CH 4, Verse 14

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Chapter 4

Verse 14

 

Na maa.n karmaa limpanti na me karma-phale spRihaa /

iti maa.n yo'bhijaanaati karmabhir na sa badhyate //

 

Actions do not taint Me. Nor have I any desire for

the fruits of action. He who knows Me thus is not

bound by action.

 

LESSONS FROM BHAGAVAD GITA – 33

As taught by Parama Pujya Sri Swamiji

Compiled by: Swami Dattananda

Bhakti Mala, August 1995

 

People are not born with the same tendencies. The

minds of the people are not alike. They are in

different grades of evolution. That is why we find so

many inequalities and diversities among ourselves. A

man in the beginning of his evolution may take birth

in a lower class, but after death he may be reborn as

a noble man of sterling qualities.

 

Although God has divided the human beings according to

their tendencies and does all the work connected with

the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the

world, still God is above all works. An ordinary man

is bound by the work he does, but God is not bound.

Therefore, the Lord says, ‘although I am the author

of that (act of classification,) know me to be

actionless and changeless’ (Chapter 4, Verse 13).

 

The Lord and the individual souls have taken their

seats in Prakriti, (Primordial Matter.) The

individual souls do work to enjoy their fruits.

Hence, they are bound. But the Lord is ever content

and satisfied. As such, He does nothing for his own

enjoyment. Whatever takes place through Him happens

quite naturally. As such, the Lord is ever

actionless. So the Lord says, “Actions do not taint

Me. Nor have I any desire for the fruits of action.

He who knows Me thus is not bound by action” (Chapter

4, Verse 14).

 

When God incarnates Himself, He performs tremendous

works. But like the axle of a wheel, He remains

actionless in the midst of His tremendous actions as

He has no personal motive or any selfish desire in the

work He does. So He is always peaceful and calm. He

who realizes this truth becomes freed from the bondage

of Karma, as he also performs actions like the Lord,

without any personal motive. Just as the burnt seed

can never germinate, in the same way, selfless

actions, free from the attachment to the fruits,

become the cause of emancipation.

 

The only cause that binds a man to his actions is his

attachment to its fruits. Hence, he who gives up the

desire for fruit is freed from the bonds of action.

So the Lord says, ‘nor have I any desire for the

fruits of action.’ The Lord performs actions purely

out of a sense of duty and not to enjoy the fruit. So

He says, ‘actions do not taint Me and who knows Me

thus is not bound by action.’ He who knows the Lord,

this means, he who realizes the secret of Lord’s

actions, will follow the Lord in His footsteps and

work for the benefit of humanity. This is the only

way of getting free from the bonds of action.

 

 

 

 

 

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