Fwd: Pride of doership is an obstacle to God Realization

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Hare Krsna

 

 

The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of

the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of

activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature. GITA 3:27

 

Question: How can the pride of doership be wiped out, as this pride of doership is an obstacle to God Realization ?

 

Answer: Ordinary people perform all actions for themselves. By doing

actions for your own self, there remains within the pride of doership.

But a Karmayogi does not perform any actions for himself. The Karmayogi

believes that whatever he has acquired from the world, is of the world,

and not his own. Therefore, whenever an opportunity arises, at that

time he engages the body, senses, mind, intellect, money and all other

things that he has acquired from the world, to render service to the

world. And while he is rendering service to the world, the Karmayogi

believes that it is only the things of the world that he is using to

serve the world, in other words, all the possessions, the time, the

capabilities etc. belong to that which is being served. By believing

so, the pride of doership does not remain.

 

In doership, there is intent of enjoyership. A Karma Yogi does not

perform any actions with the expectation of enjoying their fruits. He

who has expectation of fruits and enjoyment, is not a Karmayogi. Just

like when wash your face with your hands, within there is not a feeling

that I have done a big favor. Because a man considers both the hand and

the face as parts of his body. Similarly the Karmayogi considers the

body as part of the world. Therefore if one part has rendered service

to the other part, then where is the question of pride of doership ?

 

It is an accepted practice that with whatever aim a man enters into an

activity, then at the end of that activity, he becomes immersed and one

with that very aim. Just as a business man starts to conduct his

business with the aim of earning money, then at the moment of closing

the shop, his attention is drawn naturally and automatically towards

the money, and he begins to count the money. His attention does not go

towards, who were all the customers who had come to his shop today ?

What race and class were they from ? etc. Because he has no specific

concern for the customers. A worldly man performing actions, having the

aim of mundane worldly things, however much he remains engrossed in the

world, he cannot become identified and one with the world, because in

reality there is no unity and oneness with the world. The world is

every moment, ever changing and insentient, while the Self is uniform

and sentient. The Self is unchanging and is consciousness itself. A

spiritual aspirant who performs actions having God as his aim, gets

naturally identified with God Himself (whether he realizes this fact or

not), because the Self is naturally established and identified with

God. In this state of identification, when the doer, in the form of

doing his duty, becomes one with His aim (essence of God), then where

arises the question of pride of doership ? There remains no such

question.

 

The aim (God Realization) for which a Karmayogi performs all actions,

in that essence of God, there is no pride of doership, i.e. there is no

sense of doership. Rather at the beginning and end of all activities,

having the experience of oneness wth the aim (God Realization) there

remains in the Karmayogi no sense of doership.

 

All activities performed by all beings have a beginning and end. No

activity remains forever. Rather no one's sense of doership remains

forever. Therefore at the end of every activity, also comes the end of

doership of that activity. But man makes the mistake that when he

performs any activity he considers himself to be the doer of that

activity, but also when he does not perform that activity, then too he

continues to consider himself as the doer of that activity. In this

manner, by continuously believing himself to be a doer, his pride of

doership in not wiped out, rather it becomes even more firm. Just like

a man while he is giving a discourse, considers himself to be the

orator, but at other times too if he continues to regard himself as an

orator then his pride of doership is not wiped out. It is only by

considering himself to be an orator at all times that thoughts and

feelings arise within that other listeners must serve me, must respect

me, must fulfill my needs, and how can I sit in the midst of these ordinary men ? How can I

do this ordinary work ? etc. etc. In this manner, his association with

his oratory activities remains forever. It is for this reason that

through oratory activities, such as giving discourses etc. there is an

inner feeling within of acquiring wealth, name, fame, relaxation and

something or the other. If there remains no desire to attain anything

for your own self, then the doership only remains as long as one is

performing the activity, and at the end of the activity the doership

merges with his aim.