Bhagavad Gita - Daily - II CHAPTER 3-4 II

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Gita 3-4

na karmanam anarambhan naishkarmyam purusho 'snutena ca sannyasanad eva siddhim samadhigacchati

"Neither by non-performance of actions, does a man attain freedom from the bondage of actions; nor by mere renunciation, does he attain perfection."

Comment:

As long as the aspirant has an impulse for doing actions, this momentum of doing actions can be pacified only by performing actions without having any desire for fruits thereof. So one must perform actions in an unselfish manner, i.e., doing the actions for the welfare of others. When the actions are done for the benefit of others, the impulse for performing actions is pacified and all actions become Akarmas (non-doership of actions) or in other words the actions no longer become a binding. Simply, by not doing actions, the impulse of doing actions is not pacified. Without the pacification of actions the bond of relationship with Prakriti (Nature) is not broken. Without breaking the bond of relationship with Prakriti, one cannot progress towards attaining the spiritual perfection.

From "Gita Prabodhani" in Hindi by Swami Ramsukhdasji

Translation by Sri Madan Kaura

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Chapter 3, Verse 4 is as follows;

Na = not

KarmaNaam = of actions

Anaarambhaat = from non-performance

NaiShkarmyam = action-less-ness

PuruShaH = man

Ashnute = reaches / obtains

Na = not

Cha = and

Sannyasanaat = from renunciation

Eva = only

Siddhim = perfection / the enlightened state

Samadhi-Gachchhati = attains

English translation: -

Man neither gains action-less-ness by abstaining from activity nor does he rise to perfection by mere renunciation of action.

Comment:

After noticing that Arjuna is emerging out of his debilitating state, Lord Krishna renews his arduous and eloquent plea to initiate action to Arjuna, with this verse.

In Newtonian mechanics, forces occur in pairs, namely action and reaction. Both these forces are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. Any one of the two forces can be considered an action, in which case the other corresponding force automatically becomes its associated reaction. Newton's third Law of motion states that `If a force acts upon a body, then an equal and opposite force must act upon another body'. As an example, in the context of gravitation, as the Sun attracts the Earth (action), then the Earth simultaneously attracts the Sun (with the same intensity and an opposite direction as a reaction). An important point to note is that the physical nature of the reaction force is identical to that of the action itself. If the action is due to gravity, then the corresponding reaction is also must be due to gravity.

In a day to day life, Newton's third law is frequently stated in a simplistic but incorrect manner like, `Action and reaction are equal and opposite' or `To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction'. These statements fail to clarify the point that every action and its resultant reaction apply to different physical bodies or objects.

However, in the context of the current verse 4 in chapter 3; please note that, in the theory of `Karma', an action generated by a human being and its corresponding reaction affects the same human being, which is totally different from Newton's third law.

Action theory is an area in philosophy that is concerned with theories about the processes causing intentional or willful human bodily movements. The basic action theory typically describes action as a behaviour that is caused by a doer or an agent in a particular situation. The agent's desires and beliefs jointly cause an action. With the advent of modern psychology and neuroscience, many theories of action have been expounded.

Action is threefold - thought, word and deed. It reminds me of `Good thoughts, Good words and Good deeds' as the basis of the Zoroastrian philosophy that is practiced by Parsis.

Action is performed by an individual at various levels of his consciousness. Deep within are the springs of real action. Whether they take gross, subtle or causal forms, they are actions still, enough to keep the wheel of Karma in motion. "Action for sensual or material achievement" and "refusal to act believing that only thereby one can achieve salvation"; both such conventional thoughts are equally deceptive mental conditioning. Such conditioning is bondage, which leads to reincarnation, due to one's residual desires.

The very divine purpose behind the manifestation in human form is breaking such vicious and perpetual cycle of life and death. Action is the insignia of life. The inherent tendencies, urges and unfulfilled residual desires of a person are collectively referred to as `Vaasanaas' in Vedanta philosophy. `Vaasanaas' are generated due to `Purva-Krutam' i.e. past deeds. The present `Vaasanaas' produce future actions and present actions produce future `Vaasanaas'.

`Vaasanaas' are the prime movers of every action initiated by a person. `Vaasanaas' themselves remain unmanifest. Human actions are the ultimate manifestations of `Vaasanaas'. In the hierarchy of an action, `Vaasanaas' come first, followed by thoughts, desires and the final culmination into various actions. In the enlightened state of `Naishkarmya', `Vaasanaas' are totally exhausted and therefore there is cessation of thought processes for acquisition of worldly pleasures, annulment of desires and abolishment of further actions in pursuit of `Vaasanaas'. It reminds me of famous Hindi saying, "Na Rahegaa Baasa Na Bajegee Baansuree" i.e. if there is no bamboo then flute cannot be blown.

Action produces reaction and the reaction serves as action producing its own reaction. Cause gives birth to result which serves as the cause for another as in chain-reaction. It is like the seed and the plant, the egg and the hen - one leads to the other in an endless cycle.

Therefore, shall we sit quietly and watch the fun? Such a narrow view of actionless-ness may appeal to some, but certainly not to Lord Krishna. He advocates `Naishkarmya' to be an enlightened state, where one is unaffected by his own actions. He advises Arjuna not to renunciate action but to renunciate selfish motives and sensual and materialistic desires.

Please refer verse 9 in chapter 9, wherein Lord Krishna cites his own example, "Nor do these acts, O Arjuna, bind Me. I continue to remain unconcerned and unattached to those acts."

"The goal in life of a man is to merge in Godhood. Make a reminder knot of this fact in a corner of your scarf and then plunge in the discharge of your bounden duty."…. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa.

`Vaasanaas' create barriers between manhood and Godhood. The very purport of Vedanta philosophy is to eradicate all the `Vaasanaas' in every Saadhaka and orient him to attain the realisation of the Self in the current manifestation of every human life.

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

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Gita 3-4na karmanam anarambhan naishkarmyam purusho 'snutena ca sannyasanad eva siddhim samadhigacchati"Neither by non-performance of actions, does a man attain freedom from the bondage of actions; nor by mere renunciation, does he attain perfection."Comment: na karmanam anarambhan naishkarmyam purusho 'snute - In the Discipline of Action, performance of action is inevitable, because for a sage who wishes to attain success in Yoga, action is the means (6/3).* A man has an impulse for action, which can be pacified by the performance of actions, without having any desire for fruits. If a aspirant performs actions having a desire for fruits, this impulse is not pacified, it is rather enhanced.'Naiskarmyam asnute' — When an aspirant performs his duty, without any desire for fruit, he attains to the state of actionlessness i.e., he is released from the bondage of action. Such actions do not bear fruit, in the same way as a roasted or boiled seed loses its potency to sprout. Such actions lose their power of involving a man, in the bondage of birth and death.A man can renounce desire, when he perform actions only for the welfare of others, as actions have affinity for the world, while the affinity of self is, for God. So long as he performs actions for himself, he cannot renounce desire and as long as he does not renounce desire, he cannot attain to the state of actionlessness.'Na ca sannyasanadeva siddhim samadhigacchati'— In the first half of this verse, the Lord has declared that a Karma yogi does not attain the state of actionlessness by non-performance of actions. In the second half, He declares that a Sahkhya yogi (a follower of the Discipline of Knowledge) does not attain perfection viz., a state of actionlessness by mere renunciation of action.It is necessary for an aspirant (sadhak) to renounce the sense of doership, in order to attain perfection. So a Sankhya yogi (follower of the Discipline of Knowledge) instead of renouncing the performance of action, must renounce egoism.In Sankhya yoga, actions can be- performed and they can also be renounced to a certain extent, but in Karma yoga (Discipline of Action), action is necessary as, it is the means to attain success in Yoga viz., perfection (Gita 6/3).* If he does not perform action, how will he come to know whether he remained equanimous in success and failure or not?(Partial Posting - Vital Facts and Appendix - not included) From "Srimad Bhagavadgita - Sadhak Sanjivani" in English pg 257-258 by Swami Ramsukhdasji