BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:11

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:11

 

athaitad apy asakto 'si

kartum mad-yogam asritah

sarva-karma-phala-tyagam

tatah kuru yatatmavan

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

atha--even though; etat--this; api--also; asaktah--unable; asi--you

are; kartum--to perform; mat--unto Me; yogam--in devotional service;

asritah--taking refuge; sarva-karma--of all activities; phala--of the

results; tyagam--renunciation; tatah--then; kuru--do;

yata-atma-van--self-situated.

 

TRANSLATION

 

If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then

try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be

self-situated.

 

PURPORT

 

It may be that one is unable even to sympathize with the activities of

Krsna consciousness because of social, familial or religious

considerations or because of some other impediments. If one attaches

himself directly to the activities of Krsna consciousness, there may

be objections from family members, or so many other difficulties. For

one who has such a problem, it is advised that he sacrifice the

accumulated result of his activities to some good cause. Such

procedures are described in the Vedic rules. There are many

descriptions of sacrifices and special functions of punya, or special

work in which the result of one's previous action may be applied. Thus

one may gradually become elevated to the state of knowledge. It is

also found that when one who is not even interested in the activities

of Krsna consciousness gives charity to some hospital or some other

social institution, he gives up the hard-earned results of his

activities. That is also recommended here because by the practice of

giving up the fruits of one's activities one is sure to purify his

mind gradually, and in that purified stage of mind one becomes able to

understand Krsna consciousness. Of course Krsna consciousness is not

dependent on any other experience, because Krsna consciousness itself

can purify one's mind, but if there are impediments to accepting Krsna

consciousness, one may try to give up the results of his actions. In

that respect, social service, community service, national service,

sacrifice for one's country, etc., may be accepted so that some day

one may come to the stage of pure devotional service to the Supreme

Lord. In Bhagavad-gita (18.46) we find it is stated, yatah pravrttir

bhutanam: if one decides to sacrifice for the supreme cause, even if

he does not know that the supreme cause is Krsna, he will come

gradually to understand that Krsna is the supreme cause by the

sacrificial method.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.