The Bhagavad Gita – the Karma Yoga

The Bhagavad Gita – the Karma Yoga
॥ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता ॥ ॥ ॐ श्री परमात्मने नमः ॥ ॥ अथ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता ॥
 
Shree Krishna in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita has brought out the nectar of Upanishads and outlined four paths of liberation from re-birth & to achieve highest spiritual goal. The paths are the karma yoga, the jnana yoga, the bhakti yoga and the dhayan or raja yoga. Path of karma yoga is explained in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 18. Karma Yoga means action, devotion and contemplation; all combined, this attains spiritual perfection. Welfare of the world and not the selfish objectives becomes the purpose of actions such as rising of sun. Spiritual evolution has stages of discipline of karma combined with contemplation and karma without attachment.
 
The persons do karmas (work, actions, and activities) based on motives and motivations which may be due to selfish interest or as duty or due to community, country or humanity. Karmas or actions may be classified in three categories viz. interested actions with motives, disinterested actions with full of energy without personal motive and uninterested actions without full inclination. Karmas are virtuous, vicious or detached and are accounted for and ongoing account is maintained. All karmas are a mixture of beneficence and destructiveness as far as their effects are concerned. They are like the brilliance of fire, always accompanied by the obscuring cloudiness of smoke.
 
Natural tendencies and Karma:

1. Mental tendencies, character, potentials etc. are formed by the virtuous and vicious karmas done in past. Prarabdha can include good and evil elements. Natural tendencies towards objects of senses, if permitted may bring downfall of spiritual aspirant. Senses colour the mind and intellect also. It is desires; passions and anger compel the persons to perform sinful actions. These arise in senses, mind and intellect. One needs to control them. Mere suppression does not bear desirable results.
2. Repression of tendencies is putting them under carpet. The controlling of tendencies can be done by cultivating awareness.
3. The control of tendencies should be done in its beginning itself by developing awareness. Awareness of things and moods that entice the mind, and overcome them by discrimination and counter suggestion at the start itself. If it is not controlled at the start, person becomes helpless entity.

 
Stages of Karmas:
Karmas have three stages viz. Idleness or passivity, karma desiring fruits i.e profit motive (Kamya-karma) and Naiskarma (wilful worklessness or actionlessness).

1. Inaction or Idleness: Work is essential because he would otherwise lapse into idleness and hypocrisy (duplicity). Mere abandonment of all actions externally will take one nowhere. Workless contemplation may lead to idleness.
2. Actions with Profit motive (Kamya Karma): Kamya karma can be anti-social (Vikarma or Adharma or Nisiddha karma) and socially oriented action (Dharma). Actions done with expectation of its rewards bring bondage. Bondage reduces focus & energy in achievement of the work which in turn reduces chances of success. Self-centeredness is not eliminated without efforts. But unnecessary work also increases desires and further strengthens self-centredness.
3. Actions without attachment (Naiskarma): Naiskarma is doing karma or duties in dedicated way without caring for fruits, by controlling senses. It is the state in which one is uninvolved witness of the activities of body & mind. Naishkarma does not mean physical inactivity. It means being established in pure awareness without involvement in any kind of change and is unaffected & uninvolved in the movements of body-mind.

Karma as Duty:

1. The offerings or fire sacrifices made during Yajna are thanks-giving to deities for the benefits received from them or for welfare of humanity, are discharge of one’s duties. Fire is link between humans and deities.
2. The enlightened yogi has no sense of agency and therefore free from bondages. Initially, he shall have the feeling of agency, so he should offer all the fruits of action to the Brahman. Later, the sense of agency is destroyed. Dedicated and detached actions are brought by Bhakti element.
3. Actions done with evenness of mind, one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds

Detachment of Karma from the fruits:

1. The attainment of detachment in action is the very essence of spiritual life. By abandoning all actions, he mentally rests in the nine gated fort of the body.
2. Detachment is achieved when one having reached the state that there is no expectation of fruits and no sense of agency and when one feels that all activities are done by body and mind and they reap the fruits, not he.
3. Detachment is attained only through long and steadily practices of dedicated actions, combined with discriminative understanding of one are being basically the non-being attached.
4. Detached works lead to enlightenment.

Detachment and Devotion:

1. Karma Yoga inspires devotion based karma without seeking its fruits.  Prayers and self-surrender invoke the divine help. Close association of soul purifies the intellect, mind and senses. Practice of devotion and meditation is essential for the success of karma yoga.   
2. By self-surrender to almighty, all karma (actions) becomes absolute happiness and life becomes celebrations. It has following four stages:
   1. Ist stage: Work and worship – doing the karma with sattvic attributes and worshipping and loving the personal god.
   2. IInd stage: Work as worship – Doing the karma whole day as worshipping the god.
   3. IIIrd stage: Work is worship – Feel karma itself is god.
   4. IVth stage: No duality – Oneness i.e. realising self and everybody is Brahman (almighty).
3. Discharge of one’s duties as an offering to Brahman, and eliminating self-centeredness in so discharging it through practice of discrimination and devotion, will gradually make one rise above self-centredness.
4. Along with work he should practise introspection and meditation also; for without that he cannot keep up the sense of detachment, dedication and desirelessness while working. Then karma becomes karma yoga. Discharge of one’s karmas as offerings to divine lead to higher spiritual evolution.

The detailed explanations, chapter wise and verse-wise of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (the relevant Sanskrit verses of Bhagavad Gita are mentioned at the bottom) are as under: 

​Natural tendencies and Karma:

1. None can ever remain inactive even for a moment; for, everyone is helplessly driven to action by modes of Prakriti (in-born qualities) (3.5).
2. In fact all actions are being performed by the modes of Prakriti (Nature has three attributes viz. Sattva, Rajas & Tamas. When the equilibrium of the three is disturbed, formation of human body takes place. Attributes of nature inspire the actions. The fool, whose mind is deluded by egoism, thinks: “I am the doer” (3.27).
3. That action, too, which you are not willing to undertake through ignorance, you will perforce perform, bound by your own duty born of your nature (18.60).
4. God abides in the heart of all creatures, causing them to revolve according to their Karma by His illusive (misleading) power (Maya) through as body in form of machine (18.61).

Inaction:

1. There is no need to give up actions (karma). Even if a person abandons actions, his mind is active. Person cannot attain state of actionlessness i.e. freedom from action without doing action; nor does he reach perfection (culmination of knowledge), merely by renouncing actions (3.4).
2. One, who outwardly restrains the organs of sense and action, sits mentally dwelling on the objects of senses, that man of deluded intellect is called a hypocrite (3.6).
3. One who does not perform his duties, leads a sinful and sensual life, he lives in vain. He wastes his life (3.16).
4. By taking the stand on egotism, if one decides not to do work, it shall prove wrong as one’s nature will drive to the act (18.59).

Performing Prayers & Rituals for specific fruits:

1. Flowery speech recommending many rituals of various kinds for the attainment of pleasure and power get rebirth as their fruit. Those whose minds are carried away by such words, and who are deeply attached to pleasures and worldly power, cannot attain the determinate intellect concentrated on God. Unwise persons stress on rituals for getting specific fruits. The benefits of these fruits exhaust soon (2.42-2.44).
2. Having created mankind along with Yajna, at the beginning of creation, the creator, Brahma, said to them, You shall prosper by this; may this yield the enjoyments you seek (3.10).
3. Those who desire for fruits of their actions and pray to the deities, they attain success quickly but not Me (Brahman/Shree Krishna) (4.12).

 
Karma as Duty:

1. Considering your own duty too, you should not waver, for there is nothing more welcome for a man of the warrior class than a righteous war (2.31).
2. Shree Krishna says to Arjuna, your right is to work only and never to the fruit thereof. Do not consider yourself to be the cause of the fruit of action; nor let your attachment be to inaction. Actions done with expectation of its rewards bring bondage. Bondage reduces focus & energy in achievement of the work which in turn reduces chances of success. If one does not thirst for them, he gets purification of heart and his mood becomes less dependent on the success. The success is governed by several factors including past karma. (2.47).
3. One should perform the duties established in Yoga, renouncing attachment, and be even-minded in success and failure; evenness of mind is called Yoga (2.48).
4. Actions done with evenness of mind are the Yoga of wisdom. Actions performed by one who expects their fruits are far inferior to the Yoga of wisdom wherein the seeker does not seek the fruits. The former leads to bondage, and is the cause of birth and death (2.49). Actions done with evenness of mind, one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds (2.50).
5. It is better to perform one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Even death in the performance of one’s own duty brings blessedness; another’s duty is fraught with fear (3.35).
6. One should perform the allotted duty as action is superior to inaction. Desisting from action, one cannot even maintain the human body (3.8).
7. Actions are binding and hence should be abandoned, such thinking is not proper. As persons are not bound by actions if are performed for the sake of sacrifice (as duty of Brahman/Shree Krishna) except when performed for self. Therefore, one should efficiently perform his duty, free from attachment, for the sake of sacrifice alone (3.9).
8. One who takes delight in the Self alone and is gratified with the Self, and is contented in the Self, has no duty (3.17). The person who rejoices in his own Self does not gain anything by doing any action. To him no real purpose is served by engaging in any action. No evil can touch him as a result of inaction. He does not lose anything by being inactive (3.18).
9. One should perform his duties efficiently at all times without attachment. Doing work without attachment man attains the Supreme (3.19). Through actions without attachment, Janaka and other wise men reached perfection. Also with a view the maintenance of the world order too, one should perform his duties (3.20).

 
Detachment of Karma from the fruits:

1. Shree Krishna says, treating alike victory and defeat, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, get ready for the battle; fighting thus you will not incur sin. Performing actions with such mental attitude reap no fruits of such actions (2.38).
2. In the path of selfless action there is no loss of effort, nor is there fear of contrary result, even a little practice of this discipline saves one from the terrible fear of birth and death. Selfless actions bring purification of heart which in turn leads to fearlessness (2.40).
3. Arjuna, in this Yoga of selfless action the intellect is determinate and directed singly towards one ideal; whereas the intellect of the undecided (ignorant men moved by desires) wanders in all directions after innumerable aims (2.41).
4. Ignorant persons act with attachment, but the wise persons with a view to maintain the world order, act without attachment (3.25).
5. However, one who has true insight into the respective spheres of attributes of nature (modes of Prakriti) and their actions, holding that it is the attributes (in the form of the senses, mind, etc.,) that move among the objects of perception, does not get attached to them (3.28).
6. Those deluded by the qualities of Nature are attached to the functions of the qualities. A person of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the foolish one of imperfect knowledge (3.29).
7. Attraction and aversion are rooted in all sense objects. Person should never allow himself to be swayed by them, because these are the two principal enemies standing in the way of his improvement (3.34).
8. One who controls the organs of sense and action by the power of his will, and remains unattached, undertakes the Yoga of selfless Action through those organs, he excels (3.7).
9. He, who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is wise among men; he is a Yogi, who has performed all actions. It is the idea of agency, the idea of “I am the doer” that binds man to worldliness. If this idea vanishes, action is no action at all. It does not bind one to worldliness. This is inaction in action. But if a man sits quietly, thinking of actions and that he is their doer, he is ever doing actions. This is referred to as action in inaction (4.18).
10. Persons, whose actions are all free from desire and Sankalpa (thoughts of the world) and whose actions are burnt up by the fire of wisdom (4.19).
11. He, who, having totally given up attachment to actions and their fruit, no longer depends on anything in the world, and is ever content, does nothing at all, though fully engaged in action (4.20).
12. One who has restraint his mind and body, and given up all objects of enjoyment, and become free from craving, and one who performs sheer bodily action, does not incur sin (4.21).
13. Wise men possessing equipoised mind and renounce the fruit of actions become free from re-birth and attain the blissful supreme state (2.51).

 
Detachment and Devotion:

1. The Vedas deal with the evolutes of the three attributes (modes of Prakrati), viz., worldly enjoyments and the means of attaining such enjoyments; be indifferent to these enjoyments and their means, rising above pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, gain & loss, honour & dishonour, praise & censure, victory & defeat etc., established in the Eternal Existence (God), absolutely unconcerned about the fulfilment of wants and the preservation of what has been already attained, you be self-controlled (2.45).
2. One should dedicate all actions to the God (Brahman/Shree Krishna) with the mind fixed on him, the Self of all, freed from desire and attachment and the feeling of mental agitation & fight (3.30). Those persons who constantly practise this teaching with faith and without quibbling, they too are freed from actions (3.31).
3. Actions do not bind him who has dedicated all his actions to God according to the spirit of Karma yoga, whose doubts have been dispelled by wisdom and who is self-possessed (4.41).
4. The Karma yogi depends on Me (Brahman/Shree Krishna), attains by My grace the eternal, imperishable state, even though performing all actions (18.56). Mentally dedicating all your actions to Me, and taking recourse to Yoga in the form of even mindedness, be solely devoted to Me and constantly fix your mind on Me (18.57).
5. With the mind thus devoted to Me, one shall, by My grace overcome all difficulties. But, if from self-conceit you do not care to listen to Me, he will be lost (18.58).
6. Shree Krishna says, take refuge in Him alone with all your being. By His mere grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode (18.62).

 
Reference:

1. The Bhagavad Gita, Gita press, Gorakhpur
2. Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Sivananda, a divine life society publication
3. Srimad-Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna math, Mylapore, Madras – 600004.   
4. https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_giitaa/bhagvadnew.html?lang=sa

 
Natural tendencies and Karma:
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ३-५॥ प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः । अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ ३-२७॥ स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा । कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत् ॥ १८-६०॥ ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति । भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८-६१॥
Inaction:
न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुते । न च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति ॥ ३-४॥ कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् । इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते ॥ ३-६॥ एवं प्रवर्तितं चक्रं नानुवर्तयतीह यः । अघायुरिन्द्रियारामो मोघं पार्थ स जीवति ॥ ३-१६॥ यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे । मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति ॥ १८-५९॥
Performing Prayers & Rituals for specific fruits:
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः । वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥ २-४२॥ कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् । क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति ॥ २-४३॥ भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् । व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ॥ २-४४॥ सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः । अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥ ३-१०॥
काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः । क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा ॥ ४-१२॥
 
Karma as Duty:
स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि ।धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाच्छ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते ॥ २-३१॥ कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ २-४७॥ योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय । सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ २-४८॥ दूरेण ह्यवरं कर्म बुद्धियोगाद्धनञ्जय । बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ॥ २-४९॥ बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते । तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥ २-५०॥
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥ ३-३५॥ नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः । शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ॥ ३-८॥ यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः । तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥ ३-९॥ यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः । आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥ ३-१७॥ नैव तस्य कृतेनार्थो नाकृतेनेह कश्चन । न चास्य सर्वभूतेषु कश्चिदर्थव्यपाश्रयः ॥ ३-१८॥ तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर । असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥ ३-१९॥ कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः । लोकसङ्ग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि ॥ ३-२०॥
Detachment of Karma from the fruits:
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ । ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥ २-३८॥ नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते । स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥ २-४०॥ व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन । बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥ २-४१॥ सक्ताः कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत । कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसङ्ग्रहम् ॥ ३-२५॥ तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः । गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते ॥ ३-२८॥ प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु । तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥ ३-२९॥ इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ । तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥ ३-३४॥ यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन । कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स विशिष्यते ॥ ३-७॥
कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः । स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत् ॥ ४-१८॥ यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः । ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः ॥ ४-१९॥ त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः । कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः ॥ ४-२०॥ निराशीर्यतचित्तात्मा त्यक्तसर्वपरिग्रहः । शारीरं केवलं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ॥ ४-२१॥ कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः ।
जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम् ॥ २-५१॥
 
Detachment and Devotion:
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन । निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥ २-४५॥ मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्याध्यात्मचेतसा । निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः ॥ ३-३०॥ ये मे मतमिदं नित्यमनुतिष्ठन्ति मानवाः । श्रद्धावन्तोऽनसूयन्तो मुच्यन्ते तेऽपि कर्मभिः ॥ ३-३१॥ योगसंन्यस्तकर्माणं ज्ञानसञ्छिन्नसंशयम् । आत्मवन्तं न कर्माणि निबध्नन्ति धनञ्जय ॥ ४-४१॥
सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रयः । मत्प्रसादादवाप्नोति शाश्वतं पदमव्ययम् ॥ १८-५६॥ चेतसा सर्वकर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः । बुद्धियोगमुपाश्रित्य मच्चित्तः सततं भव ॥ १८-५७॥ मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि । अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि ॥ १८-५८॥ तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत । तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥ १८-६२॥)