Bhakti Shastri (055) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 02 Text 47 to 53

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Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna. Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita of the Shastric course. We will look to discuss now on Karma Yoga.
Till now we have discussed the superiority of Karmakand over Karma Yoga from verses 38 to 46. Now we will discuss how Karma Yoga is to be practised. Now in this section, we can see this section in the chronological flow of the Gita as talking about Karma Yoga.
At the same time, these characteristics can also apply to Bhakti Yoga. So that we get eternal result that requires one-pointed intelligence. This can apply to general transcendence and it can also apply to Bhakti Yoga.
So within the sequential flow of the Bhagavad Gita, because Krishna has not explicitly referred to himself, it refers to Karma Yoga. But actually Prabhupada connects everything in the Gita with its ultimate conclusion. And in that perspective, all this section can be seen as referring to Krishna Consciousness also.
So we will discuss about this topic more in detail as we move forward. So now let us look at one of the most widely quoted verses in the Gita. It is a verse which is often quoted but very rarely and clearly understood.
So, कर्मन्यवाधिकारस्ते माफलेशु कदाचण माकर्मपलहे तुर्भूर माते संगोस्त्व कर्मणि Now, this verse, generally only one-fourth of it is quoted. कर्मण्यवाधिकारस्ते But it has four parts. Actually each of the four parts has a significance.
कर्मण्यवाधिकारस्ते That we have a right only to do karma. We have a right to do karma. अधिकार, authority.
Right. माफलेशु कदाचण But we do not have a right to the fruit. We should not demand or we should not demand the fruit.
माकर्मपलहे तुर्भूर One should not think of oneself as the producer of the fruit. And then, माते संगोस्त्व अकर्मणि We should not think that because I shouldn’t get the fruit, so then I’ll not do karma only. So let us look at these four parts and try to understand what this verse is actually talking about.
So first and foremost Sri Prabhupada will often talk about half-hen logic based on a well-known traditional story that a person wanted a hen A person had a hen which could give eggs, golden eggs. The person thought, oh, the tail part of the hen is giving eggs. The front part doesn’t give eggs, I have to feed it, so let me just cut off the front part.
And then the hen was killed, and then there were no eggs at all. So like that, if we just take half of the hen, then we don’t get proper results. So what does this half-hen refer to? If you only take from the Bhagavad Gita those sections which are conducive to us and not conducive in the sense that they are at our level of spiritual advancement, but which simply fit into our worldview and we reject those which don’t fit into our worldview then we miss out on much of what the Bhagavad Gita can offer us.
So what are the things that Bhagavad Gita can offer us? It can offer us all-round elevation in our understanding of ourselves and God and our relationship with Him. So that understanding can come only when we open ourselves. So half-hen logic means only accepting one part of the hen.
So actually with respect to the Bhagavad Gita, people often use not just half-hen logic with respect to this specific verse, but there is what you could say even quarter-hen logic. Quarter-hen logic means this verse has four parts, but most people only quote one part. करमन्यवाधिकारस्ते So करमन्यवाधिकारस्ते I have a right to do my work.
So actually speaking, what is it actually talking about here? So if you look at the flow of the Gita previously, essentially Krishna is talking, seek the eternal. Don’t seek the temporary. He has not explicitly stated that, but he has talked about the eternal, the soul in 2.11 to 2.30. And then he has said, okay, now we can be detached from the material.
That’s what has been the theme from 2.38 onwards. So that means you are the eternal soul and everything material is superficial. So don’t be excited about that.
Be equipoised amidst happiness and distress. And then after that, he talks then about the superiority of this over seeking materially good things. So now he is describing how one should live by which one can attain the eternal.
So let’s look at the four parts. First is करमन्यवाधिकारस्ते करमन्यवाधिकारस्ते All of us have a right to do the work. What does it refer to? Actually, most people think that we have a right to the results.
We don’t care whether we have a right to the work or not. We care for the results. Students, often they don’t want to study but they want to get good marks.
And that’s why there are all kinds of study guides which say last-minute revision, last-minute study. And they say oh, this you study and you will get the top marks. Or people also feel that.
In general, people think I have a right to the results. And with the least possible effort that I can put in and I can get the results, that’s great. Few people think that I have a right to the work.
But Bhagavad Gita seems to say exactly the opposite. You have a right to the work. But do not consider that you have a right to the fruits.
What does it actually mean? Work is performed in the world not just for its material results, but also for its spiritual results. How can work produce a spiritual result? It depends on what kind of work it is. If one is just doing one’s own activities, not according to scripture, but according to ordinary worldly standards of what is right and what is wrong, then one will just continue at the ordinary worldly level.
But if one understands spiritual knowledge and tries to practise spiritual knowledge, then one understands that I am the soul and I have to rise to the level of the soul. So how will I rise to the level of the soul? By purifying myself. What does it mean to purify myself? It means that the soul is Satchitananda and everything that causes the soul to forget its Satchitananda nature is in one sense impurity.
Now those which are grossly sensual, gross sensory or immoral pleasures, they are considered to be very impure. And from the spiritual point of view, they are extremely anti-spiritual. They choke and check our spiritual life.
when we say that we have a right to the work, just like a student studies, the purpose of study primarily is learning. And then a byproduct of learning is good performance in exams. The purpose of study is what? Learning.
It’s inner growth. And actually when we apply ourselves to study, it is not just that we learn the subject that we are studying. Actually by that even our mind grows.
By mind I am not referring to the aspect of the mind as we use it normally. We use the word mind often to refer to that part of our being which is always very restless, which is always filled with feelings and which drags us down. But the word mind is also used in a general sense in today’s society where people say Einstein was the greatest mind of the 20th century.
So mind refers to the faculty for deep thought which we have. So when we talk about this we have to clearly understand that by studying a person develops the thinking capacity, the reasoning capacity, the grasping capacity and of course one gets a deeper understanding of the subject. And all this as a byproduct leads to the acquirement of good marks.
Similarly, when we work in this world, when we do our spiritual duty or do our worldly duties with basic spiritual understanding of life then that enables us to grow in our inner understanding. That enables us to develop our knowledge. So when I act with detachment and by that action my understanding that I am not the body and the soul increases.
How is that? Because there is action and that action leads to transformation internally. So the purpose of action primarily when one is practising yoga is not just acquisition of the fruit. The purpose of action is the growth of wisdom.
So when a person acts in knowledge then knowledge deepens further. So when a person Brahmana performs the Brahmanical duties or Kshatriya performs Kshatriya duties then now naturally when they work obviously they are every work is done with some result which is object. So now it doesn’t mean that one not care for the result.
So for example now when we are assembling for those bhakti chefs we course. If we start thinking I don’t care whether I understand Bhagavad Gita or not. Or if we are cooking prasad for for big festival Janmashtami festival say and the cook says I don’t care for the result.
So whether the sugar tastes good or not, whether sweet tastes good or not, whether pooris are half fried or properly fried or over fried. I don’t care. Mahafaleshu kadachana.
Is that a correct understanding of the Gita? If that were what Krishna meant then Arjuna could have said you know I will fight. Mahafaleshu kadachana. Whoever wins I don’t care.
So that’s a very simplistic understanding and actually it’s not even understanding it’s misunderstanding. So Mahafaleshu kadachana means doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t care for the result at all. Actually for most of us it is the desire for the result that motivates us and that’s not wrong essentially if we seek a particular result but the idea is we do our duties not just for that result.
We do our duties because we know through that we will get purification and illumination. So when a devotee cooks for Krishna now when all of us are coming for studying the Bhakti Shastri what is our goal? By this we want to become purified. By hearing Krishna Katha, by understanding Krishna Katha by trying to internalise it we get these two results one is purification and the other is illumination.
Purification means all the impurities subside because we are coming in contact with Krishna. Illumination means our spiritual understanding also increases. So this is what we primarily seek when we do our services.
So when we take darshan of the deities, when we cook, yes we want to get things cooked well because they are for Krishna, that is true. But that is not our primary objective. Our primary objective is to please Krishna and Krishna is pleased not just by our results, Krishna is pleased by our endeavour.
So if we do our service wholeheartedly, then even if the result doesn’t come out, Krishna is pleased. So essentially now I am talking of working at three different levels. First is the way most people work to get the results.
Why do the students study? Oh I want marks in my exam. So why do we as devotees distribute books? Oh because we want our name to be announced, top distributor in the temple, like that. So we do it straight for the results.
Second is we do it because it will purify us. I am doing service, it will purify me. That’s a good.
Highest motive is I do this because I want to please Krishna. Now among these three levels of motivations, if I do the activity just for the sake of the results, then if I don’t get the results, why did I do it? I simply wasted my time doing all this. That’s how we feel.
Why did I waste my time like this? Even if I do it, always the thought is will I get the result? Will I get the result? So then our consciousness is not really very spiritual. But then when we want to do it for purification, that is good. Why am I doing this activity? Because I’ll get purified.
So when we give class, when we have class, now we do have after the Bhakti Shastra course we will have exams. And there will be marking system and different devotees will get different marks. Someone will come first, someone will come second, someone will come last.
Is this necessarily bad? No. We can have marking system. But our goal in studying Bhakti Shastra is not just to get marks.
Our goal is to purify ourselves. We understand that by giving serious thought on Krishna’s message, as it is systematically presented through the Bhakti Shastra books, we will become purified. So this motive also frees us from dependence on the results.
And that actually is very liberating. If whatever we do is simply dependent on the results, then it creates a lot of insecurity. Will I get it? Will I not get it? So if we don’t want that sort of insecurity, then it’s important for us to recognise that there are better things that we can do in life.
We just don’t have to let our mental energy get sucked up in bothering about whether we will get the result or not. We use it, our mental energy, to offer the result to Krishna and to do our endeavour for Krishna’s sake. That means that Krishna, whatever I am doing, I am doing this for your pleasure.
So when we think of it this way and do it this way, irrespective of whether the result comes out wonderfully or not, we decide to share Krishna’s message, and sometimes we go out and distribute a hundred books, and sometimes even two books are difficult to be distributed. So it doesn’t matter, because in all situations, we are actually pleasing Krishna. If our endeavour is wholehearted, we are pleasing Krishna.
So here, when Krishna says, you have a right to the work, but not a right to the result, that does not mean that we don’t care about the result or we don’t strive to produce the result. But our primary motive is not acquiring the result. Our primary motive at the level of Karma Yoga is purification, at the level of Bhakti Yoga is pleasure of Krishna.
This is how we understand this. If my goal is just the material result, then I cannot have spiritual consciousness. And if I can’t have spiritual consciousness, then I can’t make spiritual advancement.
Now, why can’t I have spiritual advancement if my goal is the result? Because if my goal is just the result, then I will constantly be thinking about the result. I can’t think about anything else, and that makes me weak. And, so then, if I don’t want to be weak in terms of not being overcome by the craving for the result, then there’s one more level of detachment.
First level of detachment is that I don’t become attached to the result. I don’t become emotionally dependent on the result as the motivation for my action. But after that, it is also ma karma phala he tur bhur.
Do not think that you are producing the result. ma karma phala he tur bhur. Do not think that you are the cause of the result.
Now, how is that possible? You know, a cricketer may say that in the last ball, we needed six to win, and I hit a sixer. I won the match. You know, I am the champion.
You know, I did it. I had to give a class, and I gave the class. I prepared for us.
I am the karma phala he tur bhur. If I had not done it, the result would not have come out. So, how can somebody say that, do not think that you are the cause of the result.
See, Krishna’s message is very profound, and what we have to understand is when he says ma karma phala he tur bhur, it means that, do not think that you are the only cause of the result. We’ll discuss about action in more depth later, but the important point to recognise here is that all of us, we want results, but at the same time, deep within we know that the results are not entirely in our hands. Even in sports, where we see that the player’s performance matters so much.
You know, the batsman hits a sixer on the last ball, or the bowler gets a clean bowl on the last ball. It depends on the performance, but even all the best cricketers and the cricket fans know that there are factors which are beyond human control also, and they play a role. And, there are many cricketers who have their own set of superstitions.
You know, some cricketers, the yest famous cricketer, who whenever he would play, he would have a particular red coloured handkerchief, coming out one third from the pocket. And he would always look, if that handkerchief is too much inside, you can say that’s bad luck. And if the handkerchief is too much outside, that’s also bad luck.
If the handkerchief is not there only, that’s super bad luck. As long as that handkerchief is one third outside, red coloured handkerchief, that is some good omen. Or, there are some, there’s another cricketer, he had the idea that when he would go out to play, he would tell others, he would go before that to the washroom and make sure all the lids of the washroom, the cupboards, would be closed.
And he said, if any lid would be open, and he would tell his team member, make sure everything is closed. He said, what is the correlation between batting over there and whether the cupboards are closed or not? Or some other player, they would wear some amulet, something in the arm. Somebody, there’s a famous tennis player who would have an earring only in one ear.
He said, this is a good luck charm. Now, we may say, this is all superstitious. Now, if you look at these players, they are not foolish.
They may be acting foolishly in certain ways, but the point is, these are all their ways in which they are recognising that there is something beyond their control and that which is beyond their control needs to go their way for the results to come out. So, when you say that they are not foolish, that means that they also know that their performance matters. That’s why they are playing and they know that their performance matters.
But they also know that there is something beyond their performance which also matters. So, there is the people may use the name destiny, fate, chance, whatever. There are different names that can be used to refer to it.
But the simple fact is, there are factors beyond our control which matter and they matter a lot. So, when we recognise how much they matter, then we get the impetus, the motivation to find out what they are and then to see how we can align ourselves with them. So, that is a different subject entirely.
It’s not that superstitious sort of activities, those higher powers, whatever is their factors beyond our control, they will align with us. That’s not the point here. The point is an acknowledgement of factors beyond our control.
So, when Krishna says, Ma karma phala he tur bhur, his point is that do not think of yourself as the only cause of the result. Recognise that there are other factors involved. So, to the extent we think that we are the cause of the result, to that extent we will become bound.
And to the extent we don’t think of ourselves as the cause of the result, to that extent we won’t become bound. Ma karma phala he tur bhur. So, that means the two levels of detachment are first is don’t work just for the sake of the results and while working don’t think that I am the cause of the results.
So, if I think I am the cause of the results, then I identify myself with the specific ability, the specific talents that I have. So, if I think that I am a if I give good classes, then I start thinking of myself as a preacher and that’s a identification. It’s different from my identification as a servant of Krishna.
So, of course, I may be doing the service of preaching and in that sense I am a preacher, but I have to remember primarily that I am a servant of Krishna. So, in this way by this inner consciousness one can stay detached. One doesn’t think oneself to be the cause of the fruits of action and one doesn’t work just for the sake of the fruit of action.
This is, we discussed till now, 2.47 ABC. Now, the D part of 2.47 is Mahate Sangostva Karmani. So, do not be attached to not doing one’s work.
What does this refer to? Actually, when I start working then if I am told okay, appear for this exam if somebody has told you appear for this exam, but you won’t get any marks for it. You won’t get any certificate, you won’t get any credits. Okay, if you are not going to get anything, better let me not do it.
You won’t get. No credit you will get. Why should I do it? No, don’t think like this.
Don’t be attached to an action. Why? Because, actually it is action which purifies us. So, when I study, when I work in yoga, my primary goal is to connect with the higher spiritual reality which is manifest at the topmost level in Krishna.
But the primary goal is to connect with Krishna. And how will I connect with Krishna? Only when my consciousness is not obsessed with temporary material things. So, if I am just inactive then I am not actually engaging what Krishna has given positively.
And it is not artificially possible to directly think of Krishna constantly. We have to think of Krishna generally through rendering service to Him. So, it is service which purifies us.
It is service which elevates us. Service which liberates us. So, So, let’s look at these four points once again to understand this verse.
You have a right to do work because the prescribed duties that are given for us, they all purify us. Mahavaleshu kadachana Do not be caught up, obsessed in the result because then that will not allow us to be spiritually conscious, Krishna conscious. Do not think that we are the producers of the result.
Why? Because then we will identify with our material skills, material abilities and material identity and forget our spiritual identity and forget Krishna thereof. And then do not just be attached to inactivity because inactivity does not purify us. It is engaging our body, engaging our mind, engaging our speech in yoga, in bhakti yoga.
It will purify us and elevate us. So now, this is like a sutra-like verse which contains a very profound depth of meaning. So, let’s look at the next verse now.
After Krishna described this, Samatvam yoga uchyate So, Krishna says, Yogastha, become situated in yoga. So, Krishna has used the word yoga earlier in 2.39 Here is the word yoga and then in that same verse, the word yoga also comes out again. Mudhyayukto yaya partha Mudhyayukto, is a variant of yoga.
So, what is this yoga? Krishna says, Yogastha, be situated in yoga. Krishna had told in 2.39 that now, I’ll describe this knowledge of Sankhya in terms of yoga, by which you will be able to stay free from karmic bondage. So, here Krishna is describing that.
And, Yogastha, be situated in yoga and do your karma, karmani, do your karma. So, Sangam tyaktva dhananjaya, how does one do one’s work? Karma without attachment to the fruits, Sangam tyaktva. Siddhyasiddhyo samobhutva So, what does it mean to be detached from worldly fruits? That means, whatever one gets, whether one gets success or failure, stay equal poised.
Siddhyasiddhyo samobhutva. And such equanimity, such being equal poised, is called as yoga. Samatvam yoga uchyate.
This is fascinating. Krishna is giving like a sutra like definition of yoga. And he will give one more definition of yoga in a verse in this section of the Gita itself.
So, here let’s look at this definition of yoga as samatvam, equanimity, being equal. Now, we may say, we know what yoga means. Yoga is to connect with Krishna.
Yoga, so it comes from physically, not physically, but spiritually, we connect with Krishna. So, physically people think of yoga as yogasanas. We have already discussed that is only, the yogasanas are only one limb of one kind of yoga.
The ashtang yoga, out of which it is, which has eight limbs, out of which it is one limb. And, there are many different kinds of yoga also. Karma yoga, dhyana yoga, jnana yoga.
So, in this way, when we understand that it is just one type of yoga, then we become free from the conception of yoga as just being physical exercises. But, the word yoga, then we generally hear that yoga means connection. Connection with Krishna.
Connection of the Atma with the Paramatma. Then why is Krishna telling over here, samatvam yoga uchyate. Such equanimity is called as yoga.
Such equanimity is the platform for the practise of yoga. When can I connect with Krishna? If my consciousness is locked to material things, want this, want this, want this, want this, want this, want this, my consciousness is locked to material things, then I cannot think of other things. How will I be able to think about other things? So, when I am equipoised about material things, then I can look beyond matter and I can think of the spiritual reality.
So, samatvam yoga uchyate means that equanimity towards material things creates the foundation by which we can practise spiritual life. This is how we understand this whole phase. The point is, be calm, be focused, be clear.
So, be equipoised. There is nothing in this world to get too excited about. There is nothing in this world to get too agitated about, because it is all temporary.
So, when one understands this, there are these two kinds of distractions that we have in this world. One is distraction by pleasure, the other is distraction by pain. So, when we have either of these distractions, distraction by pleasure or distraction by pain, we get excited or we get agitated.
But when we understand that actually neither matters. Why neither matters? Because both are temporary. So, therefore, when we don’t get too excited by these things, then we can focus on what is a long-term goal.
Suppose a person is driving by car and is very excited, what is there? He is constantly looking at this side, that side, then I can’t focus and I can’t see where I am going, I can’t go very fast, because I may go to the accident also if I am not looking where I am going. So, yoga means what? Yoga just means connection with the spiritual truth, with ultimate spiritual truth, Krishna. But how will that connection happen? That will happen when I am just not looking here, looking there at material things.
So, this looking here, looking there happens because of my excessive agitation with the material things. So, if I work calmly, then I can stay focused on spiritual reality. This is actually the art of yoga, staying focused.
Now, after this, Krishna will describe. Now, very categorical words he says, by which the earlier recommendation to do karma kanda is put down. dhoore nahi avaram karma buddhi yoga dhananjaya buddham sharanam adhvicha krpana phala he tava ha dhoore nahi dhoore, we keep it far away.
avaram karma So, vara is benediction, avara is the opposite of benediction. avaram karma is inauspicious work, Prabhupada calls it abominable work. dhoore nahi avaram karma buddhi yoga dhananjaya So, dhananjaya put aside, we should practise buddhi yoga.
The practise of, what is buddhi yoga? Krishna has to mention this in 2.39 earlier. So, buddhi yoga practise buddhi yoga. buddham sharanam adhvicha And, Krishna has not revealed about himself positively over here.
That is why he doesn’t talk surrender to me. He takes sharanam of buddhi. He tells, take sharanam of buddhi.
That means, take refuge in wisdom. krpana phala he tava ha So, those who work for gaining fruits, they are krpana. They are short-sighted.
They are narrow-minded. They are closed in their conceptions and their aspirations. They don’t think big enough.
dhoore nahi avaram karma So, Krishna is telling, with intelligence, keep away inauspicious work and don’t seek the fruits of work. So, what does it actually mean? Actually, Krishna has earlier talked about karma kandha and he has said that Aspire for you can get to heaven if you win, if you lose, and you will get the earth if you win. Therefore, fight.
That was 2.37. In 2.38, Krishna said, fight with equanimity. Don’t bother about profit, loss, gain, victory, defeat. Then, Krishna is explaining why he is talking about two different things.
There are two different levels of messages going on over here. Now, Krishna is telling that what I told you earlier, the calculations of karma kandha. Okay, if I do this, I’ll get that.
If I do this, I’ll get that. At a material level. He says, that is all avaram karma.
So, those who work for fruits, they are falahetvah. Because they are falahetvah, so they are krupanah, Krishna says. Now, what does krupanah mean? Krupanah means narrow-minded.
Those who are not far-sighted. So, human world, human life can give us enormous returns. In fact, although the human life is temporary, it can give us eternal results.
But those who turn away and seek not the eternal, but seek the temporary, they suffer. And what is their suffering? Their suffering is that they stay on in cycle of birth and death. So, if one wants to go beyond the cycle of birth and death, the only way is by not being caught up with things, infatuated with things which are within the cycle of birth and death.
So, buddhah usharanam anmicha, surrender with intelligence and take refuge in wisdom. What is that wisdom? I am not the body, I am the soul. The soul is eternal and I should seek an eternal destination.
So, this is the verse which will lead to a misunderstanding which will lead to the question that Arjuna will pose in 3.1 and 2. So, what is that misunderstanding? We will discuss when we come to 3.1 and 2. But here Krishna is basically telling, give up karma kanda and practise karma yoga. And how to practise karma yoga? By using buddhi. So, people talk about being ambitious.
They say, think big, dream big. But actually whatever people think, dream big, ultimately they think small only. Why? Because they still think of success within the rat race.
And the problem with the rat race is that even if we win, we still remain rats. That means the definition of success, the conception of success doesn’t change. I want a bigger house, I want a bigger car, I want a bigger job, I want a bigger payback page.
It’s fine. But how much bigger is big enough? Always, no matter how much I have, I want more, more, more, more. And there is no limit to it.
So, that which is never going to satisfy us ultimately, craving for that indicates that we are not intelligent enough in our craving. We can choose either infinite longings or we can choose longing for the infinite. We can choose infinite longings.
I want a car, I want a cell phone, I want a house, I want this, I want this, this, this. We can have infinite longings which will never be fulfilled. Or we can choose longing for the infinite.
Yes, I want a Supreme Lord. I want the infinite to be my goal. These are the two choices which we have.
We can either have infinite longings or we can long for the infinite. So, when we are Kripanaha, when we chase the fruits, no material fruits are going to satisfy us. When we chase the fruits, we condemn ourselves to misery and suffering.
We condemn ourselves to perpetual dissatisfaction in the material world where also we get the misery of repeated birth, old age, disease and death. So, therefore, instead of choosing infinite longings, one after another, after another, no matter how much I get, the longings will go on forever and ever. We can long for the infinite.
We can redirect our desires towards Krishna, towards the Supreme Absolute Truth. That is intelligence. That is the intelligence which Krishna has seen.
Now, in the next verse, 50th, Krishna will give another definition of yoga. So, here we will see that Krishna in this 2.50 scene is repeating what had come in 2.38C. So, in 2.38C was So, there it was. Here it is So, there it was a specific action which is talked about.
They are not identical, but they are similar. So, therefore, engage in yoga. That is what Krishna is saying over here.
There he was saying engage in yudha. What is the difference between the two? So, yoga is a general principle. Yoga can be performed in various ways.
So, for a Kshatriya, the yoga is performed through fighting. But for others, yoga may be performed in another way. Brahmanas will perform yoga in another way.
Vaishyas will perform yoga in another way. Therefore, engage in yoga. And when one engages in yoga, yoga karma su kaushalam.
This yoga is the art of all work. It’s interesting. Kaushala means expertise.
So, Prabhupada translated that as art. Karma is action. So, expertise in work.
That is yoga. Yoga karma su kaushalam. So, what is this expertise? Is it that somebody says a very brilliant guitar player and that person says, I play guitar.
I feel spiritual when I play guitar. So, yoga karma su kaushalam. The expertise in playing guitar.
That is yoga. Or some football player says that when I see the goalkeeper and I see the goal and I see my foot and I see the ball and then when I hit the ball and it goes into the goal then that is how I attain samadhi. I forget everything else.
I go into yoga and that is my samadhi. So, different people can be expert in different things. So, is it the material expertise and the absorption thereof? That is yoga? Not exactly.
Yes, if somebody is very expert at something and somebody gets absorbed in that thing one may experience a great fulfilment which is quite extraordinary as compared to our normal level of existence where we are bored or distracted or unfocused. But just because we are absorbed in something doesn’t make that something spiritual. What makes something spiritual is its connection with spiritual reality.
So, yoga means connection with the supreme absolute truth, the supreme spiritual reality centred in Krishna. In fact, I am manifesting as Krishna. So, yoga karma sukha aushalam means that working in such a way, the expertise of working in such a way that our work becomes spiritually conscious.
Our work becomes Krishna conscious. That is actually yoga karma sukha aushalam. So, how can I think of Krishna when I am doing my day-to-day work? It’s not easy but I can.
And the way I do it is by practising devotional service. It’s just just for daily. So, as we keep practising it gradually the remembrance of Krishna will become easier, easier deeper, deeper.
That’s how we will grow. Yoga karma sukha aushalam. Yoga is the art of work, expertise in work.
That’s yoga. Therefore, Krishna said now do yoga. So, buddhi yukto.
Use your intelligence. In the previous verses of Krishna I talked about buddhi. If you work with buddhi then what will happen? Upe sukhrute duskhrute.
Sukhrute and duskhrute. All the good results of your past work and the bad results of your past work. They will be jahatiha.
You will be able to give them up. You will become free. So, that means you will attain liberation.
That Krishna mentioned explicitly in the next verse. The important point here is Krishna uses also the word that iha. Iha means in this world, in this life itself.
So, one doesn’t necessarily have to go through many lives for gaining liberation. Just in this one life if one practises devotional service seriously one can attain liberation. If one practises yoga with diligence then one can become free from sukhrute duskhrute.
Both jahatiha. How does one have to do? Buddhi. So, we use the intelligence that we have been given by Krishna.
Understand the philosophy and live according to the philosophy. Then we can become liberated. Yoga karma sukha ushalam.
Yoga is the art of all works. Buddhi yukto jahatiha. When we work according to buddhi then we can become liberated.
So, now after describing this Krishna will describe in the next verse something deeper. The first time now in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna will refer to our destination higher than swarga. The destination of liberation.
So, So, when one works with buddhi buddhi yukta, karmajam though telling one’s karma when one works buddhi and what is the essence of that buddhi? One gives up one’s attachment to the fruits. This tip was in Krishna’s Manishinaha. Mananish is a common name.
It has a deep meaning. So, one who has conquered the mind. What is the meaning of conquering the mind? Actually it means the mind always looks at superficial.
Mind doesn’t see the deeper reality. When the mind doesn’t see the deeper reality then actually speaking the mind cannot think deeper. And when the mind can’t think deeper then the person sees a superficial level of thinking and living.
But one who has conquered the mind the person can see deep truths. Manishinaha janmabandhavi nirmukthaha When we are not attracted by external superficial results but when one is attracted by deeper spiritual realities then janmabandhavi nirmukthaha we become freed from the cycle of birth and death. padam gacchanti anamayam Then we attain the eternal result.
padam gacchanti We get the supreme eternal result. Anamayam. What is that result? The place which is free from misery.
Maya is misery. Anamayam is free from misery. So Krishna because he has not talked about himself till now so he doesn’t explicitly say that this is the spiritual abode.
He simply says that that is the abode which is free from all misery. padam gacchanti anamayam So when we practise spiritual life in this way by staying detached from the fruits and by fixing the mind on spiritual reality then one will attain the destination that is free from all misery. Now after describing this Krishna will again come to the point of how this is actually this attainment of anamaya is beyond even the Vedas.
It is a reality which is actually richer and deeper than the reality that is talked about in the Vedas. Now Prabhupada connects this padam gacchanti anamayam. What is that? He says that is Krishna’s personal abode and Prabhupada quotes here the famous verse from the Bhagavatam which talks about how the devotees attain Krishna’s abode very easily.
samashritaya padapallava plavam mahapadam punyesha murare bhavam budhir vatsapadam padam padam padam padam so samashritaya those who have taken shelter of padapallava plavam, the boat of the lotus feet of lord Krishna what is the characteristic? Mahapadam that is the great destination punyesha murare so one whose plavam whose glories are all auspicious that lord murare bhavam budhir vatsapadam padam padam bhavam budhir, the ocean of utter existence vatsapadam that vast ocean becomes as small as the water in a cow’s hoof print a calf’s hoof print actually calf’s hoof print is very small so it’s tiny that means that which is impossible becomes easily scalable parampadam they attain the parampadam they attain the supreme destination not they don’t stay in the place padam padam vipadam natesham the place where there is danger at every step one doesn’t stay over there so shri prabhupada is using this to talk about anamayam one doesn’t stay in this world but returns back to the spiritual world after describing this krishna will move forward and then he will say that we have to go beyond the vedas with that 53rd verse we conclude this section vedate moha kalilam buddhir vidita rishati tadagantasi nirvedam srotavya sushrutasya so moha kalilam kalila is forest, moha is illusion or delusion so moha kalilam is the forest of delusion so krishna is saying buddhir vidita rishati when your intelligence goes beyond the forest of delusion its interesting metaphor normally when we say a person is trapped and the person is in a forest and is lost in the forest and that person has to come out of the forest but rarely do we say that not just the person is trapped actually the whole, the person’s intelligence is trapped so material existence is a trap its not just a physical trap sometimes you are physically trapped not knowing where to go, but all of us we are in an intellectual trap in the sense that we don’t know what should I do, what is the goal, what is the way to the goal sadhana and sadhya is not clear so the intelligence is trapped in the forest of delusion but when buddhir vidita rishati, when buddhi goes through that intelligence, crosses beyond it so at that time one will become indifferent one will become indifferent to all that one has heard in the past or all that one will hear in the future essentially Krishna is saying over here that one will become free from misery from what kind of misery? the misery of false hopes what are these false hopes? so these refer actually to the not just worldly sensual things which we hear in the traffic of this world while travelling around it also talks about the scriptures even in the scriptures there are promises of sensual pleasures there are promises of heavenly pleasures you may have heard in the past about all these pleasures which are talked about in the scriptures and you may hear something more in the scriptures also, but what is this? this is all in the Vedas and Krishna has already said this tri gunya bhava arjuna go beyond so Krishna is telling over here don’t get caught in these things go beyond this when you go beyond this at that time you will attain yoga so this world is always making us excited by hopes of happiness this cell phone this car, this house this, this, this will make us happy and these promises come not only in the advertisements that we see around us in the world, but they also come in the scriptures in the karmakarana section there are profuse promises of sensual pleasures one western scholar has called the Rig Veda as the world’s most materialistic religious book the world’s most materialistic religious book, why? because there are so many promises of material pleasures given over there of course there are spiritual things also talked about but the primary thing is that the Vedas have multiple levels of teachings in Rig Veda, the Vedas themselves are teaching karmakanda and when they are teaching karmakanda the focus is in sanskritification so bhoga and aishwarya that’s what we talked about in 2.43 and 44 so when one has these promises, oh I’ll get power, I’ll get enjoyment then once Krishna said that once you actually are no longer excited by these promises why? because your vision is understood, you have understood there is a higher reality, there is richer happiness there is a deeper fulfilment and these promises are all peripheral as compared to that so when one is no longer agitated by the promises of pleasure even if those promises of pleasure come in the scripture, if those scriptures are talking about better material pleasure than other lokas then that is all peripheral and one should not get caught up in that so when one becomes indifferent to all that one has heard and all that one will hear in future I’ll say in the next verse when can you know that you become free from illusion? when your intelligence has gone to the forest of delusions, kill that forest, what does it mean to say the intelligence has killed the forest? it means that the intelligence is no longer deluded, should I do this? should I do that? should I do that? I simply have to return to Krishna and whatever I have to do to return to Krishna, that’s all I have to do I don’t have to do anything else that understanding when one gets then one has gone beyond the forest of delusions Kula Shekhar Maharaj’s prayers he says what all how even religious rituals if one does without an understanding of their ultimate purpose of attaining Krishna if one does religious rituals also without the remembrance of Krishna then they are useless, so there he says he gives a long list of things, but the first thing he says even the study of scripture is like crying in the forest if a child is lost in the forest and cries in the forest, nobody is there to hear similarly there is no one to hear so all of us our intelligence is lost in the forest of delusion should I do this? should I do that? should I do that? and even when we practise devotional service, it is not necessary that we have come out of the forest of delusion, we may still be in the forest of delusion, we are trying to come out when will we come out fully? when we are no longer attracted by the promises of pleasure material pleasure, either it will be in this world or in the next world next world doesn’t mean spiritual world, here it refers to swarga then one will be free from temptation now Prabhupada gives an example of this consciousness in the prayer of Madhavendra Puri, how? he doesn’t care for any worldly rituals even if they are religious rituals so here he is saying that all the normal activities which a person who is following Vedic Dharma should do, a person who is constantly and spontaneously thinking of Krishna doesn’t have to do all this so there is this the Gayatri Chitantri times sadhakas have to do it but I offer all glory to you Bhadramastu, Bhadramastu means be good unto you so you are good but I am not interested that’s all here namo he says what about the practise of taking regular bath yes, always insist to you, I respect you hmm so what about worshipping the the gods and ancestors he says naham kshama kshametam I cannot do it, please forgive me so he is not entirely rejecting them he is respecting them but he says respect from a distance I won’t do this yatra paap inishadya kadav kulottamasya kamsad vishaha so he glorifies Krishna in two ways kulott, yadav kulottamasya he is the best in the Yadav dynasty and he is kamsad vishaha the enemy of the Yadav dynasty was Kamsa and he killed and killed Kamsa so and he is agham harami he is the destroyer of all sin so smaram smaram so wherever I said yatra paap inishadya, wherever I said smaram smaram immediately I remember that Lord Krishna and tadalam manye I think that is good enough for me because he is the remover of all sins and remembering him will remove all sins so therefore kimanyename I don’t need anything else so Prabhupada gives this example from Vaishnavacharya explaining how a devotee who is remembering Krishna doesn’t have to do any other activities and the same thing now Krishna will repeat and elaborate in the last verse of this section shruti viprati panna te yada sthasiti nishchala samadhava chala buddhis tadayogam avaksisi so shruti viprati panna te even when one hears from scripture and what one hears something which is different from what has been taught till now so viprati panna till now one has heard about the so many fruitive activities in the results now one hears about the eternal spiritual truth and after hearing about the eternal spiritual truth then if the shruti is saying something else viprati panna te if somebody hears something else about the fruitive activities sthasiti nishchala actually one stays nishchala fixed unshaken samadhava chala buddhis one is not shaken by this but one stays fixed like in samadhi achala buddhis so it’s interesting Krishna is not saying achala mana samadhava achala buddhis so actually our mind becomes deluded because our intelligence is deluded once our intelligence is completely fixed then the mind will also not be able to shake us the mind may shake a little bit but the mind will not shake us too much so achala buddhis the waves will come, the waves will shake the boat but if the boat is strongly anchored then the boat will not shake so much so similarly samadhava achala buddhis once we recognise that Krishna is the ultimate goal then the intelligence will never be shaken at that time you can know that you have attained yoga so here Krishna has given the character of yoga, be undisturbed by everything material then you can stay fixed in the spiritual and when you are undisturbed by everything material then you can also know that you are fixed in the spiritual so in this way Krishna has talked about how to practise karma yoga by staying equiposed among the material ups and downs and staying fixed in the spiritual reality we will continue in the next class, thank you very much.