Guest guest Posted January 9, 2003 Report Share Posted January 9, 2003 It is indeed true that Krishna asked Arjuna to fight and refrained from him running away from the battlefield. But we should also remember how Krishna asked Arjuna to fight. Krishna asked Arjuna to LOSE the sense of doership. He asked Arjuna to surrender unto him his own self, and fight SELFLESSLY. With the sense of doership, comes the feeling of anger, vengeance, hatred jealousy etc. We have a constant eye on the results, i.e victory in the battlefield. But if we fight only as a means of service unto the Lord, then our heart gets divested of all worldly emotions. We no longer fight for victory or to vent out our vengeance / anger/ hatred / jealousy / pride etc, but with the SOLE thought of 'I am Thine'. 'I shall do what you instruct me to do'. The heart is full of love and the body alone performs the actions. Such kind of actions alone do not bind and are justified. Now one may ask, "Then do i just keep quiet and watch if someone harms or abuses? If everyone is God, should I just continue to pour love and get beaten up by the bad guy who is also God?" Well, all are God does NOT mean we sit quietly, but deal with people the way they should be dealt with all the while keeping our hearts pure and full of love. For example: water, air fire etc are all elements of nature and are manifestations of God. When we deal with water in our house, we enjoy and play with water. But when we deal with fire we have to be careful lest our house may get burnt. Dealing carefully with the fire does NOT mean, one has hatred or any kind of negative emotions towards fire. One has the SAME feeling towards all the elements be it water, fire, air , earth or ether. But the way we deal with the elements differe according to the physical nature of the element. So too all the people are all God, but differ in the material nature. They are all ONE in the spiritual way, and are no different from each other. The basic substance is the same. The difference is not in kind, but in the presentation. Thus while dealing with different kinds of people, be it kind, offensive, good, bad etc, we have to FEEL the same towards all, i.e 'Divine Love', as all are the same, but our actions towards them can differ to manage them accordingly, as we do between fire and water. When the need arose for Arjuna to fight, Krishna instructed him to fight, but with only after he surrendered himself totally unto Krishna. Arjuna fought the battle, but he fought with OUT the sense of doership. He fought only for the sake of performing the action and never sought victory or gratification of his desires / vengeance etc. He merely was intrumental to the Will of the Lord. Such should be our actions too. Ramana Maharshi once said, "If one abuses another or injures him the remedy does not lie in retort or resistance. Simply keep quiet. This quiet will bring peace to the injured but make the offender restless until he is driven to admit his error to the injured party. " On another occasion he said, "Silence is a powerful weapon against aggression, insolence and malice." We must perform actions only for the sake of performing them, as part of our destiny rather than react to circumstances with strong emotions like anger, hatred, greed, pride, jealousy etc. Such kind of actions performed only for the sake of performing them, and by constant contemplation of the Lord do not bind us and are called 'mukti-hethu'. They eventually lead us to Mukthi. Hari Aum !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2003 Report Share Posted January 9, 2003 Jaya Sri Radhey! The Lord said to Arjuna: "karmaNyevAdhikAraste mA phaleSu kadAcana mA karma phalahetur bhUr mA te saGgo 'stvakarmaNi" "yogasthaH kuru karmANi saGgam tyaktvA dhanaJjaya siddhy asiddhyoH samo bhUtvA samatvaM yoga ucyate" (Gita 2.47, 48) "Seek to perform your duty. But LAY NOT CLAIM to its fruits. Be you NOT the producer of the FRUITS of KARMA; Neither shall you LEAN towards INACTION." Not an atom moves without a motive. Beings are all busy either to GAIN something or to ward off something unwanted. In the absence of such a motive no action needs performed. But Lord induces Arjuna not to be MOTIVATED and at the SAME TIME to be intensely ACTIVE. Yes, here in lies the turning point in life from 'Preyas to Sreyas'. Good accrues from DETACHMENT and NEVER from ATTACHMENT. Karma in itself is NO evil; but it becomes so when MIXED UP with DESIRE. Desire TAINTED karma gives continuity to the wheel of birth and death. Conquerers of DESIRE are they who CARE NOT for the fruits of karma. FREEDOM from DESIRE is REAL FREEDOM. When duty is discharged UNTARNISHED by desire, clarity of UNDERSTANDING ensues. Karma therefore has to be performed perfectly by the aspirant UNMINDFUL of the FRUITS thereof. "A boat may be floating on the water, but NO water should be ALLOWED to get into it. Man may live in the world, but NO worldly desire ought to take possession of him. - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa" How the desireless one works and lives in the world is explained in the next verse: "Perform ACTION, O Dhananjaya, being FIXED in YOGA, renouncing ATTACHMENTS, and EVEN-MINDED in success and failure; equilibrium is verily yoga." The surrendered YOGI, the Bhakta holds ALL the activities taking place in him as the DOINGS of Lord. He places himself in the position of A WILLING SERVANT, ever ready to EXECUTE orders. An attitude of this kind eliminates attachment. The devoted yogi holds the successes and failures in his ENDEAVOURS free from attachment and aversion. This even-mindedness is equilibrium. He is a yogi who keeps the MIND in this poised state under ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. Spiritual growth is possible to him only who keeps the mind ever poised. " BE in the world even as a MAID-SERVANT in a rich man's house. For all intents and purposes she CLAIMS her master's children and property as her OWN. But at the CORE OF HER HEART she KNOWS that THEY DO NOT BELONG TO HER and she REMAINS FIRM in that ATTITUDE. Seemingly own worldly things. BUT HAVE NO ATTACHMENT TO THEM. As the maid-servant can with EASE RELINQUISH her ASSUMED OWENERSHIP of the MASTER's property, BE PREPARED FOR SEPARATION FROM EARTHLY POSSESSION." -Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa " "buddhi yukto jahAtIha ubhe sukRta duSkRte tasmAd yogAya yujyasva yogaH karmasu kauzalam" (Gita 2.50) "The one FIXED in EQUANIMITY of MIND FREES oneself in this life from vice and virtue alike; therefore DEVOTE yourself through this yoga; the yoga of equanimity is skill in action." Karma is classified as good or bad based on the results it produces. Good karma is as much the the cause as the bad one, for continuity of the wheel of birth and death. But the Karma-yogi is NOT affected by karma of any kind. This is due to his FIXING in equanimity - the STATE FREE FROM LIKES and DISLIKES, ATTACHMENT and AVERSION. Detached performance of duty adds efficiency and the required equilibrium is maintained perfectly. Bhishma fought for the WICKED to the BEST of his ability, but because of his COMPLETE DETACHMENT he was NOT TAINTED by his action. Equanimity of MIND comes to one FREE from likes and dislikes, attachment and aversion. He is a devoted yogi of skillful action. NO new karma ACCRUES to him. The momentum of the old karma wanes away. He gains in perfecting the MIND. (Adapted from the 'Translation of Bhagavad Gita' by Swami Chidbhavananda of Sri Ramakrishna Mission) ----------- He who shirks action does not attain freedom; no one can gain perfection by abstaining from work. Indeed, there is no one who rests for even an instant; every creature is driven to action by his own nature. - Bhagavad Gita 3:4-5 ----------- More on desire-less action:- The blessed Lord said: "O Partha, when one fully renounces all the desires belonging to the mind and remains contented in the Self alone through the self, then he is called a man of steady Wisdom." - Gita 2.55 rAga-dveSa-vimuktais tu, viSayAn indriyaiz caran Atma-vazyair vidheyAtmA, prasAdam adhigacchati "The self-controlled man, by percieving objects with the organs that are free from attraction and repulsion and are under his own control, attains serenity, purity of mind, fitness for realizing the Supreme Self." - Gita 2.64 vihAya kAmAn yaH sarvAn pumAMzcarati niHspRhaH nirmamo nirahaGkAraH sa zAMtim adhigacchati "One whose mind is not attached to any material object and freed from all desires and without the feeling of 'I' and 'mine' alone deserves to attain Supreme Peace." - Gita 2.71 vIta rAga bhaya krodhA manmayA mAm upAzritaH bahavo jnAna tapasA pUtA mad bhAvam AgatAH Many who were devoid of attachment, fear and anger, who were absorbed in Me, who had taken refuge in Me, and purified by the austerity of Knowledge attained My state. - Gitopanishad 4.10 Jaya Sri Radhey! 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