Gita 16.24 Knowing scripture is our responsibility and our opportunity

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 16.24 tasmad shastram pramanam te karyakarya vasthitau yathva shastra vidhanoktam karmakartum ihar hsi tasmad therefore, this this verse can be said to be like the logical conclusion of what has come before this tasmad shastram pramanam te therefore, using shastra as a authority to source of knowledge, pramana karyakarya vasthitau one needs to properly understand what is the action to be done and what is the action to not be done and then, it is not just theoretical knowledge yathva shastra vidhanoktam understanding the direction given in scripture karmakartum ihar hsi it befits one to work accordingly Krishna started the description of the demoniac people by stating in 16.7 that that they do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done what kind of actions to be to engage in and what kind of actions to abstain from and then there is a whole description of how they engage in impure actions and how they become devious even murderous, monstrous and how they get inauspicious destinations so, after having described all that so, that which is the defining problem of the demoniac that they don’t know what to do or what not to do we cannot stay inactive so, we act if we don’t have the right direction, then we act according to our impulses vartate karmakartha as was mentioned in the previous verse so, now, here Krishna is stating that he acts that people act according to people should act according to scripture when you don’t know what to do and what not to do then we need to turn towards scripture and study scripture carefully to understand the prudent and the imprudent courses of action to understand the constructive and destructive ways of functioning and thereafter we can learn to function in a constructive way this is both our responsibility and our opportunity responsibility means that we have the ability to respond appropriately and to tap that ability we need knowledge and to get that knowledge by which we can act appropriately that is our opportunity provided by scripture in the human form of life the soul which is transmigrating through various species has been given free will that is of a significant level more than what is available for the animals and with this enhanced free will the soul is expected to act responsibly to function in a way that leads the soul’s elevation not the soul’s degradation so unfortunately although we have a human body we still have animalistic drives within us coming from our previous existence in the lower species and in this existence we are simply overwhelmed by the mind’s negativities and we end up hurting ourselves in grievous ways if we are to protect ourselves then we need to take things steadily and first of all seek guidance of what is to be done and what is not to be done only with such guidance will we be able to resist the default responses of our conditioned mind and senses when they encounter the world so the default response will be that as soon as we see something that tastes good we will want to eat it as soon as we see something that feels good we will want to eat it or watch it basically when we see something we will want to consume it visually when we see something which is edible we will want to consume it with our mouth the default response is to gratify the senses but some gratification may not be dharmic may be destructive for us spiritually as well as morally so we need to be able to have the discernment have the proper discrimination by which we know what to do and what not to do only when we have the discernment will we be able to act properly so for us as souls acquiring the knowledge of scripture is a responsibility just as for a person who is driving on a road knowing what which signals mean knowing where one can turn, where one should not turn knowing how and when to change lanes all this is a responsibility if somebody just happens to be on the road and is bungling doing that wrong and getting hogged by others doing something else wrong and being chastised giving tickets and getting in trouble then if somebody offers them some driving coaching lessons or provides them a manual, read this then to have that manual is an opportunity similarly for us as we are bungling through life trying out various things hoping that they will somehow give us pleasure if we can come to a level where we recognize that oh this is so good where we get reliable guidance which helps us understand what is to be done and what is not to be done then that’s a great opportunity for us so now of course just getting that knowledge is not enough sometimes when we are driving we just feel the impulse to drive very fast because we get a kick out of it but then we know that we are not we will get into legal trouble so we resist the impulse on seeing a speed limit and bring our speed below that limit similarly we need to bring our we will also to live scripture is an austerity that we have to do our default impulses will still prompt us to act in particular ways but then using our godly intelligence we resist those impulses and we act in a not a godless way but a godly way in a intelligent way not in a impulsive way that’s the second part once we know what shastra is teaching then it behooves us to act accordingly so it may not be easy to act in this way but just because it is not easy doesn’t mean that it should not be done or it can’t be done that’s an austerity on so many occasions in our life we do austerities because we want some higher result so for example people who find that they are becoming sickly or otherwise having health issues they may go to a gym and do some workout now that workout is not easy it requires effort, it requires energy and then to do that which is an austerity when we do it we grow we move towards our all round spiritual growth by such austerity and that’s how we can progress in our life so for us as spiritual beings resisting the material impulses and acting in a spiritually conducive way the knowledge for that and the guidance for that of how to do it all this is provided to us by scripture that’s why studying scripture is our responsibility opportunity and austerity and that will lead us ultimately to purity and ecstasy as we become freed from our lower drives then making the right choice will become easier and natural and as by such choices we connect with Krishna then we will experience the supreme joyfulness in connection with the one who is the supreme reservoir of all joy