daily spiritual solace

Bhagavad Gita-3^rd Chapter

Karma yoga

Arjuna asks Krishna to explain why he is being asked to perform his duties when Buddhi or knowledge is said to be more important than karma or action.

Krishna explains that a two fold faith has been declared by Him for the human race: the way of knowledge for the Sankhyas and the way of action for the yogis.

A person does not reach the state of inactivity even if he does not do any work nor does he attain perfection by merely renouncing work. Nobody can remain inactive because of he forces of nature.

A fool who outwardly controls his organs of action but keeps thinking of sense objects with his mind is truly a hypocrite.

People who control the organs by the power of strength of a channeled mind and perform action with he help of sense organs, yet remaining unattached excel in all fields.

Lord Krishna explains that a person must perform actions without desiring for the fruits or results of that action. Action is greater than inaction, because remaining dull and inactive will not help man by not even maintaining the body, which is the gift of God given to man to realize the supreme nature of God.

Lord Krishna says that if a person who enjoys life, which is the result of sacrifice of a lot of persons and does not share the results or merits with those responsible for his uplifting, lives a life in vain. Krishna asks Arjuna to be like King Janaka, Seetha Devi’s father and the righteous ruler of Magadha, who performed actions without desiring for the results. Whatever actions great people do, others will follow. The Lord says that even if he has nothing more to attain, because He is the supreme owner of the universe, he is still performing duties because if he is inactive, then the world ill be destroyed.

The deluded person thinks that he is the doer, whereas the truth is that he is only an instrument of god. A person says Krishna will not be clouded by illusion when he realizes that the self is different from sense organs and their actions. He knows that the characteristics of the senses rest in sense objects and remains unattached to senses and frees himself by doing work without desiring for the results thereof.

If a person dedicates all his actions to God and renounces the results, with the mind fixed on God and also gives up ego, selfishness, ownership and anger is free. The people who practice this teaching of Krishna are freed from the consequences of bad actions.

Attachments to objects are obstacles in one’s progress. A person is put in illusion by the senses. Krishna advices Arjuna to control the senses and thus kill desire which is the root cause of sin. Desire clouds the knowledge of the wise like the fire is enveloped by thick black smoke and a mirror is covered by dust.

Lord Krishna says that the senses are said to be superior to sense objects. The mind is superior to senses. The intellect is higher than the mind and the self is the most supreme, above all. Krishna orders Arjuna to destroy the enemy of a well balanced knowledgeable person, which is desire by controlling the mind with the power of intellect. Krishna asks Arjuna to uproot his attachment which is the cause of illusion and to perform his righteous duty of slaying unjust enemies