The Philosophy of the Karma Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita - 4 : Swami Krishnananda
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The inimical attitude is to be distinguished from the spirit of renunciation. We do not renounce the world because the world is an enemy. The renunciation is a spirit rather than an action. It is not something that we do, but what we think in our mind. While this new avenue of thought may require a physical changing of atmosphere, the emphasis should be on the thought rather than on the action. The mind has not been able to adapt itself with the conditions of life due to its ignorance of its own relationships with people outside and things in general. The duty that we are expected to perform in the world, the so-called work that we are involved in, is also a training of the mind, and not really a positive call for help for the redemption of the world.
Karma yoga is a system of internal training, an educational career into which we get introduced, and it is much more this than the art of solidarity that we are trying to bring about in the world. The world cannot be changed. It is just as it is. It has not changed for centuries and it is not going to change, but the understanding of it changes. The knowledge that we have about the world increases as the training continues further and further, and we are able to handle situations better. For this purpose it is that we are asked to perform our duty.
Our getting fed up with the work in which we are engaged is, again, a matter to be subjected to internal analysis. We cannot totally be free from any kind of work. This is a fact known to us very well and insisted upon by the scriptures on karma yoga. What we generally do is, we give up one kind of work and enter into another kind of work. We are not really getting ourselves free from work totally. The mind wants a change, and it gets tired of a monotonous routine which it has been following earlier. Change is the spice of life. We require variety at all times, whether it is in outward life or our inner spiritual sadhana.
To be continued .....
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(Spoken on July 15, 1979.)
06/09/2019.
4.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The inimical attitude is to be distinguished from the spirit of renunciation. We do not renounce the world because the world is an enemy. The renunciation is a spirit rather than an action. It is not something that we do, but what we think in our mind. While this new avenue of thought may require a physical changing of atmosphere, the emphasis should be on the thought rather than on the action. The mind has not been able to adapt itself with the conditions of life due to its ignorance of its own relationships with people outside and things in general. The duty that we are expected to perform in the world, the so-called work that we are involved in, is also a training of the mind, and not really a positive call for help for the redemption of the world.
Karma yoga is a system of internal training, an educational career into which we get introduced, and it is much more this than the art of solidarity that we are trying to bring about in the world. The world cannot be changed. It is just as it is. It has not changed for centuries and it is not going to change, but the understanding of it changes. The knowledge that we have about the world increases as the training continues further and further, and we are able to handle situations better. For this purpose it is that we are asked to perform our duty.
Our getting fed up with the work in which we are engaged is, again, a matter to be subjected to internal analysis. We cannot totally be free from any kind of work. This is a fact known to us very well and insisted upon by the scriptures on karma yoga. What we generally do is, we give up one kind of work and enter into another kind of work. We are not really getting ourselves free from work totally. The mind wants a change, and it gets tired of a monotonous routine which it has been following earlier. Change is the spice of life. We require variety at all times, whether it is in outward life or our inner spiritual sadhana.
To be continued .....
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