Gita 18.27 Our actions reflect our self-conception and our world-conception

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 18.27 Krishna is here speaking about person who acts in the mode of passion karta-raja-saha so this person is characterized by ragi-karma-phala-prepsura person has a strong attachment to things in general in the mode of passion and karma-phala-prepsura infatuated with the idea of getting a result lubdho-himsa-atmako-shuchi ashuchihi lubdho is greed himsa-atmako a lot of violence involved over there ashuchihi-unclean harsha-shokan-vitah-karta the relation of success and dejection on failure person who acts like this is raja-saha-parikirti-taha the person is in the mode of ignorance, is in the mode of passion here we see that our actions are so deeply characteristic of who we are and what we conceive our purpose in life to be nothing in life exists in isolation everything is interconnected so our actions reflect our self-conception and our world conception if we are if we think of ourselves as products of matter as material creatures and we think of material pleasures as life’s goal that’s how we will act there is nothing we can do unless we let ourselves get caught, get bound get overwhelmed nothing we can do about it at least those sort of emotions will come within us as default emotions unless we have some strong reason to resist that emotion we’ll simply accept it and act accordingly the world is a place where sometimes we may get happiness and sometimes distress sometimes things will work according to our plan sometimes they may not work according to our plan so in such a situation the world will give us highs and lows but our emotions can make those highs and lows grow even more become even more acute if we don’t want that kind of growth of our unregulated oscillating emotions and if we expect that the world should stay steady by which we will be able to emotionally study, that is never going to happen the world is what it is and it is going to function the way it is meant to function the only thing we can do is ensure that we stay focused just like a good boatman a person who is driving a boat doesn’t expect that the waves stop yes, if the waves are very strong the boat will be unsteady but an expert boatman or a person who is expert at connecting at navigating the boat either before the storm comes they will know it and prepare for it or if the storm comes they will know how to navigate it, if the boat is anchored to something heavier then it won’t shake that much similarly if our self-conception is anchored in something deeper say if we understand that we are indestructible spiritual beings if our world conception similarly is anchored in something deeper that is the understanding that this world no matter what happens here it is to be expected ups and downs but if we look up beyond the ups and downs of life then we will realise that there is a supreme who is present and who is controlling the world guiding the world for us and it is that supreme with whom we are meant to connect to whom we are meant to be devoted it is that supreme who is our life’s greatest shelter then the ups and downs caused by emotions will not be so much if we see the world spiritually as being under the control of the lord and if we see the self spiritually as being essentially transcendental otherwise as mentioned over here the obsession with the results if you want a particular result and you want it desperately then that can blind us to other factors लुब्धो हिम्सात्मको अशुचिही लुब्धो is if you become too greedy हिम्सात्मकः the person has an envious and violent mentality it is a part of their self itself कामात्मानह means this काम becomes their आत्मा so हिम्सात्मका means for people who want success at all costs then they lose their discrimination about what cost is too much and what cost is acceptable and what is not they just get so overwhelmed by the craving for the result that losing perspective they do anything and everything this is extremely unhealthy लुब्धो हिम्सात्मका अशुचिही हिम्सात्मका means आत्मका that means it becomes like envy towards others who succeed better than them or who seem to have aversion or even violence towards those who come in the way of their success all that comes in अशुचिही अशुचिही means a person is unclean a person doesn’t perceive the difference between what is to be done and what is not to be done such a person gets captivated by life’s craziness and let’s oneself be captivated and lost by this craziness so राज अशुचिही all this is characteristic of the person who is in the mode of passion and who doesn’t see life’s big picture so the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita changes our self-conception and bold conception and thereby infuses our action with a greater level of goodness and ultimately with transcendence