Gita 02.50 – Yoga facilitates individualized artistic infusion of work with devotion

Fruits.

Thank you. connect yourself connect yourself in the process of connection yoga what is yoga karmasu kaushalam kaushala is art or expertise so the art of work is yoga so this verse offers a second definition we could say of yoga two verses ago it was said samatvam yoga ujjate equanimity is yoga this verse states yoga karmasu kaushalam the art of work is yoga so what exactly is going on here actually the point is that yoga the art of yoga essentially is connection with spiritual reality and the connection with spiritual reality requires expertise akin to an artistic expertise actually we may think of yoga in stereotypical terms as say sitting in particular asanas but that is only an external aspect of one type of yoga so the essence of yoga is spiritual connection and spiritual connection is not like a mechanical fixing together of a bolt in its place or hammering a nail into a wall this connection is a connection of consciousness and because our consciousness keeps changing because the world around us keeps changing our emotions keep changing naturally our consciousness which is affected by our emotions internally and by our circumstances externally so our consciousness also keeps changing so in a changing situation externally and amidst changing emotions internally how can we keep our consciousness connected with Krishna we cannot make our consciousness frozen in Krishna it has to be a dynamic connection and that's why that dynamic connection with Krishna is an art so we may be engaged in so many situations which we may not be able to think of which may not be specifically mentioned in scripture so for example we live in a technocentric world now the world which the scriptures talk about is quite different it is agrarian rural of course there are cities in the scriptures also but the point was it was much the kind of technocentrism that is there is not there in that world so amidst such a technocentred world how can we stay Krishna centred nobody can give us specific guidelines now we may decide to hear some music we may decide to have some wallpapers of Krishna or we may in various ways according to our nature according to our situation according to our inspiration find ways to connect ourselves with Krishna that is that is our kaushalam it is our expertise and even in our work how we can see the hand of Krishna in our work and see the Krishna connection of whatever we do that was also an art so yoga karma su kaushalam even for a person who is not practicing yoga because buddhi yoga is a extensible term that can extend from karma yoga to bhakti yoga essentially it means using one's buddhi to practice yoga so if one only has atma gyan then it will be basically at the karma yoga level if one has bhagwat gyan then it is likely to be at the bhakti yoga level so even if one is practicing at the level of karma yoga then also how to stay detached amidst various entangling situations also is a matter of skill is a matter of art and that's why yoga karma su kaushalam so we should not think of yoga the path of transcendence as a stereotypical following of rules it is actually an individual artistic expression of devotion yoga karma su kaushalam so according to our individual situation, inclination and inspiration we can all find ways in which we can spiritualize our work and thus this artistic element of work is yoga now the artistry is not just in terms of how much materially we are expert in doing the work but the artistry is in how much spiritually how we are spiritually conscious even amidst material things Krishna says in the earlier part of this verse that buddhi yukto jahati ha so by practicing buddhi yoga lets see what Krishna is explaining about the art of work in this verse itself so the essential dimension of the art of work is that we use our intelligence to keep ourselves engaged buddhi yukto so this intelligence is not so much in terms of remembering numbers or facts or things like that, it is more intelligence in terms of discriminating between matter and spirit, discriminating between this world seeing beyond this world to Krishna and staying connected with spirit ultimately with the topmost spiritual reality Krishna and by this spiritual connection so work or any work that we do, it will have either good results or bad results but if we stay connected with Krishna, then the work will produce neither good nor bad results we will stay disentangled we will move onwards on the process towards liberation so by practicing, so the first two lines say that by practicing buddhi yoga, one can become free from both good and bad results of work essentially one can become disentangled and therefore the third line says that smarth yoga yujasva therefore practice yoga earlier there was a similar sounding words in 2.30 tato yudha yujasva therefore fight for the sake of fighting so there the point was not very clear, the point was that this is yujasva dharma, do it and stay disentangled here Krishna is telling that by practicing yoga you will definitely stay disentangled and therefore practice yoga and yoga so yoga does not require renunciation of work it requires infusion of work with transcendental skill so transcendental skill is with transcendental devotion essentially by that spirit of transcendental devotion we can see the Krishna connection in everything that we do and thus stay disentangled thus prevent our circumstantial work from keeping our consciousness caught in the circumstances and keeping our consciousness entangled so sometimes we may have a negative conception of bhakti in terms of just rigid following of rules that is actually a very incomplete and a dissatisfactory understanding of bhakti a more complete and a more enriching more satisfying understanding of bhakti is that the rules are meant to be facilities for us to express our devotion to Krishna just as rails enable the railway to move faster and now if the railway if the driver wants to go here and there apart from the rails then the railway going on rails will seem like a restriction but if the driver wants to go to the destination to which the rails are taking then the rails will actually be a means for acceleration they will be a very valuable facility without which the railway would not the train would not have been able to move so fast so similarly if we just think about the rules and oh I can't do this I can't do that and we are like drivers who want to go here and there and we will feel ourselves restricted but if we see that the essence of bhakti is not the following of rules but the progressing of our heart towards Krishna and the rules are like rails that enable our heart and indeed our entire being to move closer towards Krishna and how to move closer towards Krishna there is so much opportunity for individual expression of one's expertise and skill in that when we see this then we will feel inspired and see the positive positive energizing dimension of bhakti and be infused with enthusiasm for practicing devotion and offering our heart's devotion in our individual way.