Guest guest Posted May 31, 2000 Report Share Posted May 31, 2000 Karma - Action and it's Nuances - 1 (to be continued) >From time immemorial, man with his sense of "I and mine" has been probing the creation. His probe was not so much as to understand the cause for the creation but more to identify the nature and behavior of the created and make use of it for the fulfillment of his many needs and demands. His identification with the body, senses and mind (psychophysical complex) made man attached, dependent and interested in maintaining the well being of his belongings and possessions. For this purpose man takes to various activities, in the world of diverse objects, to acquire and secure what is pleasurable and avoid or remove all that is disagreeable for the body, senses and mind. We find the underlying motivation behind all actions is a self-promoting impulse, which is called desire. The desire prompted activities for joy at physical and mental realms are termed as 'karma" - a designed effort. As such, karma is considered as a means for fulfillment. This is the general concept of karma in our Hindu scriptures. When a series of karma undertaken for satisfaction fail to give the expected result, the impelling force in the mind, compels to repeat the efforts. However, when one meets with repeated failure, one is prompted to inquire into the factors that led to the ineffectiveness of the adopted means. We observe that the reason may be due to one of the following factors: (1) Inadequate means (adhyatmikam), (2) inappropriate conditions of time, place, people, etc. - the external conditions (adhibhoudikam). (3) Unknown active forces in the universe of which he is a unit, but having no command over these forces (adhidaivikam). One has control over the adhyatmikam but not of the other two factors. Worldly Actions - Laukika Karma In worldly life, action is instrumental for our success and failure. When the reason for failure is the inadequacy of the adopted means, the mode of action has to be reviewed with discrimination. Correcting the lapses, the effort should be repeated with a positive and cheerful frame of mind, which is free from mental anxiety. Mental equipoise is a contributive factor to gain perfection in action. When skilled and proven means fail to fulfill the expectations, man is advised to seek help by Vedic karma (rituals), which are believed to ward off the unfavourable aspects of adhiboudhikam and adhyatmikam. Here, the word karma is limited only to the means advocated in the Vedas(to be contd.). (Excerpted from Swamiji's talks on Karma Yoga-published as Harmony by Action-1989) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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