karma yoga II

The Law of Action
Lord Krishna states the general rule about the nature of action and its result in the famous verse 47 of Chapter II:
“But thou, want not! Ask not! Find full reward
Of doing right in right! Let right deeds be
Thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them.”

With discriminative intellect, you can choose, plan and perform an action with a view to obtaining a desired result, but you have no choice in determining the result of the action. Innumerable factors go into determining the result and we do not have the knowledge of all of them. An archer can release an arrow at his target based on his judgment but he cannot be certain whether the arrow will definitely hit the target. Once the arrow is released, its flight is governed by the laws of nature and factors such as wind and velocity. The archer can estimate these factors but cannot control them.

Everyone can make an error of judgment and so one day or the other, everyone is likely to make a mistake. But we should understand that we have freedom or adhikara in karma alone and that whatever result comes, is in accordance with the laws governing the action. It is Ishwara who is the author of the creation and its laws. So there is no such thing as success or failure; there is merely the action and its result. This attitude of taking the result as it is, that is, maintaining equanimity of the mind both in success and failure, is called yoga.

The Prasada Buddhi
For a devotee, the entire life is based on the fact that every result comes from God. The Lord is impartial and so only the right result comes to everyone. This understanding brings about an attitude towards the result as prasada. Prasada comes from Lord and it carries His grace and therefore it will bless whoever partakes of it with reverence and gratitude. Success is prasada and I don’t jump to the ceiling. Failure is also prasada and so I don’t sink to the bottom. The result is sanctified because it comes from the Lord and so there is a happy acceptance of every result. The attitude of accepting result as prasada leads to the elimination of all sorrow.
“And out of that tranquility (Prasad) shall rise
The end and healing of his earthly pains,
Since the will governed sets the soul at peace.” II-65

With the attitude of Prasad budddhi or karma yoga with respect to the result, an action which is born of likes and dislikes becomes the means of eliminating the very likes and dislikes. The mind free from reactions to success and failure is free from the agitations of elation and depression. Such a mind is tranquil. It is a contemplative mind. It can evaluate the results and learn.

An action performed by an alert mind becomes beautiful. A tranquil, alert, fresh, attentive mind is the mind that learns. When the result of the action loses the capacity to create any reactions and agitations in the mind, all the likes and dislikes are rendered ineffective like roasted seeds which cannot sprout. One of the values that the Lord gives in the Gita is to always maintain equanimity of the mind while meeting the desirable and the undesirable.

Action is recommended for everyone who entertains desires in the mind. We do not know all the varieties of likes and dislikes hidden in the mind; action is the only way for them to express themselves. They express as action every time and get neutralized. In course of time the mind becomes relatively quiet, freed from the hold of likes and dislikes. Such a mind discovers freedom.

Renunciation of Action
An ignorant person, not knowing the Self as non-doer, gives up action due to delusion, thinking that he or she will be an accomplished person merely by becoming a karmasanyasi. But the one who has the notion of doership due to identification with the body, cannot totally give up action as Krishna says in Verse 11 of Chapter XVIII:
“For, being in the body, none may stand
Wholly aloof from the act; yet, who abstains
From profit of his acts is abstinent.”

So the contention is between Karma Yoga and Sannyasa taken by will. Should I perform actions expected of me or should I give them up and pursue the knowledge? As long as there is conflict, one should continue to work. A field of activity must be there where one can perform action and neutralize likes and dislikes.

When likes and dislikes are largely neutralized, the mind is no more troubled by the desire of acquiring happiness and security because it is itself cheerful and tranquil. At this stage one is ready to renounce action. Action should be renounced only when it is no more necessary to perform them. Sannyasa should not be taken by will, but should be a natural outcome and an indication of a mature mind that is content with itself and is not demanding or dependent upon other things or beings for its happiness. Sannyasa of action indicates that the seeker is ready to pursue the knowledge of the Self to the exclusion of all other involvements.

Author Susan Power ended her story ‘Snakes’ thus: ‘I prefer to watch the present unravel moment by moment, than to look close behind me or far ahead. Time extends for me, flowing in many directions, meeting the horizon and then beyond to follow the curve of the earth. But I will not track this course with my eyes. It is too painful. I can bear witness to only a single moment of loss at a time. Still, hope flutters in my heart; a delicate pulse. I straddle the world and to pray that somewhere ahead of me He has planted an instant of joy’. If only she knew that all instants ahead of her were planted with joy – she just has to connect with her Self!

The mind is the instrument for feeling different material experiences, and intelligence is the deliberative instrument which ponders the pros and cons of a thing and can change everything for the better. Now you must use your intelligence to fully understand what this sublime science of cosmic consciousness is. If you do so, you will find it to be strikingly wonderful.

Human beings are tied to the earth, but are not wholly of the earth. We are each of us, for the time being, poised between the soil underneath our feet and the never-ending ethereal spaces around us. The unease we occasionally feel in our earthly bodies is merely a by-product of our innate understanding of our dual natures. But the time we spend in our physical bodies will not last and should thus be cherished. For one day, when our evolution is complete, we will return to the source of life to become beings of light once more.

Even the smallest taste of success can awaken a fresh surge of desire within us because it is via the triumphs of old that we learn to believe in our ability to find fulfillment in the future. While we can cultivate feelings of capability within ourselves without ever having felt truly triumphant, the projects we tackle successfully provide us with proof that we are ready to embark upon a new phase of personal or professional growth. When we stumble along the path leading toward our larger goals, we can draw upon the satisfaction we felt in the past upon accomplishing our aims to sustain our spirits in the present. Our chances of realizing our dreams are likewise bolstered by our confidence, ensuring that we never entertain failure as a possibility.

All motive and action affects the cosmos in some way. The principle of cause and effect is the truth that allows us to change ourselves and the world around us for the better. However, this same universal law is also at work when change is not at the forefront of our minds. Our intentions flow forever outward in the form of energy, affecting both the people closest to us and billions of individuals we will likely never meet. For this reason, we should strive always to speak, think, and behave with great thoughtfulness and compassion. The virtues we choose to embody can inspire joy and integrity in the lives of countless people, whether we touch their existence directly or not.

The influence we wield is infinite. In an effort to internalize our conscious understanding of the nature of cause and effect, we can never truly know how our thoughts, emotions, words, or actions will manifest themselves on the larger universal stage because it is likely that the furthest-reaching effects will fall outside the range of our perception. We can only look to the guidance of our conscience, which will help us determine whether each of our choices is contributing to humanity’s illumination or setting the stage for unintended troubles. When we are in doubt, we need only remember that the cultivation of altruism inevitably leads to a harvest of goodwill and grace. Motivated by a sincere desire to spread goodness, we will be naturally drawn to those choices that will help us express our commitment to universal well-being.

Nothing you do, however minor or mundane, is ever exempt from the rules of cause and effect. From the moment of your birth, you have served as an agent of change, setting forces beyond your comprehension into motion across the surface of the earth and beyond. You can exert conscious control over this transformative energy simply by examining your intentions and endeavoring always to promote peace, positive energy, and passion in your ideas and actions. While you may never fully comprehend the extent of your purposefully heartfelt influence, you can rest assured that it will be universally felt.