Why does Prabhupada’s Gita 6.46 translation of karmi not include nishkama karmis?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
How the various transcendentalists are in a hierarchy and he talks about Karmis over there. So, Prabhupada translates those Karmis as Sakam Karmis and he says Karmi Bhescha Adhiko Yogi, the Yogis get in the Sakam Karmis also.
So, what about the Nishkam Karmis, how are they left out of this verse? Answer, the word Karmi can have multiple meanings. Just like I have explained in another context how the word Karma also can have many meanings. The word Karma can mean any activity can be called as Karma.
The word can refer to a specific kind of activity that is in the three kinds of activities, Karma, Vikarma and Akarma. It is one kind of activity which is then that says Karma will refer to Sukarma, good Karma according to Dharma. So, in this we can have these two meanings of the word Karma that any kind of activity can be called as Karma and activity which brings about a Punya, good result, a pious result is Karma.
Similarly, the word Karmi can have multiple meanings. The word Karmi can refer to in our current context we just we often differentiate or these are my Karmic clothes, they are my Karmic friends. So, when we use it in ISKCON parlance we often use Karmis as equivalent with materialists.
Materialistic people are called as Karmis. In the Vedic context, the word Karmi will refer to anybody who is following the path of Karma. Now, the path of Karma, there are three paths, Karma Marga, Jnana Marga, Bhakti Marga.
So, in the Karma Marga, there can be multiple paths. There can be Nishkama Karmai, there can be Sakama Karmi and to some extent even the Karma Yogi can also be included in the Karma Marga path. Not exactly, but to some extent.
That’s why the word Karmi can have multiple shades of meaning and we will have to look at the context to see what is being referred to by a particular usage of the word Karmi. Now, in this context in 6.46 and 6.47 which are the last two verses of the Bhagavad Gita, sixth chapter, Krishna is establishing unambiguously the supremacy of Bhakti and as a preface to that he is telling that the Yogi is the best among Tapasvi, Jnani and Karmi. The Yogi is the best and then he says the best Yogi is the devotee.
So, here primarily Krishna is referring to Karmi as the practitioner of Karma because it’s contrasted with Tapasvi and the Jnana. So, that can refer to any kind of practitioner, Sakama Karmi, Nishkama Karmi. Nishkama Karmi would be to some extent similar to Karma Yogi.
Mahashila Prabhupada’s English translation for that is the fruity worker. So, fruity worker can refer to just a gross materialist or a fruity worker can refer to a religious materialist who is aspiring for say the Punya and the results of that in this life or the next life. So, now Nishkama Karma Yogi or Nishkama Karmi that is also a subcategory within this Karmi.
So, this verse is not giving a linear hierarchy that includes all paths. It is giving a general indication of how the Yogi is the best. So, it is not saying that Tapasvi is higher than the Jnana and the Jnana is higher than the Karma and the Yogi is the highest of them all.
It is just saying that among all these three, it is not a progressive 1, 2, 3, 4 hierarchy. It is a comparative statement where Yogi is said to be higher than the other three basically. There is no progression in the other three that is told over there.
So, there is no hierarchy among Tapasvi, Jnani and Karmi as talked about in this verse. That is why within Karmi also, we do not have to go into the technicalities of the inner progression. The Karmi will include anyone who follows the Karmamarga and what will Karmamarga be? Karmamarga can refer to Karmakand where one is doing rituals for getting material results or Karmakand can also refer to the path of action where one is doing action in the world for a particular purpose.
So, even a Karma Yogi also does action. So, that is why this word Karmibhishadiko Yogi, Karmi will be a broad sort of open-ended term which will also include Nishkama Karma Yogi and Prabhupada’s translation of fruitive worker can refer to any kind of person who is seeking some material fruits. And in a narrow sense that will refer to only Karmakandis but in a generic sense, in a broader sense, it includes anyone who follows the path of Karma.
So, that is why we do not need to go into the, because this is not a technical classification of hierarchies over here. It is a comparative statement establishing the supremacy of, the superiority of the Yoga Marga over here. That is why it does not go into all the sub-states within the Karmamarga.
So, when we have the word Karmi in English and whatever translation we can use for it. We have to understand from the context what is actually being referred to. What is referred to is any person who is practicing the path of action.
So, as compared to the path of action, if you refer to Yoga as the path of connection, Yoga essentially is connection with Krishna. As compared to the path of action, as compared to the path of austerity, as compared to the path of knowledge, the path of connection, Yogic connection is superior. That is the essential message of this verse.