The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 24 - “You have a right to do action. But you never had a right to expect fruits from such actions” Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

Krishna now gets down to exhort the importance of staying in a state of experiencing Aatman at all times.

“Oh Arjuna! Vedas in the karma kanda part speak about the materialistic matters that are characterized by Trigunas – Satva, Rajas and Tamo. You need to rise beyond Trigunas and Dualistic nature (pleasure and pain; happiness and sadness; etc.) and stay put permanently in the state of Aatman or pure sattva, completely detached to acquisition (Yoga) and protecting (Kshema) material things and become an Aatma Gyani or one who realizes Self” (2/45)

As discussed earlier, the first part of Vedas deals with the ritualistic processes of begetting materialistic things that are characterized by Trigunas or the 3 qualities of Nature. Human behavior is governed by these 3 qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas about which we have seen in the earlier essays. The later part of the Vedas deals with Gyana or Aatman - a state that is beyond the Trigunas. As long as one is in the play of Trigunas, one moves in the loop of actions, bondage and the cycle of birth and death. But a Gyani who is beyond Trigunas, is not affected by these bondages. Krishna exhorts Arjuna to reach this state of Gyani. Another aspect is rising beyond Yoga kshema – meaning getting things that were not there earlier (Yoga) and protecting those that are already there (Kshema). For someone who is in the state of Aatman or one who is an Aatma Gyani there is nothing that is desirable, nor does he have a desire to safe keep things.

Krishna now goes to explain the power of an Aata gyani:

“The water in a small Well that is available for bathing and drinking has the same usefulness for a person as that of a big river.  Similarly, the benefits that accrue to a person from following the karma Kanda portion as contained in Vedas, shall accrue equally to Aatma Gyani in his state of eternal bliss or Sat chit Ananda” (2/46)

This means, a Gyani benefits the same way in his state of Aatman as the one who performs Vedic rituals for material gains or for heavenly pleasures. Naturally a Gyani doesn’t hanker after rituals nor is he interested in the benefits that accrue from such rituals. He enjoys eternal bliss in his state of Aatman.

Now Krishna goes about explaining the most important tenet of Karma Yoga:

“Oh Arjuna! You have a right to do action. But you never had a right to expect fruits from such actions. You should never become the cause for such fruits; but you should never shy away from doing the actions” (2/47)

This is an oft quoted and quintessential shloka on Karma Yoga. Krishna explains that one has a right and duty to do actions. But he never had the right to expect fruits or results of such actions. That means, one should do actions without getting attached to the results of such actions. The desire for result influences the mind and it becomes impure. Unless one has a pure mind, one is not ready for realizing Self. Unless one is self-enlightened, one is not ready for Moksha or ultimate liberation from the cycle of births and deaths.

Detachment to results doesn’t imply that one should shy away from doing actions. It leads to lethargy and traps one in Tamo Guna. One cannot live without doing actions. But the right way to do actions is to stay detached to the results of such actions. This is the essence of karma Yoga – Doing actions without creating bondage. This process purifies the soul and leads one to become Aatma Gyani.

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