The Lord preached Karma Yoga
There is a general
view that Lord Krishna preached essentially Karma Yoga --the path of
selfless action. Mahatma Gandhiji and Bal Gangadhar Tilak held this
view strongly.
While in earlier vedic period, the word karma meant only rituals and
sacrifices to various deities or Gods, Lord Krishna gave a new
definition.He exhorted Arjuna and through him all of us:
" Do Your Duty. Expect no results. Do not get
attached to fruits of your labours....What is more---OFFER
YOUR FRUITS as sacrifice to the Lord...This is real
Yagna or sacrifice."
This was the real import of Lord Krishna through his talks on Karma
Yoga to Arjuna.Chapters 3 and 5 are devoted to karma yoga.But in second
chapter he begins his teaching.
To
work alone you have the right,but never to the fruits thereof. Be thou
not attracted by fruits of actions , and yet, not become passive or
inactive. [2:47]
Countless
millions of Hindus in India, educated or illiterate ,have taken this
verse as their credo and found peace in their lives.!
Surrendering
all actions to Me, and fixing the mind on the Self,devoid of hope and
egoism, free from any fever of grief, fight your battle (of
life) [3:50]
Here the Lord expands on
the theme of Karma yoga, but adds Jnana [fixing the mind on the Self]
and also Bhakti ( surrendering all actions to Me). The Lord gives an
integrated approach of yogas for his devotee! Such gems are to be found
in almost every chapter of the Gita.
The 18th Chapter is a sort of sumary of the entire Gita.It emphasizes renunciation--not easy to practise.
It is not
possible for the living to relinquish actions entirely;but he who
relinquishes the fruits of action is called a tyagi or
renouncer.
[18:11]
This verse defines what is 'tyaga'.Such precise definitions abound in the Gita.
Evenmindedness is called yoga. [2:48]
Here 'yoga' means Karma
Yoga.Evenmindedness means having the serenity to accept defeat and
success, joy and sorrow equally.'Samatvam' also means seeing all as
One, rich or poor,educated or iliterate,high or low caste and so on.
Karma Yoga and other yogas
The view of pure advaitins ,following the teachings of Adi Shankara
[788-820 AD] the great monist ,is that Karma Yoga is only a preparatory
step--a method to purify one's mind to attain Chitta Suddhi..Only
through Knowledge or Jnana one can attain Liberation.This view
,strongly expressed in many texts like Vivekachudamani {crown jewel of
Discrimination] was accepted as such for centuries.This, for the most
part, led Hindus to take less interest in social work or social service
and the society got further divided along rigid caste
lines.
Sri Ramanuja ,another great acharya of 12th century, gave a further
twist to karma yoga.He emphasized 'kainkarya' or service to the
Lord.This concept extended to serving his own clan of vaishnavites
[vishnu worshippers] , in the context of temple worship.The social
works were construction of temple water tanks, serving in the temple
kitchen and maintaining a flower garden and so on.
A broader understanding and emphasis--we owe to Swami Vivekananda.He
asserted that karma yoga alone is sufficient for liberation.In
the 20th century. Swami Sivananda [Divine Life Society,Rishikesh]
emphasized karma yoga by his own example of social service activities.
It is a moot point whether karma yoga alone will lead to liberation or
whether it is only a preliminary step for a sadhak. But from the
Bhagavad Gita, one learns that karma yoga is very much extolled by the
Lord Himself.But commentators and academic philosophers can have a
field day on this point.I ,for one, strongly believe that Swami
Vivekananda was right in his views.This is a matter of belief for me
and I am not a philosopher.!.
Approach to God
"God is not a mute unfeeling Being.He is love itself.If you know how to
meidtate to make contact with Him.He will respond to your loving
demands.You do not have to plead;You can demand as His child."
------ Paramahansa Yogananda
