How can I turn my occupational duty into devotional service to Krishna?

From Sushant Kulkarni

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
Question from Sushant Kulkarni Prabhu. How can I turn my occupational duty into devotional service to Krishna? Answer, by offering, by worshipping Krishna with our work. By making Him the object of our worship, the object of our life.
So this is the precise point that Krishna raises in the 18th chapter. In 18.41, He starts talking about the four varanas. He gives the qualities of the four varanas in 42, 43, 44.
In 45, He says that how, now I’ll tell you, Arjuna, how by working according to one’s nature, one can attain perfection. स्वे स्वे कर्मन्यल्विरतासं सिद्धिम् लभतेनरह स्वकर्मणानिरतासिद्धिम् यथाविन्दतितशुनु So here, how by one’s karma, one can attain perfection. And then what is that statement He’s used specifically? He says, 46th verse, यथः प्रवृतिर्भुंतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततं स्वकर्मणातमभ्यर्च सिद्धिम् विन्दति मानव So, सिद्धिम् विन्दति, one will attain perfection.
How? By स्वकर्मणातमभ्यर्च by worshipping that Lord with our work. So, now, तम, कृष्ण, who is this तम? कृष्ण talks very important about understanding who is that तम. Not in the abstract sense that there is some God whom I have to offer my fruits of his all to.
He talks about Him in terms of our relationship with Him. He says, यतः प्रवित्तिर्भूतानाम That Lord who is the source of all of existence, that means the source of all of us, He is like our parent, our father. And then, येन सर्वमिदं ततं It’s not that He is just there far away.
He is actually pervading all of existence. That means He is right here with us. It is, so this point, कृष्ण is, यतः प्रवित्तिर्भूतानाम He is talking about saying, अहम् सर्वसिप्रभो Everything comes from Him.
And He is pervading all of existence and He is maintaining us through that. This is talked about in 15th chapter from 12 to 15, how He pervades and how He maintains. So, this way, we can understand our relationship with Him and then, desire to worship Him with our work.
So, the whole point, when can our occupational duty become devotional service? When we have a relationship with Krishna based on a proper understanding of our eternal relationship with Krishna. So, we always have a relationship with Krishna. That is an ontological fact.
But, whether it is a conceptual or emotional reality for us, that is a different question. That means, have we understood it? And, also, have we emotionally accepted it? We understand it intellectually by understanding Krishna’s position. And, we understand it emotionally by understanding Krishna’s compassion.
He is the parent of all of us. Although we have turned away from Him, He has not abandoned us. He is there with us, waiting for us to turn back to Him.
So, when we understand this, then, we feel inspired to turn back to Him. So, that is why we have a program of sadhana in which both intellectually and emotionally we try to connect with Krishna. We study the scriptures, we chant, we do deity worship.
And, by all these, we are able to develop a sustainable connection with Krishna that is real, that is not just sentimental or ethereal. So, once that is there, then we can offer, then whatever we do, we will do it for Krishna. That means, when we are doing our studies, when we are doing our job, we are going to understand my life is meant for Krishna.
And, whatever I am doing over here, whether it is striving to earn a living or striving to grow in my career, it’s all ultimately to be offered to Krishna. So, by following a process which increases our intellectual comprehension of Krishna’s glory and Krishna’s relationship with us, and it also increases our emotional connection with Krishna, that process which will do this increase our intellectual comprehension and our emotional connection, that is the process of Bhakti Yoga. And, when we follow this process of Bhakti Yoga, by this, gradually, our occupational service will become devotional service to Krishna.
And, it’s not a one-zero process. It’s not a digital logic. It’s analog.
And, it’s analog. So, gradually, it will become more and more of an offering to Krishna. And, I have also written a Gita Daily article on situating ourselves on the ladder of love, which talks about the hierarchy from 12.8 to 12 in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna says, best is to fix the mind on me.
If you can’t fix the mind on me, then strive to practice Sadhana Bhakti, where you can fix the mind on me. If you can’t do that, then work for me. If you can’t work for me, then offer the fruits of your work for me.
So, there is a hierarchy over there. So, we are focusing on both offering the fruits of our work to Krishna and also working for Krishna. And, by that, gradually, we’ll come to the level of the highest level of perfection.
Thank you. Hare Krishna.