krishna answered, “This desire, this passion, this irritation turning into fire of sex & rage, ever unsatiable. Know for sure this presses always.
“Just like a mirror is covered by dust, fire is covered by smoke, fetus is covered by water, so also your illustrious wisdom is covered by piled up dusts of desires by kama- the lust; It never gets its fill even in millions of years of constant fulfilling. So much time and innumerable efforts of so many life times have gone in vain due to this shyster.
“Senses, mind & intellect are where kama stays, and assuming innumerable forms sneakingly operates. He works this threesome in so many ways until he obtains whatever he wants, keeping the Atma on hold all the while, superimposed, in a near faint. Therefore, organize the senses and conquer O fearless one, this desiring vasana fast.
“When you conquer it its outer body falls off and there arises intuition. This operates throughout the expiry of your spiritual practice until the time when you attain enlightenment when its outer body falls off again, then there arises pratibha. During materialistic life that which acts as kama or vasana, in yogic life functions as intuition; in post enlightenment it functions as pratibha, a wisdom-like spol light of illumination. Therefore- this kama, which is trying to drag you in allurement of another’s duty, leaping off the track of your own dharma, just to satisfy your mind, intellect and loony senses, averse to killing these your kinsmen, O Arjuna, conquer it!
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