“Nishkama Karma”
(Do your duty without expecting rewards or how to celebrate life)
Before you read further, try and consider the following:
You are not a body with a soul inside, you are a soul inside a body which you (probably) currently identify as yourself. Think this clearly, if your name is ABC, then are you ABC who has a soul somewhere residing in your body, or are you a soul residing in a body which is known by ABC in this world ? Do you think yourself a body or a soul ? If you identify yourself with your body then you are a mortal and destined to die. But if you think you are soul in a body then you are immortal and above birth or death. Decided ? Now read on.
To me the Gita is a book on celebration of life. The Gita represents the best of Upanishads. The Upanishads are difficult to comprehend by the average reader who may not have enough understanding of the meaning of life. At any given point in time, a man is nothing but the sum total of all his experiences in life and if he has not reached a particular stage of understanding, upanishads will seem difficult to understand. The Upanishads contain the Brahma Sutras, which the Gita helps us to understand.
In Mahabharata, when the armies of Kauravas and the Pandyas are facing each other and the historical battle is about to begin, Arjuna’s conscience revolts on seeing Bhishma and Dronacharya and several of his relatives on the side of the enemy camp. Arjun offers to lay down his arms. Then Krishna explains to Arjun the essence of the Upanishads. It must be noted that the depth of the philosophy contained in the Brahma Sutras is such that unless you are ready for it, no amount of reading will make you understand. (The same is true of Zen). Krishna and Arjun were the best of friends, but yet Krishna waited until Arjun laid down his arms (the right place and the right time) to reveal the philosophy of the upanishads. The time had now come for Arjuna to understand. Here he was, the key warrior of his army, on whom victory depended (without Arjun, Pandavas couldn’t have won), turning away from the battlefield, his duty, only because he felt that it was not his duty to kill his Guru, his Godfather and his relatives. Krishna very simply says that you cannot kill anybody because the soul never dies. Killing the body makes no difference to the soul of that body. It just moves on to another body depending on the karmas it has performed in this bodily life. The basic principle of Gita is “Nishkama Karma” - do your duty without expecting the rewards. If a man’s duty is to fight and kill his own relatives then he must do so. In doing so, he does not become a less godly man than a hermit (provided that is duty) residing in a forest chanting the name of God throughout. According to Gita, nothing can be more ungodly than failing to do one’s duty, for whatever reason. Thus, a person can stay in this world, enjoy sensory pleasures, live a full life without expecting any rewards in return. He has control over his own Karma, but not the fruit. Karma is the cause that generates Vipaka -the effect. You can control Karma (the cause), but not the effect, so why bother? (I intend to add a separate piece on the Karma and re-incarnation at some later time - keep returning to this web page every now and then).
Krishna further goes on to say that it is the unfulfilled expectations that are the root cause of suffering in this world. But if you give up your duty then you cannot identify yourself with the supreme. If you have not experienced the tangible, you will not know the intangible. If you have not been worldly enough, you cannot attain unworldliness. The path to the supreme is through this world. To reach the supernatural, you have to go through the natural - doing your duty in this life without expecting any returns. So Krishna asks Arjun not to give in but to get up and fight, for it his duty today.
The best part I like about Gita is that it does not preach renunciation or austerity as a means of salvation. Note the contrast of this basic principle of Gita against equally deep and rich (if not more richer) philosophies of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. (I am still studying these two). You can attain unworldliness in worldliness. Gita says do not run away from the battlefield of life, life is not a burden. Give in you may, but not without resistance.
Gita teaches us that life is not a burden, but a celebration. Do your duty and celebrate yourself to salvation. So why worry ? Just do it. Besides, from a point of karma and the related re-birth associated with it, it is very important to face the world and the problems associated with living and dying, the stress of relationships, of breaking hearts and broken hearts. If you lead a life of renunciation then what has your soul learned in this life? A life has been wasted because the soul has learned nothing. (I intend to add a separate piece on the Karma and re-incarnation at some later time the discussion is too vast and broad ranging).
(Do your duty without expecting rewards or how to celebrate life)
Before you read further, try and consider the following:
You are not a body with a soul inside, you are a soul inside a body which you (probably) currently identify as yourself. Think this clearly, if your name is ABC, then are you ABC who has a soul somewhere residing in your body, or are you a soul residing in a body which is known by ABC in this world ? Do you think yourself a body or a soul ? If you identify yourself with your body then you are a mortal and destined to die. But if you think you are soul in a body then you are immortal and above birth or death. Decided ? Now read on.
To me the Gita is a book on celebration of life. The Gita represents the best of Upanishads. The Upanishads are difficult to comprehend by the average reader who may not have enough understanding of the meaning of life. At any given point in time, a man is nothing but the sum total of all his experiences in life and if he has not reached a particular stage of understanding, upanishads will seem difficult to understand. The Upanishads contain the Brahma Sutras, which the Gita helps us to understand.
In Mahabharata, when the armies of Kauravas and the Pandyas are facing each other and the historical battle is about to begin, Arjuna’s conscience revolts on seeing Bhishma and Dronacharya and several of his relatives on the side of the enemy camp. Arjun offers to lay down his arms. Then Krishna explains to Arjun the essence of the Upanishads. It must be noted that the depth of the philosophy contained in the Brahma Sutras is such that unless you are ready for it, no amount of reading will make you understand. (The same is true of Zen). Krishna and Arjun were the best of friends, but yet Krishna waited until Arjun laid down his arms (the right place and the right time) to reveal the philosophy of the upanishads. The time had now come for Arjuna to understand. Here he was, the key warrior of his army, on whom victory depended (without Arjun, Pandavas couldn’t have won), turning away from the battlefield, his duty, only because he felt that it was not his duty to kill his Guru, his Godfather and his relatives. Krishna very simply says that you cannot kill anybody because the soul never dies. Killing the body makes no difference to the soul of that body. It just moves on to another body depending on the karmas it has performed in this bodily life. The basic principle of Gita is “Nishkama Karma” - do your duty without expecting the rewards. If a man’s duty is to fight and kill his own relatives then he must do so. In doing so, he does not become a less godly man than a hermit (provided that is duty) residing in a forest chanting the name of God throughout. According to Gita, nothing can be more ungodly than failing to do one’s duty, for whatever reason. Thus, a person can stay in this world, enjoy sensory pleasures, live a full life without expecting any rewards in return. He has control over his own Karma, but not the fruit. Karma is the cause that generates Vipaka -the effect. You can control Karma (the cause), but not the effect, so why bother? (I intend to add a separate piece on the Karma and re-incarnation at some later time - keep returning to this web page every now and then).
Krishna further goes on to say that it is the unfulfilled expectations that are the root cause of suffering in this world. But if you give up your duty then you cannot identify yourself with the supreme. If you have not experienced the tangible, you will not know the intangible. If you have not been worldly enough, you cannot attain unworldliness. The path to the supreme is through this world. To reach the supernatural, you have to go through the natural - doing your duty in this life without expecting any returns. So Krishna asks Arjun not to give in but to get up and fight, for it his duty today.
The best part I like about Gita is that it does not preach renunciation or austerity as a means of salvation. Note the contrast of this basic principle of Gita against equally deep and rich (if not more richer) philosophies of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. (I am still studying these two). You can attain unworldliness in worldliness. Gita says do not run away from the battlefield of life, life is not a burden. Give in you may, but not without resistance.
Gita teaches us that life is not a burden, but a celebration. Do your duty and celebrate yourself to salvation. So why worry ? Just do it. Besides, from a point of karma and the related re-birth associated with it, it is very important to face the world and the problems associated with living and dying, the stress of relationships, of breaking hearts and broken hearts. If you lead a life of renunciation then what has your soul learned in this life? A life has been wasted because the soul has learned nothing. (I intend to add a separate piece on the Karma and re-incarnation at some later time the discussion is too vast and broad ranging).
2 comments:
beautifully explained.
Thank you
you are a VERY gifted writer.. held my attention thru each story and wish there were more to read..
thank you sooo much for posting them.. (i esp liked the one about the discussion with your wife LOL) thank you for the giggle.. she sounds very sweet and funny :)
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