Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter3-karmayoga

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22. na me paarTha asthi karthavyam thrishu lokeshu kimchana

naanavaaptham avaapthavyam vrtha eva cha karmaNi

There is nothing I must do in all the three worlds. There is nothing to be attained by Me which has not already been attained. Still I go on working.

For an ordinary human being there are duties in this world only. But the Lord is the controller of all the three worlds. In spite of that He doe s not have any karma in any of these worlds because He is sathyakama sathyasankalpa and avvapthasamasthakaama. There o is nothing to be gained by Him by action butstill He goes I on doing His work of creation, sustenance and annihilation.

23. yadhi hyaham na vartheyam jaathu karmaNi athandhirthaH

mamavarthmaanuvarthanthe manushyaaHpaarThasarvasah

If I do not act incessantly the people will follow me in all ways.

As the Lord of the universe He had to guide and lead beings even by retribution so that they will eventually come to realize their real nature and be freed from ignorance and delusion. By saying that if He does not act the world will follow suit, Krishna means that the mortals will not be guided towards the right path and will destroy themselves pursuing the sensual pleasure with no restraint. No one will be interested in doing anything but desire only the result without working for it. This is explained more fully in the next sloka.

24. uthseedheyuH ime lokaah na kuryaam karma chedhaham

sankarasya cha karthaa syaam upahanyaam imaah pajaaH

If I cease to act these worlds will perish and there will be chaos all around.

It should be remembered that throughout the discourse of Gita Krishna was not talking as the son of Devaki but only as the Supreme Self .In the same vein He is saying "There is nothing for me to do in all the three worlds but still I am incessantly working though there is nothing to be obtained by me by doing so." Krishna gives two reasons for doing so. First as Krishnavasudeva, He is the leader of His times and in accordance with His own saying `yadhyadhaacharathi sreshtah' He is bound to set an example to others. Secondly, speaking as the Lord Almighty, if He stops His work, namely sustaining the world He Himself created, there will be chaos all around. Even to a nonbeliever it is an undisputable fact that the world follows a certain order and functions in a pattern which requires some Super Intelligence, call it God or by any other name, but its existence is unquestionable. So, when Krishna says "If I cease to act these worlds will perish" He is talking as the Supreme Self.

 

Krishna, even as a son of Devaki, was an example of a sthithaprajna, when we consider the exploits and behaviour, which no ordinary human being is capable of. He was portrayed in Bhagavatha in exactly the same way as He himself describes a realized soul, in Bhagavatgita. Rama says to Kaikeyi `Rshibhisthulyam maam vidhdhi', "Know me to be similar to a sage", to show His equanimity on being told to give up the throne and go to the forest. Krishna lived in Ramaavathara He later said as Krishna. In Krishnavathara the Lord was described as looking after the cows, as an ordinary cowherd though He need not have taken all the trouble and by His look itself He could have accomplished all. But as He said in the previous sloka , if he did now act his part the others will also cease from work. The same principle as explained in respect of a jnani who goes on doing his duty even though he has nothing to gain by it , applies to the Lord also.

Later in his avatara as Krishna, when he was the charioteer to Arjuna, he was described to be acting the part fully, including washing the horses and relieving their itch etc.