Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phalesu kadachana I
ma karma-phala-heturbhurma te sangotsva akarmani II
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."
This verse is from Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 2, verse 47. In this verse Krishna tells Arjuna to perform duty as per his ‘swadharma’ (divine duty as per his varna) & he isn’t entitled to the fruits of action I.e karma phala & not to be attached to not doing his duty(Karma Sanyasa). Here Arjuna is prescribed to do his duty as a warrior. The basic duty of a warrior is to wage the war to protect ‘Dharma’ & Supreme service of a warrior is to self-sacrifice(Balidanaha) & become a martyr. Karma basically refers to action while dharma is a comprehensive term in Sanskrit. ‘Dharayati iti Dharmaha’; from the societal point Dharma is the entity which sustains people. In Vishnu-Sahasranamam, Lord Vishnu is referred to as ‘Dharma’;
'Dharmo Dharma Viduttamaha'
From the society & individual point; Dharma means efficient administration taking by taking into consideration each sections’ interests & divine duty. From the individual’s point Dharma is referred to as ‘swadharma’(divine duty as per his varna- Kshatriya) & which contributes to Spiritual Transcendence.
Lord Krishna's Vishwaroopaha
credits- Google.
*Satt is also the name of Vishnu, it's provided in Vishnu Sahasranamaha.
Here we need to understand that we should perform our duty ‘Swadharma’ without expecting results from the actions we take. There may be a question in our mind; ‘How come we can take action without expecting results?’
As per Acharya Madhwa, each karma can be classified into satvic, rajasic & tamasic karmas. The Karmas which are done with the intention of pacifying lord are satvic karmas. Karmas done for the sake of sensory pleasures are rajasic karmas. Karmas that are destructive to the society & to the spirit are tamasic karmas.
Satvic karmas at the beginning will be difficult to implement, but it gives great results. Rajas karmas gives pleasures in the beginning but end result won't be that satisfactory & the joy will saturate very soon. Tamasic karmas create illusions from the beginning till the end & it will cause great despair to the world as well as to the individual's soul.
Acharya Madhwa further explains; anybody who wants Spiritual Transcendence has to do Karma Yoga. Interestingly, not all Karmas(actions) doesn’t enable spiritual transcendence, actions when performed as per the divine order will enable spiritual transcendence. Leaving all expectations or desires about the outcome of an action is practically impossible & anybody who performs actions has one or the other expectations from the outcome. Acharya further explains that leaving expectations or desires about the outcome doesn’t mean leaving all expectations or desires; each action has two results-
1. Important duty/results
2. Unimportant duty/results.
Our motto of performing duties should be important desired results. For ex.- A tree will produce flowers naturally to produce fruits. It’s motto is to obtain fruit not obtaining fruit. So, we should perform duties to obtain important desired results. We shouldn’t be bothered about other unimportant desires/results, irrelevant to our divine duty.
Vedas propound that each deed should be done with the end desire of pacifying Vishnu(supreme god), this is described as Bhagavatpreeti in Vedas. Interestingly, when we start our efforts towards any project at the beginning we get unimportant results then finally after much struggle & efforts we get the best important results, like flower blossoming first before producing fruits in a tree. Thereby, Bhagavad-Gita reveals the heart of Vedic philosophy.
credits- ISKCON
Acharya Madhwa further explains; anybody who wants Spiritual Transcendence has to do Karma Yoga. Interestingly, not all Karmas(actions) doesn’t enable spiritual transcendence, actions when performed as per the divine order will enable spiritual transcendence. Leaving all expectations or desires about the outcome of an action is practically impossible & anybody who performs actions has one or the other expectations from the outcome. Acharya further explains that leaving expectations or desires about the outcome doesn’t mean leaving all expectations or desires; each action has two results-
Maintaining balance in spiritual & worldly activities is called Yoga. 'Samatvam Yoga Ucchyate'- as mentioned by Krishna in Gita. So, when we take actions in a balanced manner by not giving heed to unimportant results, with the intention of pacifying Lord Vishnu is called ‘Karma Yoga.’ It’s also called as ‘Yajna.’
Lord Krishna tells that submit all your divine karmas to me & ask forgiveness with the trespasses- 'Mayi sarvani karmanam sanyasva.' By doing so we will be relieved of Karma Bandhanaha (the vicious cycle of Karmas over several incarnations.)
This is explained by Krishna as follows in Gita;
yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah I tad-artham karma kaunteya mukta-sangah samachara II
Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.
Krishna further explains about Karma Sanyasa(relief from all duties & responsibilities) as follows;
Na hi kashchit kshanamapi jatu tishtatyakarmakrit I
Karyate hyavashaha karma sarvaha prakritijairgunyiehi II
All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
The above stanza explains about the importance of duties & responsibilities. A person cannot refrain from doing anything for a second. Interestingly, sitting idle is also Karma. So, it’s critical to do our duties & managing our responsibilities as per our ‘Swadharma’ (divine duty based out of intuition & varna.)
In further, the benefits of Karma Yoga are explained as follows as per Bhagavad-Gita;
Brahmanadhyaya karmani sangamya tyaktva karoti yaha I
Lipyate na sa padmapatramivambhasaa II
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme God, is not affected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
Acharya Madhwa explains w.r.t above stanza; performing karma yoga will enable one to attain the necessary wisdom to attain salvation. Also, wisdom can only be attained by surrendering our being to Krishna, thereby performing Karma Yoga. Interestingly, attaining wisdom (Jnana/Dhyana Yoga) is also a Karma. Hence, we can’t separate any paths of salvation from Karma. Even Bhakti yoga can start by doing Karma(actions).
In support of this, Krishna tells;
loke asmindvi-vidha nistha pura prokta mayanagha I jnana-yogena sankhyanam karma-yogena yoginam II
O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined to know Him by devotional work.
Karma Yoga is supported by other philosophers with different terms like Sage Basavanna by quoting in Kannada; ‘Kayakave Kailasa’ in the sense, work is Kailasa (abode of lord Shiva-salvation). There’s a popular quote in English in support of this; ‘Work is worship’.
Acharya Madhwa propounds that there isn’t any replacement of our divine duties & responsibilities. You will understand this if you think over it generally as well. A person who performs duties will get the result only it is put in right direction, otherwise it’s a total waste. But the one performs karma yoga will benefit from each stage of his effort because it isn’t done only for himself, it’s done to pacify Lord & also to earn his living.
The biggest advantage of Karma Yoga, in the worldly it reduces our anxiety about the result. In support of this, stoics say that ‘control what’s controllable & live with the rest.’ No need to unnecessarily worry about the results, as the lord will take care of it.
People have a general misconception that Gita prescribes ascetic duties, actually it was advised to Arjuna, a warrior & to all the other classes of people. Indeed, this book has answers to every problem in the contemporary world. It’s my personal favorite as well.
Karma yoga burns off Karma & enables spiritual transcendence. Many powerful persons around consider themselves as Karma Yogis; Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys & many more.
Karma yoga has the essence of stoic philosophy, which states control what's controllable & live with the rest. Ultimately, how much ever we try, sometimes we lose. The one thing we have on our is 'effort.' I believe that when we put our earnest efforts, Lord will take care of the rest.
So, guys let's dedicate our efforts & being to God.
May lord bless you all.
Hare Krishna 🙏
Thank you all!!!😇🙏🙏
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