Gita 05.11 – Change the motivation for action from gratification to purification

Thank you Bhagavad Gita 5.11 Krishna is continuing the description of how one can act without being bound and he states kāyena manasa buddhya kāyena with the body manasa with the mind buddhya with the intelligence kevalair indriyair api even with the senses yoginah karma kurvanti the yogis do work karma kurvanti saṅgam tyaktvā ātma-śuddhaye saṅgam tyaktvā giving up attachment ātma-śuddhaye for the sake of purification one of the rules of good writing is often put the most important part of the sentence at its end put the most important point of the sentence in its end because what comes at the end is what people carry through when they go to the next sentence that's what stays with them so here the point of the verse is ātma-śuddhaye for the sake of purification for purifying oneself that is the whole purpose of why a karma yogi acts normally in this world we act to get the results a sports person plays a sports to win the match not to win the match at least to earn a paycheck and similarly everybody works for the material results and now if it is said that don't be attached to the results saṅgam tyaktvā then the question will come up then what should one work for so ātma-śuddhaye for the sake of purification so the punch word the punching message of this verse comes at the end ātma-śuddhaye we will come back to it let's go over the verse from the beginning once again so kāyena manasa buddhya kāyena with the body with the mind with the intelligence and even with the senses now Krishna in 3.42 has referred to these four elements in fact the five things that are talked about in this verse have been talked there also indriyāṇi parāṇyā hūr indriyebhyo paramaṇa manasastu parā buddhe yo buddhe paratastu saḥ so ahu senses are about all matter so the body is made of dull matter so that can be correlated kaya and after that indriya mana and buddhi they are there here in this verse also and then yo buddhe paratastu sah that soul is beyond the buddhi also there and here that also comes as atma shuddh atma is there so krishna is telling here that the very areas which are contaminated by lust there are that is 4.42 and before that in 4.40 so this is 3 that was which I have quoted was 3.42 and before that 2 verses 3.40 krishna has stated that indriyani mano buddhir asya dhishthanam uchyate etair vimohayate shagyanama vritya dehinam so he stated that indriyani mano buddhir the senses mind and intelligence that is where the adhishthanam uchyate the lust is situated so now wherever is lust is situated that lust has to be removed so we have to purify ourselves and atma is the very things where lust is situated the very things which lust tends to take over and engage for its nefarious purposes when lust is situated in the eyes but it's not that lust always controls eyes when we become agitated when we let our guard down then lust takes over the eyes control the eyes and the eyes then go in wrong direction seeking sensual pleasures with seeking obscene images seeking sights which though they look beautiful they fill our mind with dirty desires so the point is that lust is present over there but it is not that lust is always in control of the senses when we let down our guard then lust takes control so though lust can engage the senses the mind and even the intelligence but if we are on guard if we are purposefully spiritually purposeful and instead we use the same resources where lust is present and we engage them for positive purpose for the sake of purification and when we engage them for the sake of purifying ourselves for the sake of purification then gradually the lust and the other anarthas that are present start diminishing and they start going away for the sake of purification now the soul actually is eternally pure the soul is always Satchitananda the impurity is not in the soul the impurity is in the body-mind mechanism that is coupled with the soul so to purify the soul or to purify oneself Atma Shuddhaye for the sake of purification so here Atma can refer not just to the soul in a ontological sense but in a referential sense that means ontological sense means it is we're talking specifically about the soul but you know we also use this word soul as a generic reference to self put your you can may say the soul of America is democracy the soul of India is whatever you want to say pluralism or inclusivism or whatever like that we may have a statement like that so soul is not always in the literal sense so Atma Shuddhaye does not mean literally made to mean purifying the soul the soul is always pure but at present the soul is a soul has become a composite unit there is a pure soul but it is associated with an attached to the impure mind and body so the purifying the soul means actually purifying the mind and the body and that purification cannot happen just by wishing the purification may happen now it's not that we sit passive inactive and think oh let the if I let the impurities go away no actually when we act for yoga then by such action for yogic purposes gradually we become purified gradually we become elevated gradually we move towards liberation so yoga brings us in connection with the higher reality when we work for connection with the higher reality then that work actually becomes the means to our purification when we talk about connecting with Krishna it is not like say a mobile mobile can go anywhere and everywhere but when we connect the mobile with electric socket through a charger then the mobile stays stuck over there but when we talk about Krishna about the yogic connection it is not that one has to become physically motionless for that often motion and action are the best way of connection because when we become motionless when we become inactive at that time the inactivity temporarily may be good for contemplation but our nature is to be active the extent of the activity may vary some people may act a lot just by speaking they may not physically move around much but still they are acting a lot by speaking so the point is that activity is natural for us and when we do that activity for a spiritual purpose that means in the highest sense of when we are practicing bhakti yoga we work for the pleasure of Krishna but when we're not practicing bhakti yoga at this stage in the Bhagavad-gita the analysis is primarily of karma yoga the karma yogi works for the sake of purification Sangam Tattva Atma Shuddha Yeh the karma yogi understands that whatever I am doing Sangam Tattva I give up attachment because the whole purpose of the practice of yoga is to connect our consciousness with higher spiritual reality with Atma Tattva at the preliminary level to realize the soul and ultimately to realize and relish Krishna to Bhagavad Tattva so now if we are attached to the fruit then our consciousness stays caught in the fruit in the sensual consciousness therefore device is trapped at the material level that's why again and again when Krishna says work without attachment it does not mean that one should have no it's no reason or rationale to work one just works without any meaning or motive the point is the purpose of the work is to expand our consciousness to gain awareness of our spiritual side and that awareness becomes easier when our consciousness is not locked to matter in the hope that the next material thing will that coming material result will make us happy so here the yogi's motivation in doing work is purification whether the result comes or not that is not important outer result comes or not the inner result of purification is guaranteed if the yogi works for works with a mood of detachment and the topmost purification happens when the yogi rises to the level of bhakti yoga and connects with the with the supreme all-pure reality Krishna and loves and serves Krishna that will be explained in subsequent verses especially from the seventh chapter onwards and we'll discuss at that time.