Category Archives: sangam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 18

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 18.9, arjuna, chapter 18 verse 9, kaaryam, karma, kriyate, mataha, niyatam, phalam, saattvikaha, sangam, tyaagaha, tyaktvaa

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kaaryamityeva yatkarma niyatam kriyaterjuna |
sangam tyaktvaa phalam chaiva sa tyaagaha saattviko mataha || 9 ||
 
Whatever action is done, should be performed only as an obligatory duty. In this manner, giving up attachment and also the reward, that giving up is saattvic, in my opinion.
 
kaaryam : action
iti : in this manner
eva : only
yat : whatever
karma : actions
niyatam : obligatory
kriyate : is performed
arjuna : O Arjuna
sangam : attachment
tyaktvaa : giving up
phalam : reward
cha : and
eva : also
saha : that
tyaagaha : giving up
saattvikaha : saattvic
mataha : opinion
 
Shri Krishna explains the correct way, the saattvic method, of performing actions. Let us look at this step by step. The first step is to only perform actions that are within the realm of our state in life, our aashrama, and our career, our varna. Actions that are prohibited or actions that are purely out of selfishness should not be performed. These actions are termed as niyatam karma in the shloka. A high degree of awareness is required to first ensure that we are not stepping into any prohibited actions.
 
The second step is to give up attachment to the reward, the phala, the fruit, of the action. Attachment to the reward need not be something tangible and physical. It could be subtle things like praise and adoration received from others on successful completion of the action. It could be a subtle thought such as “I have helped that person, so nice of me to do so”. The goal is to slowly wean the mind away from its natural tendency to expect rewards for every action. We can do so my substituting our personal motive with a motive for selfless service.
 
The third step is to give up attachment to the action itself. We saw the types of attachment to action in the previous shloka, including attachment to the completion of action and attachment to one particular way of performing the action. The key is to realize that at every moment, we are giving it the best of our ability and attention. The rest is upto Ishvara, since there are several other factors at play in the outcome of an action. But in no circumstance should our energy level go down. We have to combine energy in our work with indifference to the reward of the work.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 18

25 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in 18.6, chapter 18 verse 6, etaani, karmaani, kartavyaani, matam, nishchintam, paartha, phalaani, sangam, tyaktvaa, uttamam

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etaanyapi tu karmaani sangam tyaktvaa phalaani cha |
kartavyaaneeti me paartha nishchintam matamuttamam || 6 ||
 
But, even those actions should be performed, giving up attachment and rewards. This, O Paartha, is my definite and foremost conclusion.
 
etaani : those
api : even
tu : but
karmaani : actions
sangam : attachment
tyaktvaa : giving up
phalaani : rewards
cha : and
kartavyaani : should be performed
iti : this
me : my
paartha : O Paartha
nishchintam : definite
matam : conclusion
uttamam : foremost
 
Shri Krishna says that the only way to convert selfish actions into selfless actions is to give up attachment to the action and to the rewards of the action. Consider an architect who spends months creating the plans for a building. If the architect designs the building keeping the bonus payment in mind, he is performing the action with an attitude of selfishness. If the architect designs the building with the sole motive of creating the best possible living space for people, he is performing the action with an attitude of selflessness.
 
Let us be clear about one thing. There is nothing wrong in the architect expecting a fair payment for the rendering of his services. But he does not keep a monetary expectation every second of his time while designing his buildings. He does it out of a sense of duty. His svadharma, which means his aptitude, his training and his passion, is to be an architect. Regardless of how his day goes, he derives joy in the performance of his svadharma, his duty to the world, as an architect.
 
In addition to giving up attachment to the reward of action, Shri Krishna also advises us to give up attachment to the action itself. Here, we have to keep two things in mind. First, it is not guaranteed that every action of ours will be successful, since there are external factors that may intervene. Second, even if we insist that an action should be performed in a certain way, there could be other ways that could sometimes work better. Insisting that every action ends successfully, and that every action has to be done our way, are the two ways in which we get attached to action. Giving up these attachments, along with the attachment to reward, is the only way that we get bring the purifying effect of karma yoga into every action we perform. This is Shri Krishna’s foremost conclusion on karma yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 5

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.11, aatmashuddhaye, api, buddhyaa, chapter 5 verse 11, indriyaihi, kaayena, karma, kavalaih, kurvanti, manasaa, sangam, tyaktvaa, yoginaha

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kaayena manasaa buddhyaa kevalairindriyairapi |
yoginaha karma kurvanti sangam tyakvaatmashuddhaye || 11 ||

Solely with body, mind, intellect and senses does the seeker perform actions, casting off all attachment, for the purification of the self.

kaayena : with body
manasaa : mind
buddhyaa : intellect
kevalaih : solely (without a sense of mine)
indriyaihi : senses
api : only
yoginaha : seeker
karma : actions
kurvanti : perform
sangam : attachment
tyakvaa : cast off
aatmashuddhaye : purification of self

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna explained how a karma yogi offers his actions to Ishvara. But how exactly does he do that? Shri Krishna in this shloka says that the karma yogi continuously keeps the thought that the body, mind, intellect and senses – all these are the property of Ishvara, given by Ishvara. Therefore, all the work done is for the benefit for Ishvara, and not for the ego.

The Gita teaches that the body, mind, intellect and senses are not really “ours”. But due to our conditioning, we come to think that they are ours. We then begin to do things for their benefit. For example, the tongue likes sweet food, so we undertake actions to satisfy it by eating things that may not be healthy from a long term perspective. When actions are done for the satisfaction of body, mind, intellect and senses, the sense of “mine-ness” develops and the ego gets strengthened. We then begin to serve the ego.

In this regard, let us recall example of the CFO we had encountered a while ago. As long as the CFO thinks that she is working for company, things will go smoothly. But if she begins to think that working for herself, starts misusing the company’s funds as her own funds, she gets into trouble. Similarly, a karma yogi treats his body, mind, intellect and senses as instruments of Ishvara. When that attitude comes, all actions and their results also get offered to Ishvara. In this manner, the seeker detaches himself from the body, mind, intellect and senses from the ego,  and attaches them to Ishvara. This is what is meant by “casting off all attachment”.

Now, let’s examine the second part of shloka where Shri Krishna talks about purification of self. What happens when karma yogi continues to dedicate actions to Ishvara? His mind gets cleared of all selfish desire, and his ego begins to lose its power. The end result is that the mind is purified of all vaasanaas – which is what is meant by “self” in the shloka. Purification of mind brings the karmayogi closer to self-realization.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 5

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.10, aadhaaya, ambhasaa, brahmani, chapter 5 verse 10, iva, karmaani, karoti, lipyate, na, paapena, padma-patram, saga, sangam, tyaktvaa, yaha

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brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam tvyaktvaa karoti yaha |
lipyate na sa paapena padmapatramivaambhasaa || 10 ||

Having offered all actions to the eternal essence, and having cast off attachments, he who performs actions does not get tainted by sins, just like water does not taint a lotus leaf.

brahmani : eternal essence
aadhaaya : offered
karmaani : all actions
sangam : attachment
tvyaktvaa : cast off
karoti : perform action
yaha : one who
lipyate : taint
na : do not
saha : him
paapena : sins
padma-patram : lotus leaf
iva : like
ambhasaa : water

Previously, we came across the vision of one who has realized the self. He knows that he is not the doer of all his actions. But what about the one who has not realized the self, and who is still working to sublimate his selfish desires? What is his vision?

In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that the person who has not realized the self (that includes most of us) offers all actions in a spirit of devotion to Ishvara. Shri Krishna reiterates that if one has selfish desires, karma yoga is the ideal path to follow. The karma yogi works for a higher ideal such as Ishvara, but one who does not follow karma yoga works for the ego.

Shri Krishna brings Arjuna back to karma yoga with this shloka. Arjuna harbours desires, therefore Shri Krishna does not want him to jump straight into the yoga of renunciation, which is a totally different level.

Now, let’s go a little deeper into the topic of attachment. Attachment can happen at four levels : attachment to the result of an action (I want a reward for singing this song), attachment to the action (I will sing a song only in my way), attachment to the sense of doership (I am singing this song) and attachment to the sense of non-doership (By not singing the song, I am the non-singer of this song). The first three are relatively easier to comprehend. The fourth one arises when one has not properly understood the notion of akarma or inaction from the fourth chapter.

So therefore, the karma yogi strives to transcend all four levels of attachment by offering results, actions, doership and non-doership to Ishvara. When he acts in the material world with such a vision, he does not accumulate any further desires, just like a lotus leaf does not get wet even though growing in water.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 48, Chapter 2

14 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.48, bhootvaa, chapter 2 verse 48, dhananjaya, karmaani, kuru, saatvam, samaha, sangam, siddyasiddhyoh, tyaktvaa, uchyate, yoga, yogasthaha

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yogasthaha kuru karmaani sangam tyaktvaa dhananjaya |
siddhyasiddhyoh samo bhootvaa samatvam yoga uchyate || 48 ||

Perform action, established in yoga, and discard attachment, O Dhananjaya. Remain balanced in success and failure. Yoga is defined as equanimity.

yogasthaha : established in yoga
kuru : perform
karmaani : action
sangam : attachment
tyaktvaa : discard
dhananjaya : O Dhananjaya
siddhyasiddhyoh : in success and failure
samaha : balanced
bhootvaa : remain
samatvam : equanimity
yoga : yoga
uchyate : defined

This shloka pushes further the teaching of Karmayoga by advising us to begin discarding our attachments to objects in the material world. Obviously, we will not be able to totally discard all our attachments in one day. This will take a long time. However, Shri Krishna asks us to slowly start treading on this path. Why is he asking us to do so? He wants us to diminish our hankering for the outcome of our actions, and the only way to do that is by reducing our attachments to the material world.

Consider a mother who takes care of her 5 year old child. She gets extremely attached to it and develops lots of expectations: my child will take care of me when it grows up, it will become a doctor etc. If those things don’t happen, she will generate lots of sorrow for herself. But a nanny taking care of a child will not be attached to it. She will perform her svadharma by taking good care of child. However, she will have zero expectations from the child, and therefore she will be able to maintain equanimity in action.

The only difference between the mother and the nanny is their attitude – one is attached, one is unattached. And the one that has attachments has expectations for the future, the other does not.

Now in this shloka we encounter Shri Krishna defining the term “yoga”. It has nothing to do with arcane rituals. It has nothing to do with complex physical postures. It is a surprisingly simple and practical definition: equanimity of mind during performance of action. It is how the nanny operated in the earlier example.

So what is the practical technique to cast off attachments? How do we actually do this? We have to rid ourself of all expectations and worries about the future, as well as memories of the past. If we eliminate constant thinking about past and future, we can channel all that energy into the present moment and into executing the task at hand.

We probably have experienced instances in our lives where we were so joyfully and blissfully immersed in our work that we forgot where we were and what time it was. But those experiences were few and far between. By going deeper into each and every task we perform, no matter how big or small the task, we will minimize past and future thinking, which will enable us to remain balanced regardless of success and failure. This is the true definition of yoga.

To recap, our toolkit contains 3 techniques: reducing unnecessary thoughts, improving quality of thought, and focusing on the task and hand. We can practice this teaching with mundane tasks, and move on to more complex ones. Next time we wash dishes, lets give each movement of the hand our single and undivided attention, and try to sustain it while washing each and every dish. Give it a shot, see what happens.

Footnotes

1. There are four kinds of attachment: attachment to result (I want a reward for singing this song), action (I will sing a song only in my way), doership (I will song the song, not anyone else), non-doership (I am the non-singer of this song).