The Philosophy of the Karma Yoga of the Bhagavadgita -2. Swami Krishnananda

14/05/2019
(Spoken on July 15, 1979.)
2.

Hence, the stages of yoga commence right from matters concerning our down-to-earth life. We are not merely conscious of our physical limitations but are also intensely anxious about our social involvements, and we cannot deny this fact. How can we suddenly rise to the universal thought of God? There are occasions when many of us feel that work is a bondage. We have no time due to our being busy in the office or having to do a lot of work in the management of the family, etc. One feels oftentimes tired of this daily routine, and there are occasions when we are impelled by sentiments of renunciation occasioned by the sufferings caused by involvements in work and responsibility.

Here we have to strike a very cautious note so that we may not be mistaken in the assessment of the position we occupy in this world. We cannot deny that hunger and fear of death are realities. Opprobrium that can be cast on us by society is also a reality. These are all psychophysical effects produced by the whole attitude to life that we are born into. Our joys and sorrows are ingrained in the very constitution of our personality from the time of our birth into this world. We cannot free ourselves from the necessity to concede an amount of reality to the experiences that follow as a result of the limitation of our own physical existence. We are tired of life, we are tired of work, we are tired of responsibility, we are tired of everything. When we are likely to tend towards this conclusion ultimately, we have to be very vigilant. Most of us can be said to be living in the same boat of an inner desire to be free from every kind of duty or responsibility or work in this world, if it could be possible. People resign their jobs and seek isolation in their lives.

All this is an external expression of an internal intention, and the justification of this external expression in this matter lies in the relevance of the intention inside to the ultimate goal of life. There are often negative attitudes of mind due to which we cannot adjust ourselves with anything in this world. We are adverse to the prevailing conditions, we are fed up with political conditions, we are tired of social circumstances, we have sorrows coming from our own families, and there may be occasions when we are disgusted with our own body itself.

To be continued ...