Commentary on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita- Discourse 5.7. - Swami Krishnananda

-

 


------------------------------------------------

Saturday, October 17, 2020. 10:28.AM.

Discourse 5: The Second Chapter Concludes – The Establishment of the Soul in Universality - 7.

-------------------------------------------------

1.

The reason why the fruit of an action should not be expected by us is that it is not in the hands of any one person. It is in the hands of a big cabinet of forces, as it were, as I mentioned earlier, and, finally, the will of the Supreme. Inasmuch as the fruit comes from all sides though the action proceeds from one side, we should not concentrate our minds on the fruit of the action.

2.

Because our desired fruit is not going to accrue from our particular action, and we are disappointed because somebody is controlling the destiny of our actions, what is the good of doing anything at all? We will keep quiet. We should not be attached to action with the desire for fruit, nor should we be attached to non-action: 

"Ma karmaphalahetur bhur ma te samgostv akarmani." (Gita - 2.47).

Attachment can be positive or negative. Even if we look at a thing, it is attachment. If we do not look at a thing, it is also attachment. Either way, it is a question of the mind working. Hence, action is a must, and we cannot keep quiet just because our cherished desire is not going to be fulfilled and it is in the hands of somebody else.

3.

Thus, we are placed in a very difficult situation. But the Sankhya knowledge, when applied to the yoga of action, becomes a discipline whereby we free ourselves from this chaotic way of thinking and the fear that our actions may go wrong or our inaction may not be permitted. 

The discipline that is yoga follows from the knowledge of the Sankhya : 

"Esha te’bhihita samkhye buddhir yoge tvimam sruu." (Gita - 2.39). 

In the Bhagavadgita, yoga means action and sankhya means knowledge. All action should be based on knowledge. But, our actions are not based on the knowledge of the Sankhya. The knowledge of the Sankhya is the knowledge of our organic involvement in the whole of prakriti, in the entire creation. We should not forget this point. 

But what do we do, actually? When we start doing anything, we have some ulterior motive and an object in front of us. 

Whenever we think of an object, we have a desire to go near it and possess it : 

"Dhyayato vishayan pumsah samgasteshu  pajayate." (Gita - 2.62).

To be continued ...

================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Teachings of the Bhagavadgita - 8.1. Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, March 21, 2021. 07:57. AM. Chapter 8: Creation and Life After Death -1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bhagavadgita is a moksha-shastra, a scripture on the science of the liberation of the spirit. Thus it follows the course of the return process along the same lines as the evolutionary process of the descent of the soul from the Supreme Being. The first six chapters may be said to be engaged in an exposition of self-discipline from the individual point of view, the integration of the human personality and the preparation of the whole man for the greater task which is yet to come – namely, the at-one-ment of the individual with the set-up of the universe. Some of the interpreters and commentators on the Bhagavadgita hold that the first six chapters have a relevance to the significance of the term 'twam' in the famous Upanishadic p
Read more

Stabilising the Mind in God: The Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita-2. Swami Krishnananda

-
Image
======================================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20/11/2019. (Spoken on June 26, 1983) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #Srimad Bhagavad Gita : Chpter-12. Slokam-s 8 to 11. ======================================================================= Mayya eva mana adhatsva mayi buddhim nivesaya, nivasshiayasi mayy eva ata urdhvahm na samsayah. - Slo-8. Aatha cittam samadhatum na saknoshi mayi sthiram, abhyasayogena tato mam ichaptum dhananjaya. - Slo-9. Abhyasepy asamarthosi matkarmaparamo bhava, madartham api karmani kurvan siddhim avapsyasi.-Slo-10. Athaitad apy asaktosi kartum madyogam asritah sarvakarmaphalatyagam tatah kuru yatatmavan. - Slo-11. ======================================================================== So the first
Read more

A Study of the Bhagavadgita : 33 - Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================================= Saturday 01, June 2024 06:40. Chapter 7: The Entry of the Absolute into the Relative -3. Post-33. ================================================================================= There are endless connections of this type. The relationship of adhyatma and adhibhuta is involved in an infinite variety of degrees of ascent and descent. This imperative of the presence of a consciousness between adhyatma and adhibhuta in various degrees is the reason why you sometimes feel there are many gods. Sometimes the question arises: Are there many gods, or only one God? There is only one God, the Absolute, but inasmuch as it manifests itself as an interconnecting link between subject and object through millions of degrees of ascent and descent, it looks as there are millions of gods. It is as if there are millions of governments merely because there are millions of officials in a centrality of administration. There is
Read more