Gita 18.09 Renunciation in goodness means to know that we as parts just need to do our parts

Transcript

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Thank you. Bhagavad Gita 18.9 कार्यम् means this is what I am meant to do.
नियतं क्रियते अर्जुन And one, because this is regulated, नियतं, one does it. संगं त्यत्वा फलम्चेव सत्यागः सात्मिको मतः That renunciation is in the mode of goodness. In the mode of goodness we see the connectedness of all of existence.
We see the connectedness of the world with its source Krishna. We see the connectedness of ourselves with Krishna. And we see that in this connectedness we have a particular role to play.
सत्वात् संजायते घ्यानम् it is said. In the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. And further in the 18th chapter, in the 20th text, Krishna says, सर्वद्वारे रभूते ये नई कम भावमावे मिक्षते अवि भक्तम् दे भक्तेशु तज्ञान विद्धि सात्रिकम् So knowledge in the mode of goodness is wherein we see that everything is permeated by imperishable spiritual oneness.
So when we understand that we have a part to play in the broader scheme of things and by doing our dharma we play our part. So by that we move towards growth. We actually gain satisfaction through harmonization.
Suppose if we are going to say an amusement park and there is a giant wheel. Now if we just sit on the giant wheel we will go up and we will go down and therein is the drop, the impressive heights, all of that will give us some pleasure. Now all that we have to do over there is just sit tight and enjoy.
Similarly for us in our life we just need to sit tight and enjoy whatever we do. We need to hold on to our higher purpose with understanding that if we just do our part everything will work out. In the mode of passion we feel that unless the results come our existence doesn’t have any intrinsic worth.
Our self worth is determined by our net worth and if our net worth is not much we feel we have no self worth. If we have tied our identity to someone or something meaning that we have devoted ourselves to say getting a particular relationship right we feel that without that relationship we don’t have any intrinsic worth. And such a notion makes us crave unhealthily and excessively.
But when we understand that just by doing our part we are servants of Krishna and we are meant to serve Krishna and just that service will keep us in harmony and we don’t need to do anything higher to gain satisfaction. If we don’t need if the service results come out we will offer those results to Krishna and we will be happy that we have been able to get some results for him. But the results don’t determine our identity our contribution is our service our attitude for service.
Then in this way we get a sublime inner peace that can’t be taken away by the world’s ups and downs. We get an understanding that we just need to do our part. According to my talents I simply do my part and if I do my part everything else will follow.
I don’t need to do anything separate from my part to get some special result. And this understanding this perception of the underlying harmony of the universe and understanding that we just have to play our part to release that harmony that brings a tremendous sense of peace within us. Like Krishna has said earlier in the 12th chapter tyaga shanti ranandaram that when we have tyaga when we are not dependent on anything external for our self-worth then we get shanti we get peace.
Thus the mode of goodness is characterized by an awareness of our intrinsic self-worth and the impetus to harmoniously contribute according to our position without a disruptive or a distressing over-dependence on external results. Now when we act thus this action is not simply a detachment that has come from frustration, not at all. It has come as a detachment that has come from awareness.
So detachment can come from unhappiness for example. When time and time again we have tried to achieve something and we have failed. So oh I just can’t do this so I quit.
So detachment that comes from unhappiness. Somebody had a somebody was in a relationship and that relationship didn’t work out. And so they are frustrated and then they quit the relationship.
Now sometimes when two emotionally dependent people come together in a relationship they just can’t continue for very long in that relationship. And when they quit both of them may indulge in a very severe blame game. Oh because of this person this happened, because of that person because of that happened and that way they may both stay frustrated.
But if both of them have become aware then this is my nature, these are my needs, this is this person’s nature these are this person’s needs and they understand that some things we can expect from someone something we just can’t expect from someone and in that way we all can move towards inner growth towards inner harmonization towards so there the detachment is not out of frustration it is out of awareness. I cannot expect this first thing from this person and I cannot expect this from this person and okay this is my need let me see how I can get it fulfilled in a healthy way without going into a blaming mode condemning the other person for not caring for me or being insensitive but it is a mature awareness that we all are finite beings and we all have our limitations and we all have our needs and we all are in some ways or the other equipped to fulfill each other’s needs and in some ways we are not equipped so the detachment that comes from awareness actually leads to maturity and spirituality and that is what is fostered by the mode of goodness