CH 3, Verse 25

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Chapter 3, Verse 25

 

SaktaaH karmaNy avidvaa.nso yathaa kurvanti Bhaarata /

kuryaad vidvaa.ns tathaa'saktash chikeershhur

loka-sa.ngraham //

 

O Arjuna, just as the ignorant men work with

attachment, so should the wise act unattached, for the

welfare of the world.

 

 

LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA – 22

As taught by Parama Pujya Sri Swamiji

Compiled by: Swami Dattananda

Bhakti Mala, August 1994

 

The man of wisdom should perform actions such as would

bring about Loka Sangraha, that is, the good of the

people. Even if he is self-realized and has nothing

to do, he should not give up his duty as the ordinary

man always looks to him for inspiration. The common

people should not be made to say, “that eminent man is

not working, why should we work?” If this mentality

develops among the people, the society will go to

ruin. In order to see that such a situation does not

arise, the wise people should be always active and

perform actions for the sake of the general good. So

the Lord says, “O Arjuna, just as the ignorant men

work with attachment, so should the wise act

unattached, for the welfare of the world” (Chapter 3,

Verse 25).

 

Ordinary people perform actions prompted by the desire

to enjoy the fruit thereby. They are attached to the

fruits of their actions. The greater is their desire

for fruit, the more is their interest in the

performance of action. But the wise man does not have

such selfish motive in carrying out any action. Then

a question may arise that if he does not have any

self-interest, why should he undertake any work at

all? The answer is given in the verse. He has to

work ‘for the welfare of the world,’ that is with the

purpose of accomplishing the welfare of the people.

And he has to perform such selfless actions with the

same interest and keenness as the ordinary man who

works with the sole aim of obtaining the fruit.

 

In short the wise man should not think that he has

nothing to gain by doing work and so there is no need

for him to work at all. Although he has no

self-interest to be served, he has to perform actions

to the best of his ability and dedicate the fruit to

the general welfare.

 

 

 

 

 

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