The Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita - 7.3. Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday, March 22,  2023. 07:30.

Chapter 7: The Nature of Right Understanding - 3.

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Thus, from the point of view of the ultimate nature of Reality, from the standpoint of one's connection with the society around, as well as the interest of one's own self—from all these angles of vision, if we consider the duty of a person, it appears that no one is free from duty of some kind or other. So, inaction is unthinkable. And, even the decision not to act is also an action. Thus, the action-bound world compels everyone to be active in some way. But wisdom consists in understanding the process of connecting one's activity with the whole to which it belongs, and any kind of selfishness or emphasis on one's own particularity or finitude in the process of engaging oneself in an action would not be a Yoga but a passage to one's bondage. Bondage is the consequence that follows from action which arises from non-understanding of the vital connection of one's self with the whole to which one belongs. And freedom is the opposite of it.

So, action is finally not an individual's initiative merely. It is a part of the total purpose of the universe as a whole. And not to understand this would be the absence of samkhya, or knowledge. “I have explained to you what samkhya is,” says Krishna. The details of the samkhya would be touched upon in the Third Chapter. Now we are only getting into a little introduction or inkling of what this samkhya could be. This samkhya has to be applied in daily practice. This knowledge has to become a method or a procedure of conducting oneself in daily life. This implementation of the knowledge of the samkhya in one's daily life is called Yoga. “Now I shall tell you what Yoga is, after having told you something about samkhya.”

Knowledge is the precedent to action. The way in which we have to behave, conduct ourselves in this world, the method of action, is the knowledge thereof. Theory and practice go together. Knowledge and action are inseparable. Yoga is not merely action in the common-sense meaning of the term, but action proceeding from the being of a person, and the action becoming more and more comprehensive and complete as the dimension of the being expands itself gradually in the process of the practice of Yoga. 

“Even a little of this practice is a great credit to you”— nehabhikramanaso  sti. There is no loss of any sort in this glorious encounter of the soul with the Absolute. Every bit of endeavour in the right direction is going to be a credit balance, however meagre that balance may be. One should be happy that some good has been done. And everything is good if it is done with an understanding of the samkhya. It ceases to be the good and it becomes a way to one's bondage only when it is bereft of this background of knowledge.

We have only a duty, and we have no right to expect any fruit out of the performance of duty. This is the great ringing tone of the teaching of the Bhagavadgita. This is something which the modern mind cannot easily understand because it is sunk in the mire of the expectation of fruits even before the seed is being sown. We are always after the rights that we have to expect from the world, minus the duties that we seem to owe to the society in which we are. One cannot expect the fruits of one's action. 

There is a great mistake in this expectation because the fruits are not in one's hands, while action is obligatory. Even to take a common example of sowing the seed in a field, look at the work of the farmer. He does his duty very well, but we cannot say that the fruit is entirely in his hands. Many factors which are out of his bounds go to contribute in the production of the result which is the harvest that he has to reap. There should be rainfall, there should be the proper weather condition, and many other things, as we know very well.

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To be continued

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