Om Namo
Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!
“Doing Actions (Karma) with Knowledge (Gyan)
is the Liberator”
Chapter 2; Sankhya Yoga
Krishna briefly explained the concepts of
Sankhya Yoga in regard to the theory and nature of Aatman to Arjuna and moved
on to the virtues of keeping up his Swadharma as Kshatriya.
“Oh Arjuna, all those great warriors
that are holding you in high esteem for your valor thus far, shall think light
of you under the impression that you are a coward who fled from the
battlefield” (2/35)
“Further, they will not only be
critical of your lack of fighting skills but also start taking ill of you in
various ways which would definitely get you to grief” (2/36)
“Oh Arjuna, in case you get killed
in the battlefield, you will get heaven; if you win, you will get to enjoy the
luxuries of ruling a great Empire. So, either way you tend to gain. So, get up
and be ready for the battle” (2/37)
This is a very important message for all of
us. In our efforts to achieve something, if we get bogged down due to lack of
self-worth at any point in time, this gives us encouragement to keep our
efforts and good work going. If we achieve, we get a sense of fulfilment. In
case we don’t achieve the desired result, at least it would be remembered as a
good attempt and the feeling would be gratifying. This statement therefore,
encourages people not to leave their work in the midst but to keep working
towards the goals.
Similarly, in the fight with Avidya or
ignorance, the practitioner or Sadhaka, might get into so many demotivating
road blocks. The above exhortation from Krishna serves as an encouragement to
them not to lose faith but pursue their sadhana with devotion and commitment.
Unflinching devotion is a necessary requirement otherwise, the practitioner may
get trapped in the cosmic delusion and lose his way permanently.
Krishna now explains how a person can avoid
becoming a sinner if he performs actions in a certain way.
“Oh Arjuna, get ready for the battle
with a stable mind that treats pleasure and pain; profit or loss; victory or
defeat, with equanimity. Then you will not be guilty of sinning for whatever
outcome that comes” (2/38)
Krishna is now getting into the secrets of
karma yoga. He is about to explain the proper way of discharging actions so
that one is not bound by the results of such actions. Here, balance of mind is
the fundamental requirement. One should not get unduly elated on pleasures or
get dejected on pain and suffering. Such a conduct prevents one from the bondage
of actions. So, it is not doing karma that is the problem, but it is how we do karma
which is the issue. Therefore, doing karma with ‘knowledge’ or intelligence is
the liberator. That’s why Krishna first teaches Gyan or Knowledge and then gets
into the Theory of Actions or Karma yoga.
Krishna having given some doses of Sankhya
Yoga, now gets to introduce a bit of Karma Yoga to Arjuna in his efforts to
lift him up from his quandary.
“Oh Arjuna, so far, I have revealed
to you the concept of Aatman and its nature as propounded in the Sankhya
Sastra. Now I am going to explain to you a few concepts of Karma Yoga contained
in the Yoga Shastra. If you get that wisdom right, you will be free from the
bondage of karma. Therefore, listen carefully” (2/39)
Any action or karma we do, brings a result
which binds us. if we do a good action, some good result comes to us which we
enjoy. Likewise, any bad action we do gets us a bad result which also binds us.
For example, if we study hard for an exam, we get a good grade and we get into
a good school or a job and we will be very excited about it. On the contrary, if we fail in the exam, we lose all such privileges and become very dejected.
But Karma Yoga tells us a way that does not bind us to the resultant emotions of an
action, if and only if we perform it in a certain laid down way. Krishna is
going to tell us how to perform a karma in a non-binding way. So along with
Arjuna, we should also pay utmost attention to this.
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It is very pleasant and delighted to read the gist posted by you Sir I am very much connected to Gita pl continue to post future writings Thank you sir
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