HARMONY BY ACTION - SWAMI TATWANANDA

[Guest guest]

ACT IN THE SPIRIT OF YAGNA

 

Pursuance of Actions as a Fulfilled Being-5

 

Fulfillment is the recognition of one's true nature by a serene mind. Such a

mind is gained by a man of activity through pursuing actions in the spirit of

yagna. Krishna's call in these verses 9-21 of chapter three of Gita makes

that very clear.

 

· "Know that the origin of karma (cause and effect) is in Divine

Consciousness. The world rests on spiritual action. Benevolence is the basis

of our life. As we are under a deep debt to other beings, "act we must in the

spirit of yagna." For the enlightened one, who is firmly rooted in Self,

there exists no work that needs to be done for his fulfillment. Yet even he

works unselfishly for others. Therefore, without attachment, perform always

the work that is before you, for man attains the highest by doing work in the

spirit of yagna."

 

The wise ones may differ in the significance they attach in their teachings

about understanding, attitude, behaviour and action, which are different

aspects of human existence for the advancement of spiritual practice. There

is an underlying common factor; however, revealed by their teachings and

lives, which is the sense of satisfaction and that is the culmination of

spiritual sadhana. The enlightened one understands that the relative forces

of Nature maintain his body, senses, and mind, which are realms of matter. At

the same time, he recognizes that these forces of prakriti (nature) do not

reach his intrinsic nature of Self. As a "triptatma" (satisfied in Self by

the Self) he has neither hatred nor aversion in his mind towards the world of

changes or what it offers.

 

To gain that settled frame of mind, which is motivated to act from the state

of satisfaction and not seeking satisfaction from the relative world, Lord

Krishna urges the seeker, man of activities, to take to the lifestyle of

karma-yoga. The very world of relationships and responsibilities, which the

seeker created for himself in his search for joy due to his "ignorance" about

the svarupa of Atma, is now to be served in the spirit offering and sharing

attitude. This attitude-based lifestyle will help the acquisitive, egocentric

individual to evolve and relate to all that falls within the realm of his

attention, with awareness of himself as part of the whole universe.

 

The sense of egoism does not get concretized in the mind by this

yagna-bhavana. One finds that the stronghold of the importance of

individualized expectations gets neutralized and the mind becomes free of

agitation. This free, equipoise mind is capable of discrimination of the Real

and "not-real" even while engaged in activities.

 

Such a sincere and mature mind is alert, receptive and responsive to discover

the truth of the scriptural teachings that "Self is the non-doer, while all

actions belong to the psychophysical structure, which are manifestations of

the modes of Nature." This understanding of Self/Atma as not the

"doer/enjoyer" gets strengthened further as the seeker continues to pursue

actions in the spirit of yagna without claiming the actions and results as

"mine."

When the sense of doership is absent in the vision of right understanding,

the claimant of the fruits of actions to enjoy and exhaust as "mine" is also

absent. This is the release from the bondage of karma in all its aspects.

 

OM TAT SAT.

 

(Excerpted from Swamiji's talks on Karma Yoga-published as Harmony by

Action.1989)