How can we do akarma practically?
Answer Podcast:
Transcript
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The second question is, how can we do akarma practically in this world? Akarma means karma that does not produce any reaction. And that reaction is produced not so much by action as by intention. It is not the action that we do.
Yes, certain actions are bad. They are undesirable. But more important than the specific action is the intention underlying the action.
In the 18th chapter, 70, Lord Krishna says that, when one thinks that I am the doer, everything, I alone am the doer, then such a person is ignorant. But on the other hand, if one understands that I am not the doer, Krishna says, Arjuna, even if you kill, Arjuna is a warrior, he has to kill. He says, even if you kill, if you understand that you are not, if you don’t act out of selfish intention, then you will not be bound.
So, rather than, as devotees, we don’t have to constantly be worrying, if I do this, what will be the karmic reaction? If I do this, what will be the karmic reaction? If I do this, what will be the karmic reaction? Yes, certain activities comprise bad karma, we want to avoid them. But apart from that, in the normal course of life, we focus not so much on worrying about the reaction, we focus more on purifying the intention. I have to do a particular job, so let me do the job, but while doing that job, let me do it for Krishna.
So, how do I do it for Krishna? If I do sadhana regularly, if I chant the name of Krishna, then our heart becomes connected with Krishna. When our heart is connected with Krishna, then whatever we do will connect that with Krishna also. So, if you worry too much about karma and karmic reaction, we can become paralyzed.
Suppose somebody makes a joke in the class, and then we think, if I laugh, will it cause karma? So, we are not able to live if we worry too much about karma. What we should focus on is, not so much what will cause what reaction, but what is my intention. And by doing bhakti properly, by remembering Krishna, by chanting His holy names, our intention becomes purified.
And with that pure intention, we naturally avoid activities which are going to bring bad reactions. But more important, whatever activities we do, we do them with a pure intention. And then that itself is akarma.
So, by giving adequate time to directly connecting with Krishna, we will be able to make our whole life an akarma.