Commentary on the Bhagavadgita : 50-4. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Chinmaya Mission is at Chinmaya Tapovan Sandeepany.  

Dharamsala  

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Tuesday, October 11,  2022. 08:00.
Discourse 50: The Eighteenth Chapter Continues – Knowing One's Duty-4.

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Śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ (18.47): We should not try to intrude into a field of work for which we are not fitted. 

In that case, we will find that our knowledge and capacity are not adequate for the purpose. Either we would bungle on account of our not being suitable for that kind of work, or we would not be utilising our genius adequately by choosing some lesser kind of work while we are actually expected to be involved in a higher kind of work. So, one should be able to judge for oneself the knowledge and capacity that one has in respect of any kind of duty to be performed in society; and that capacity of choice of duty is actually the worship of God through svakarma. Svadharma and svakarma—one's own duty is best because we cannot expect to do more than what our duty can permit us to do. Another's duty—that is, work that is not intended for us and for which we are not fitted—is not recommended.

 Svabhāvaniyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam: According to our nature, according to the predilection of our psyche, the inborn characteristic of our own personality will decide what kind of work we have to do and what duty is expected of us. 

Then we shall not have any kind of fear of sin because we are doing the best that we can—kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam.

Sahajaṁ karma kaunteya sadoṣam api na tyajet (18.48): It is incumbent on oneself to do one's own duty, though it becomes difficult to carry on that work due to some defect involved there. 

We may be ill, or we may not have the appurtenances required for performing our duty. Nevertheless, we should not transgress the boundaries of what we are expected to do in this world. That is our rule; that is our law: sahajaṁ karma kaunteya sadoṣam api na tyajet.

Sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ: There is what is called dignity of labour. Every work is equally good. 

We should not say, “Why should I do this kind of menial work? That person is doing better work.” There is no such thing as menial work and better work in this world. It is all a contribution from one's own point of view for the total welfare of humanity. Every work is equally divine; every work is equally contributory to the welfare of one's own benefit as well as others'. Work should not be compared. We should not say, “That person is doing a superior work, and I am doing an inferior work.” There is no such thing as inferior work, and no such thing as superior work, just as in a huge mechanism we cannot say which part is superior and which part is inferior. All parts are equally necessary because even if one little part is not working properly, the entire mechanism will be dislocated. So, the concept of dignity of work, and the divinity that one can see in the performance of duty, is to be the guiding factor in one's daily life; and there should be no complaint either in regard to placing oneself in a so-called inferior position or imagining that somebody else is in a higher position. There is no higher position or inferior position. Each one is fitted for something, and that must be done; and what we are not fitted for, that of course we cannot do. So, we should not complain.

Sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ: Actually, every work has a defect in it, whether it is higher work, lower work, that man's work, this man's work. Nobody can be omniscient. 

Everybody is human. Inasmuch as we lack complete knowledge of every kind of involvement in a particular undertaking or work, there is likely to be some difficulty to be encountered on the way. We will not get everything that we want even if we work to the best of our ability and expectation. This is because, as mentioned earlier, there are five factors determining the result of an action, and inasmuch as no one can know all the five factors working in an action—one knows only one or two—those factors of which we are ignorant will react upon us in a deleterious manner. So it is not that everybody will work perfectly without any kind of pain involved in it. Every work involves some kind of pain, whether we regard it as higher work or lower work. Every undertaking has a defect behind it, because rajoguna and tamoguna pravritti are also together with the sattvaguna pravritti. We cannot always be in sattvaguna, under the impression that everything will be well. Everything looks well for some time, but then rajoguna comes and distracts our mind, and tamoguna comes and puts a stop to our work. Hence, there is a defect in every kind of undertaking. Knowing this, one should not compare one's work with another kind of work. All work is equally good or equally bad.

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To be continued 

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