Gita 18.03 Gita 18.03 Appreciate others thoughtfulness even if it doesn’t lead to the best conclusion

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
thank you so here lays out the two sides of the debate that is also the conflict within Arjuna to address which the Bhagavad Gita is spoken that is the essence of the debate is whether action is to be engaged in or to be renounced so Krishna spells out the two sides work should be given up one group of people say that so because all work is faulty therefore it should be given up the other group says that should not be given up so next verse will say that future verse will say that actually the activities of yajna dana and tapa these are three broad activities that harmonize us with the various circles that we are living in tapa harmonizes us with our spiritual with our body we live in a physical circle, social circle and environmental circle so yajna is meant to satisfy is meant to harmonize us with the environmental circle, dana is meant to harmonize us with the social circle and yajna is meant to harmonize us with the physical circle these three are purificatory activities then they should not be given up this is the opinion of one group of people and other group say that karma prahor, almost everything all of karma is binding so it needs to be given up so the understanding here if you have to reconcile these two sides then the defining understanding for reconciliation is that we need to grow spiritually and for growing spiritually we need to choose the course of action that is most helpful for us do shabad lets first understand what that means its faulty the fault is that it will cause bondage later on krishna will use the same word in the 18th chapter in the section 46, 47, 48 where he says so he says with work itself its faults are born and still should not be given up so this is a very clear response of course krishna the response will come much earlier just a few verses later here itself but there in that section the words are also quite similar sadosham api nathya jeth sadosham even if there is fault one should not give it up api nathya jeth don’t give it up sahajam karma kaunteya its just innate to karma and that way faults are there in every karma and the example given just as fire is covered by smoke so here fault refers to while pursuing our duty there will be certain actions which will cause certain karmic reactions and if we fear doing those actions because they will give us reactions then we may well end up not being able to do anything at all and we can’t just live inactively in life we all do need to act so therefore its vital for us to recognize for our own step by step growth we need to move forward in our spiritual life by pursuing individual and social growth by ultimately pursuing our growth in a way that is harmonious with our core and with our social circle that we are in if a Kshatriya stops fighting just because oh violence is bad yes indiscreet violence is certainly undesirable but there are some people who will not learn by any means other than violence and the Kshatriya becomes chicken hearted instead of being lion hearted and refuses to fight then that will only lead to it won’t lead to absence of violence in society it will only lead to the rule of violence because the law breakers will start using their violence to create terror in others and to dominate others so we need to recognize that our spiritual growth doesn’t come just by our individual consciousness it also comes by our social contribution even those who are in the renounced order they are also meant to make some social contribution either by writing spiritual literature or sharing spiritual knowledge or at least by living a life of renunciation and devotion without making such spiritual contributions they are not meant to make some social contribution at a spiritual level at least they are not meant to just live like that so for us as spiritual beings it is vital that we recognize our core essence and strive to use that essence in a devotional mode to the extent we can use it devotionally to that extent we can our spiritual growth and our social contribution can be harmonious and not doing that which you are expected to do is also a cause or is also a form of unwanted karma or bad karma and especially activities like charity dhanu if it is done in a spiritual context is also spiritually uplifting significantly especially though the overall tenor of the thought of the Gita is decisively towards engaging in action not renouncing action but still the Gita refers here to those whose thoughts are opposite to its thoughts even Gita refers even to them by the word so Gita refers respectfully even to those whose thoughts are opposed to its thoughts why? because they are also thinkers they have controlled their mind enough to recognize that this world is a place of bondage and we need to move out of this world that itself is a significantly spiritually receptive or even spiritually evolved state of consciousness and that they have come to that level is laudable even if they have not understood the right path to grow spiritually that is fine but that they have understood that we all are meant to seek freedom from the bondage of karma that is a very significant indication of their seriousness and that seriousness is appreciated by Krishna when he addresses them respectfully by the word Manishina so we may have to disagree but we don’t have to be disagreeable a disagreement doesn’t have to degenerate into disrespect we can still be respectful and we can pursue our spiritual journey in a way that is the best for us while also recognizing that there is scope and even the necessity for customization of spiritual practices for different people so different people being at different levels of consciousness may need may come up with different understandings of their karmic predicament and may come up with different ways of addressing that predicament even if the analysis or the diagnosis or the prescription is not the best even if it is optimal that doesn’t make those people condemnable they are still laudable because of their serious spiritual inclination thus we can foster within a culture of respect towards others appreciating where they are in their spiritual journey in their spiritual evolution and try to intelligently show them the way forward from where they are towards Krishna Thank you